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WATCH: Rep. Wild’s Bill to Provide Mental Health Resources to Health Care Heroes Passes House

December 9, 2021

“America owes an incredible debt of gratitude to these professionals who work keep us safe and healthy”

Washington D.C. – Last night, Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) spoke on the floor shortly before her bill, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, passed the House. The bipartisan legislation received broad bipartisan support and heads back to the Senate for a final vote.

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Rep. Wild's remarks as delivered:

I rise today in support of my bill, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which will finally provide resources and support to our health care heroes who face burnout and mental health crisis as a result of their experiences with COVID-19.

America owes an incredible debt of gratitude to these professionals who work keep us safe and healthy. Doctors die by suicide at twice the rate of the general population. The trauma of their experience, during COVID and before while treating patients is something we must address head on.

Dr. Lorna Breen was the emergency room director at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and was a hero who embodied the spirit of service in our time of national crisis. She died by suicide in April 2020 at the peak of the COVID crisis in New York after contracting Covid herself, quarantining, and returning to work. Her father said she was truly in the trenches of the frontline, she tried to do her job and it killed her, make sure she is praised as a hero, she was a casualty of this pandemic as much as anyone else who died. I am honored in her memory to lead this bill to prevent burnout among the health professionals answering the call of duty.

I'd like to thank my seven co-leads: Raja Krishnamoorthi, David McKinley, Judy Chu, Fred Upton, Haley Stevens, Morgan Griffith, and John Katko, and to note that the strong bipartisan support this bill enjoys is confirmation that Congress can still come together to tackle big problems.

And I'd like to thank Jennifer and Corey Feist, Dr. Breen's sister and brother-in-law who have championed this bill from the beginning to ensure that Lorna's legacy is codified here in the halls of Congress.

But most of all, I want to thank every last doctor, nurse, EMT, custodial staffer, food service worker, and especially our emergency room doctors who put themselves into harm's way to keep the rest of us safe. Our work to secure for you the support you need is far from over.

Thank you and I yield back.

The Dr. Lorna Breen Provider Protection Act is strongly supported by nearly every health care provider group including the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), American Academy Of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA), American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of PAs, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Counseling Association, American Dance Therapy Association, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Hospital Association (AHA), American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Medical Student Association, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY), Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare, Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Ballad Health, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, EMDR International Association, Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), Envision Healthcare, Federation of State Medical Boards, Federation of State Physician Health Programs (FSPHP), Mental Health America, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Board Certified Counselors, National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), Postpartum Support International, RI International, SMART Recovery, The International OCD Foundation, The Jed Foundation, UVA Health, and the Well Being Trust, American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), and Ascension.

From the American College of Emergency Physicians: "Ensuring clinicians can freely seek mental health treatment and services without fear of professional setback means their mental health care needs can be resolved, rather than hidden away and suffered through. Furthermore, optimal clinician mental health is essential to ensuring that patients have a strong and capable health care workforce to provide the care they need and deserve. Thank you again for your leadership on this important issue."