The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee has introduced legislation to make more funding available to support the mental and behavioral health of health care professionals.
The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act is set to expire at the end of this year.
A reauthorization act would reauthorize these grant programs for five years.
The law is named in honor of Dr. Lorna Breen, a physician from Charlottesville who died by suicide in 2020 while working on the front lines of the COVID pandemic.
“Our health care healers make immense sacrifices to serve our communities, and it’s critical that they have the mental health support they need,” said U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate HELP committee. “That’s why I’m proud that the HELP committee passed my bipartisan bill to reauthorize legislation named in honor of Dr. Lorna Breen, a Charlottesville native and NYC physician who died by suicide during the pandemic.
“This bill will help to reduce burnout among our health care providers.”
Reauthorizing the bipartisan act would help reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals.
The law has already provided $100 million in funding for mental health care for providers across the country, including $5.6 million in federal funding for Virginia providers at UVA Health, Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University.
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If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
For local mental health resources, visit AFP’s Project Mental Health page.
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Crystal Graham
