Staff supports manager facing unthinkable tragedy

When her manager received a call that her son died of suicide, Tasha Jones quickly took action to get her home safely.

Michelle Drum, who also works at the UCHealth Heart and Vascular Clinic – Harmony Campus, didn’t know either of them very well.  But when she heard what she could only describe as “a mother’s scream,” she rushed to give support and follow them in her own car.

Jones, a patient access representative, had just returned from lunch July 23, 2020 when she heard Vicki Breedlove-Fossen come out of her office “in a state of hysterics like I’ve never seen,” saying that she needed to leave.

“My world immediately shattered,” Breedlove-Fossen said. “In my most horrible moment, my staff jumped immediately into action.”

Jones had worked at the UCHealth Heart and Vascular Clinic for over 16 years, three years with Breedlove-Fossen. They had become close.

“I heard her running, and I ran after her,” Jones said. She followed her to the back doors near the parking lot. “As soon as she got to the back door, she kind of fell and I grabbed her.”

“I literally ripped her keys out of her hand,” Jones said. “I’m a believer in you’re always in the right place at the right time for a reason. I feel like there’s a reason she yelled or looked at me while she was leaving.”

Michelle Drum, a nurse who joined the clinic in January 2020 after working at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital since 2003, had just clocked out for lunch when she heard the commotion.

“I had no idea what had happened to this family. I had no idea what was going on. But I knew it probably had to be a child,” Drum said.

Jones began driving Breedlove-Fossen to her home in Evans, over a half-hour away from the Fort Collins clinic.

“On that ride home, Tasha listened as I hysterically called my devastated children and parents, and amid the screaming and begging – and while I became completely overwhelmed with indescribable grief – she remained calm,” Breedlove-Fossen said.

Jones, whose son is a police officer, said she always worries about receiving a phone call that something happened to him.

“Vicki needed me to be strong. I couldn’t cry with her,” Jones said. “It was super hard staying strong.”

When they reached the house, Drum and Jones helped Breedlove-Fossen inside.

“She could barely even walk,” Jones said. “Her husband came to the door and sat her down.”

The police were still there as the family waited for the coroner. Jones and Drum took care of Breedlove-Fossen’s two grandchildren.

“I of course jumped into mother mode and started cleaning up the kitchen, because the kids were home,” Jones said, adding that she fed the kids snacks, and they tried to keep them entertained.

“They played with the kids and kept them from seeing what no child should ever see,” Breedlove-Fossen said. “They were the very best UCHealth offers in every sense of the term, selfless and compassionate.”

She said Drum helped her to focus on breathing and made sure she “was mentally OK” before they left. The support from colleagues continued over the next few weeks as people picked up her duties, sent food, made house calls and sent gifts to the grandchildren.

“They advocated for mental health, they provided comfort, and they made sure I had time, which is the very most precious gift imaginable to someone who is grieving,” Breedlove-Fossen said.

She said she is honoring her son, who “was eaten away by the emotional cancer that depression and mental illness truly is,” by supporting awareness, reducing the stigma and improving options for people who need help.

Jones said she knows of at least four people who died by suicide in the past year. She wants everyone to know where the resources are for “what to do and where to go when it’s that bad.”

To find help

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can get help 24/7 through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.8255.

Support hotline for UCHealth staff, providers and contractors: First Call is a 24/7 triage line of the Virtual Behavioral Health Center, providing access to licensed professionals and resources who are available for counseling, support or therapy. Call 833.701.0448.