AHA supports bill to protect health care workers from burnout

The American Hospital Association (AHA) wrote to Congress to support the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (S. 4349/H.R. 8094). The legislation aims to reduce and prevent burnout, behavioral disorders and suicide among health care professionals. The proposal would authorize grants for providers to establish programs offering behavioral health services for front-line workers. The bill also calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take related steps to address burnout. The bill is named after an emergency room physician who died by suicide after treating an onslaught of COVID-19 patients in New York City during the initial wave of the pandemic. (AHA letter, 12/11/20)