Concerned about the well-being of healthcare workers?

Lorna Breen, MD, Matt Gall, MD, Mo Brown, MD, Scott Jolley, MD, William West Jr., MD, and Tristin Smith, RN, are tragic examples of unacceptably high suicide rates among U.S. healthcare workers. Unfortunately, this list could encompass my entire article, and chances are that each of you reading this has your own name – a friend or colleague – that you could add. We must do more to stem the tide of suicide among healthcare workers.

I write this editorial with a request: Please help us motivate Congress to support Dr. Reauthorize the Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (Lorna Breen Act) by writing to your senators and representatives.

This is time critical. The Lorna Breen Act programs expired on September 30, 2024. Without action by the current Congress before the end of its session at the end of December, we will have to restart the entire legislative process, which will delay the programs by a year.

But let’s take a closer look at why you want to help.

Like Lorna, Matt, Mo, Scott, William, and Tristin, healthcare workers experience extremely high levels of burnout and unique stressors related to working conditions. Many of you are very familiar with this. Our levels of burnout and mental illness were too high before the pandemic and have reached unsustainable levels. Getting help can seem impossible due to intrusive questions about licensing and eligibility. Dealing with the triggers of burnout can feel overwhelming, like being asked to fix the entire healthcare system.

That’s why the CDC has classified poor mental health among health care workers as a crisis, ranking our mental health as worse than other segments of the U.S. workforce. We urgently need support as we continue to recover from the increased burden of the pandemic.

The Lorna Breen Act is groundbreaking legislation that has supported the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers since its passage in 2022. Its impact was immense.

The Lorna Breen Act supported research and development of the Suicide Prevention: Evidence-Based Interventions for Health Care Professionals The guide identified three leading causes of suicide in healthcare settings and interventions that hospitals and healthcare systems can implement to reduce risk. Now we need more funding for the Lorna Breen Act so that these interventions can help eliminate the stigma associated with talking about and seeking mental health care; Ensuring adequate access to mental health education, resources and treatment options; and address the causes of unique work-related stressors in healthcare.

The Lorna Breen Act also provided $103 million for 45 organizations to implement evidence-based strategies to reduce and prevent burnout, mental illness and suicide. For example, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Health System was able to reduce its turnover rate from 52.7% in 2021 to 17.8% in 2022 by focusing on both individual support and system-level changes – from supporting the mental health to standardizing policies for nurses and social workers and activity staff to enable easier movement between sites and address staffing issues. Additionally, the University of Alabama at Birmingham reduced burnout by 17% in 6 months by dedicating staff to supporting frontline nurses and nursing leaders with stress/trauma and well-being.

The Lorna Breen Act also introduced the law Effects on well-being Campaign that provides hospital leaders with evidence-based solutions to reduce health care worker burnout, maintain wellness, and build a system where health care workers thrive. To help hospital leaders make operational improvements, the Impact Wellbeing Guide provides an actionable, field-tested resource to help hospital leaders implement system-level changes to improve the professional well-being of healthcare professionals.

Since the guide was released in March, nearly 35,000 people have accessed and started using it, and executives with knowledge of the campaign said these resources have helped identify policies and practices that contribute to burnout contributed to the workplace. However, only half of these leaders believe they have the resources necessary to provide additional well-being support to employees.

In addition to expanding its reach to more hospitals and giving them the resources they need to better support staff, the reauthorization of the Lorna Breen Act focuses on addressing the root cause of burnout: reducing the administrative burden on clinicians. Aside from just benefiting mental health, combating burnout also makes economic sense—physician burnout costs the U.S. health care system at least $4.6 billion annually in costs related to physician turnover and short-term care Clinic hours.

Reauthorization of the Lorna Breen Act has strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate and has already passed committees. Without action from Congress before the end of the year to reauthorize and fund the programs, we will lose access to much-needed support.

The Lorna Breen Act is a lifeline for healthcare workers, providing us with support and resources to improve mental health and reduce triggers for burnout. This legislation is not just a matter of policy – it is a critical part of the health care chain that benefits not only health care workers, but all people who need health care throughout their lives. It’s time for us to speak up for ourselves.

Take action today: Please contact your members of Congress and encourage them to vote to reauthorize and fund this important legislation.

Stefanie Simmons, MD, is Chief Medical Officer of Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988” or sending a text message.