# The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act

This bill is designed to help doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers deal with mental health problems, burnout, and suicide risk. The bill is named after Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency room doctor who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic. It recognizes that healthcare workers face enormous stress and psychological strain, especially during health crises, and that many struggle to get help because of stigma and fear about how seeking treatment might affect their careers.

The bill creates several programs to address these issues. First, it establishes a grant program that gives money to medical schools, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations to train doctors and nurses in how to recognize and prevent burnout, mental health problems, and suicide among their colleagues. Second, it funds a national awareness campaign run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to encourage healthcare workers to seek mental health treatment without shame, and to help them recognize warning signs in themselves and coworkers. Third, the bill provides grants directly to hospitals and healthcare providers to create or expand mental health support programs for their staff, including peer support groups, mental health screenings, and access to counseling and treatment. These grants specifically prioritize hospitals that were hit hardest by COVID-19.

Finally, the bill requires the federal government to conduct a comprehensive study examining why healthcare workers struggle with mental health and burnout, what barriers prevent them from getting help (like worries about losing their medical license), and what programs actually work to improve their wellbeing. The study must be completed within three years and shared with Congress and the public. Overall, the bill allocates tens of millions of dollars over several years to make mental health support more available and less stigmatized for the people who care for us.

Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act

Wild, Susan

Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act This bill establishes grants and requires other activities to improve mental and behavioral health and prevent burnout among health care providers. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants to <ul> <li>train health care providers on suicide prevention, other behavioral health issues, and strategies to improve well-being; and</li> <li>establish or expand programs to promote mental and behavioral health among health care providers involved with COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response efforts.</li> </ul> HHS must also study and develop policy recommendations on <ul> <li>preventing burnout and improving mental and behavioral health among health care providers,</li> <li>removing barriers to accessing care and treatment, and</li> <li>identifying strategies to promote resiliency. </li> </ul> Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must conduct a campaign to encourage health care providers to seek support and treatment for mental and behavioral health concerns.