Maria Coss

Dr. María Coss is a Clinical Psychology Consultant at the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s (PRDoH) Commission on Suicide Prevention (CSP), office in charge of the implementation of public policy on suicide prevention across the archipelago of Puerto Rico. Through the design and implementation of data-driven public health strategies, education, and suicide mortality surveillance, Dr. Coss serves as a public speaker and trainer promoting awareness and helping connect the dots between human suffering and upstream factors such as poverty, inequality, and discrimination, as the groundwork for violence prevention.

 

The PRDoH’s organizational vision is to be the agency that safeguards the right to health and promotes a preventive, integrated, accessible, and equitable system that properly addresses the public health needs of the communities in Puerto Rico. The PRDoH designs and implements public health policies and strategies that promote, evaluate, and achieve healthy communities, comprehensively considering people and the factors that influence their health. The values that represent the basis of the PRDoH’s work are primary prevention, social justice, responsibility, respect, and trust.