This story first appeared in the 2021 It Takes A Valley Campaign Report.
Ada Borg has been impacted by suicide throughout her life. Growing up, she was told her father died in a hunting accident. But at age 16, Ada discovered her father died of suicide.
“This was a huge shock,” Ada says. “My mom explained she didn’t want me to have to deal with all the pain, so she made up a different story.”
Moving Through the Pain
For years, Ada felt angry and carried the shame around, eventually trying to push it aside. But she suffered tremendous grief after a few of her friends in Eagle County died from suicide. That’s when she recognized she hadn’t processed the pain of her father’s death.
“All these feelings and questions came flooding back. What did it say about me that my parent had died that way?” she says. “I realized I had a lot of work to do to process all the pain I had stored inside: dealing with abandonment and feeling like a victim because I didn’t get to grow up with a father and that he had died by suicide.”
When a friend encouraged her to connect with SpeakUp ReachOut, Ada found she was not alone.
Finding Solutions
SpeakUp ReachOut, a community partner of Vail Health’s Eagle Valley Behavioral Health (EVBH), is dedicated to providing suicide prevention services in Eagle County through training, awareness, and hope. Services include suicide prevention and awareness education, community events, and suicide-loss support. Ada attended the nonprofit’s suicide prevention trainings and events, met others like her, and listened to their stories.
“It’s so healing and empowering for all of us,” she describes. “Together, there is hope.”
Through SpeakUp ReachOut, she has found a way to be part of the solution. She serves on the board in an effort to support family and friends through the rippling losses of suicide, including grief and stigma.
Continuing Care
For the last 23 years, Ada has also strived to improve patients’ experiences at Colorado Mountain Medical (CMM). She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, and has held a number of key positions at CMM, including Chief Strategy Officer, Director of Clinical Applications, and Clinical Manager. The team of primary care physicians, specialists, and other practitioners offers everything from preventative medicine to specialized care for illnesses and injuries. In addition to urgent care services, CMM provides behavioral health services through employee assistance programs, psychiatric medication management, and therapy sessions — something Ada was instrumental in establishing.
She remains grateful to everyone who supports and participates in SpeakUp ReachOut: “Because of the community’s support, I learned I am not alone. Thanks to donor support, the resources I needed were available.” Now, she’s helping ensure those services are easily accessible to everyone.
“I am honored to have participated in creating a behavioral health service line at CMM that, integrated with our current primary care providers, provides the valley with much needed, whole health support.”Ada Borg