On Friday President Biden signed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (H.R. 1667), which might seem unimportant to you, unless you happen to ever need to see a health care professional.
The bill, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA):
• Authorizes “grants for programs that offer behavioral health services for front-line health care workers.”
• Requires “the Department of Health and Human Services to recommend strategies to facilitate health care provider well-being and launch a campaign encouraging health care workers to seek assistance when needed.”
On March 4, 2021, the AHA — which represents some 5,000 hospitals, 270,000 physicians, 2 million nurses and caregivers — wrote a letter to four senators:
“Front-line health care workers have been steadfast in leading the fight against this pandemic since the first COVID-19 cases were identified last January, and their efforts have been extraordinary. After more than a year of working through the intensity of the pandemic, these dedicated workers are still on the front lines.
“Concerns are mounting about how the number of physicians, nurses and other health workers are coping with emotional and physical strain from treating COVID-19 patients. We know – both from survey data and anecdotally from extensive discussions with our members – that clinicians are suffering. A study reported by the National Academy of Medicine shows that between 35% and 54% of clinicians report at least one symptom of burnout, more than double the amount of burnout found in other fields. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this situation worse. These workers need and deserve added support as they continue to care for severely ill patients.”
And back then it seemed as though COVID would soon be gone.
Think about what the AHA wrote when considering the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers.
The bill was named for a doctor who led the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. Dr. Breen, 49, overwhelmed by what she was facing day after day after day, committed suicide.
—Gary S. Vasilash
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Read …meanwhile… at https://thehustings.news