Worried About Healthcare Worker Well-Being?

Lorna Breen, MD, Matt Gall, MD, Mo Brown, MD, Scott Jolley, MD, William West Jr., MD, and Tristin Smith, RN, are tragic examples of an unacceptably high level of suicide among U.S. healthcare workers. Unfortunately, this list could extend to encompass my entire article, and chances are, each of you reading this have 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 am writing this editorial with an ask: Please help us motivate Congress to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (Lorna Breen Act) by writing to your senators and representatives.

This is time sensitive. The Lorna Breen Act’s programs expired on September 30, 2024. Without action by the current Congress before they conclude their session in late December, we will have to restart the entire legislative process, which will delay the programs for a year.

But let’s take a deeper look as to why you would want to help.

Like Lorna, Matt, Mo, Scott, William, and Tristin, healthcare workers suffer from critically high degrees of burnout and unique stressors because of workplace conditions. Many of you are intimately familiar with this. Our rates of burnout and mental health conditions were too high before the pandemic and have spiked to unsustainable levels. It can feel impossible to get help because of intrusive licensing and credentialing questions. Addressing the drivers of burnout can feel overwhelming, like being asked to fix the entire healthcare system.

As a result, the CDC has labeled the poor mental health conditions among health workers a crisis, identifying our mental health as worse than other segments of the U.S. workforce. We are in desperate need of support, as we continue to recover from the heightened stress of the pandemic.

The Lorna Breen Act is landmark legislation that has supported healthcare workers’ mental health and well-being since it initially passed in 2022. Its impact has been immense.

The Lorna Breen Act supported the research and development of the Suicide Prevention: Evidence-Informed Interventions for the Health Care Workforce guide, which identified three key drivers of suicide among the healthcare workforce and interventions that hospitals and health systems can implement to reduce risk. Now, we need continued funding for the Lorna Breen Act, so these interventions can help stop the stigma associated with talking about and seeking mental health care; ensure adequate access to mental health education, resources, and treatment options; and address the root causes of the unique job-related stressors in healthcare.

The Lorna Breen Act also funded $103 million across 45 organizations to implement evidence-informed strategies that reduce and prevent burnout, mental health conditions, and suicide. For example, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s health system reduced its turnover rate from 52.7% in 2021 to 17.8% in 2022 by focusing on both individual support and systems-level changes — from mental health support to standardizing policies for nurses, social workers, and activity staff to allow easier movement across sites to meet staffing challenges. Additionally, the University of Alabama at Birmingham decreased burnout by 17% in 6 months by dedicating staff to provide stress/trauma and well-being support to frontline nurses and nurse leaders.

The Lorna Breen Act also established the Impact Wellbeing campaign, which gives hospital leaders evidence-informed solutions to reduce health worker burnout, sustain well-being, and build a system where health workers thrive. To help hospital leaders make operational improvements, the Impact Wellbeing Guide offers an actionable, real-world tested resource designed to help hospital leaders implement systems-level changes to improve professional well-being for health workers.

Since the guide was released in March, nearly 35,000 people accessed and began to use it, and leaders who were aware of the campaign indicated that these resources helped identify policies and practices that contributed to workplace burnout. However, only half of these leaders believe they have the resources needed to offer additional well-being support for staff.

In addition to widening its reach to more hospitals and providing 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. Beyond only benefitting mental health, addressing burnout is smart economically — physician burnout costs the U.S. healthcare system at least $4.6 billion annually in costs related to physician turnover and reduced clinical hours.

The reauthorization of the Lorna Breen Act has strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate, and has already passed through committee approvals. Without action by 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, offering us support and resources to improve mental health and reduce the drivers of burnout. This legislation is not just a matter of policy — it’s a critical piece of the health delivery supply chain that benefits not only healthcare workers, but every person who will require medical care in their lifetime. It’s time for us to speak up for ourselves.

Take action today: Please contact your members of Congress, advising them to vote to reauthorize and fund this vital piece of legislation.

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

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