Biden signs into law Sen. Kaine’s mental health bill for health care workers - WAVY.com
WASHINGTON (WAVY) — Legislation named after a Charlottesville woman who died by suicide while serving as a doctor on the front lines of the pandemic in New York City has been signed into law by the president.
The legislation aims to “reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals,” according to a news release from the office of Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which was sponsored by Kaine.
Kaine was present for the signing ceremony Friday afternoon.
The legislation honors Breen, a Charlottesville native and University of Virginia graduate who was an emergency room doctor in New York City in 2020. The pressure and constant death connected to the coronavirus pandemic led to her death by suicide.
Kaine has said the legislation will determine best practices and find “who are the provider groups, hospitals and state medical associations that have innovative programs to provide mental health services.”
Another part of the legislation would protect healthcare employees by ensuring states don’t force them to disclose whether they’re receiving or seeking mental health counseling.
Kaine released a statement after Biden signed the bill: “The mental health consequences of COVID-19 are particularly acute for our frontline health care healers, who’ve made tremendous sacrifices to care for their patients in uncharted times. This bill is a critical first step to provide them with mental health resources to cope with the challenges they face every day. Supporting our health care workforce will benefit everyone because we all need great medical professionals to take care of us and our loved ones. By keeping our health care professionals healthy, everyone in society wins.”
According to a news release, the Breen Act will:
- “Establish grants for health profession schools, academic health centers, or other institutions to help them train health workers in strategies to prevent suicide, burnout, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders. The grants would also help improve health care professionals’ well-being and job satisfaction.
- Seek to identify and disseminate evidence-informed best practices for reducing and preventing suicide and burnout among health care professionals, training health care professionals in appropriate strategies, and promoting their mental and behavioral health and job satisfaction.
- Establish a national evidence-based education and awareness campaign targeting health care professionals to encourage them to seek support and treatment for mental and behavioral health concerns.
- Establish grants for health care providers and professional associations for employee education, peer-support programming, and mental and behavioral health treatment. Health care providers in current or former COVID-19 hotspots will be prioritized.
- Establish a comprehensive study on health care professionals’ mental and behavioral health and burnout, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on such professionals’ health.”
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