NAMI Praises Enactment of Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act Supporting Provider Mental Health

Mar 21, 2022

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) celebrates the recent enactment of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which aims to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and raise awareness about mental health conditions among health care professionals. President Biden signed the legislation into law during a ceremony on March 18.

The law is named after Dr. Lorna Breen, a New York City emergency room physician who tragically died by suicide in 2020. Health care professions experience many stressors and are at high risk for suicide — in fact, physicians have higher rates of burnout, symptoms of depression and suicide risk than the general population. The mental health and well-being of our health care workforce is critical, and more than ever, medical professionals need our support. To support frontline professionals like our health care providers, NAMI launched the Frontline Wellness initiative to support the immediate and future mental health needs of frontline health care and public safety professionals with resources tailored to their needs.

The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act builds on historic investments included in the American Rescue Plan Act to promote mental health among the health care workforce, including:

• Focus on reducing burnout and preventing suicide in health profession students, residents, or health care professionals, and promoting seeking mental health condition and substance use disorder treatment through training grants and dissemination of best practices.
• Establish a national education and public awareness campaign targeting health care professionals to encourage them to seek support and treatment.
• Require a comprehensive study on health care professionals’ mental and behavioral health and burnout, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these professionals’ overall health and wellbeing.

NAMI is grateful for the commitment of health care professionals who continue to brave the front lines every day, and we applaud this new law for helping to save lives.