United States senators have unanimously passed a radiologist-backed bill to address burnout among healthcare workers following a physician’s untimely death last year.
The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act is named after New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s 49-year-old former emergency department director, who died by suicide in April 2020. Breen contracted the virus herself and had been overwhelmed by the influx of COVID-19 patients at the time, feeling as if she “couldn’t do anything” to help them.
Introduced by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., the bill would establish grants for helping train physicians to address mental health issues, among other remedies.
“Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers shoulder the responsibility of saving lives and have worked overtime during the pandemic,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Passing this bill through the Senate is one step closer to providing an important lifeline for medical professionals so they too can get the care they need.”
The American College of Radiology informed its members of the Breen Act’s passage on Thursday and said it supports the legislation. In addition, it would also require the identification and dissemination of best practices to prevent provider suicide, establish educational initiatives, and review the pandemic’s impact on physician mental health. Proponents said it will also ensure that docs can seek help without fear of losing their license.
“COVID-19 has generated an unprecedented modern public health crisis that not only has resulted in severe illness and a tremendous loss of life, but also has taken a toll on the mental health and well-being of selfless healthcare providers,” ACR said Aug. 12.
Some provisions of the bill were funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March. Representatives still must act on the legislation in the House, but Reed and Cassidy indicated it has bicameral support.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.