Advocacy in action Senate passes Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act Advocacy from the osteopathic medical profession helped contribute to the act’s success in the Senate. Aug. 11, 2021Wednesday Rose Raymond Contact Rose Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Last week, the U.S. Senate passed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a bipartisan bill developed to address the high rates of burnout among health care professionals and the high suicide rate among doctors. Advocacy from the osteopathic medical profession helped contribute to the Lorna Breen Act’s success in the Senate. The act was one of the major policy asks at DO Day 2021 and has also been an ongoing online grassroots priority with the Osteopathic Advocacy Network (OAN). The AOA also collaborated with affiliate organizations to support the bill. The next step is for the House of Representatives to review the bill; the OAN is planning for a grassroots campaign supporting the bill when the House is back in session in mid-September. “Even before the pandemic, far too many health care workers suffered from work-related burnout and depression,” said Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the bill’s sponsor, in a statement. “Unfortunately, these mental health challenges have only been exacerbated during COVID-19, putting the well-being of our healers at risk. I’m proud to see my bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, legislation to equip our medical professionals with resources to cope with the challenges they face, pass the Senate and get one step closer to becoming law.” If enacted, the Lorna Breen Act would authorize grants for mental and behavioral health treatment for health care professionals as well as grants for health care professional education and training on strategies to reduce and prevent burnout, suicide and mental health conditions. More in Advocacy Breaking DOwn barriers through advocacy Some pathology residency programs were requiring minimum COMLEX-USA scores with percentiles dramatically higher than those for USMLE. That has changed, thanks to intervention and advocacy. Preventing targeted gun violence in our schools For years, stories of gun violence in schools have dominated the headlines. MSUCOM seeks to address and put an end to this brutality. Previous articleMistreatment during medical school is associated with burnout and career regret by graduation, study finds Next articleThe psychological repercussions of patient complaints
Breaking DOwn barriers through advocacy Some pathology residency programs were requiring minimum COMLEX-USA scores with percentiles dramatically higher than those for USMLE. That has changed, thanks to intervention and advocacy.
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