Congressman Krishnamoorthi Joins Cook County Board President Preckwinkle And Public Health Leaders To Celebrate Passage Of His Health Care Worker Mental Wellness Law

Chicago, IL – This morning, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the Eight District joined Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha, and Dr. Mark Loafman, Chair of Family Medicine for Cook County Health to celebrate the passage into law last month of the bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act which Congressman Krishnamoorthi co-led. The new law, named after Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency room physician who tragically died by suicide after enduring the trauma and burnout of working on the frontlines of the pandemic, will help combat suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals. Of the law's $135 million budget over 3 years, a total of $30 million, $10 million each year, would go to establishing a national evidence-based education and awareness initiative while a total of $105 million, $35 million each year, would go to programs to promote mental health among health care professionals: grants to entities that provides health care services, includes medical professional organizations, to build evidence-based programs, and "training" grants to schools, academic health centers, state or local governments, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, and other non-profits to reduce substance abuse disorders and improve mental wellness among healthcare professionals.

"Our health care heroes, in Cook County and across the nation, rose to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, while often unfortunately silently facing the trauma of having endured so much to save lives," said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "While our economy and nation have begun to recover from the pandemic, our frontline health care workers still carry the burden of their service. I've seen that firsthand as the husband of a physician and I'm proud that my bill to help those who have done so much to help us has become law and will soon begin providing much-needed funding to support the mental health of our health care heroes."

Read the full text of the bill here.