The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation was recently named Fierce 50 of 2024 by Fierce Healthcare, a prestigious recognition of organizations and leaders who “demonstrate unwavering dedication and creativity, propelling biopharma and healthcare forward” towards meaningful change. Selected within the Social Impact Honorees category, the Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation was acknowledged for its work combatting healthcare worker burnout and de-stigmatizing mental health support.
The foundation was established after the tragic suicide of emergency room physician Dr. Lorna Breen. Following Dr. Breen’s death, her family created the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, which focuses on improving healthcare workplaces, de-stigmatizing invasive mental health questions and disclosures during the hiring processes, and implementing a ’Caring for Caregivers’ program to address healthcare worker burnout through collaboration with hospital and health system leaders.
Suicide risks are significantly higher for healthcare workers and technicians compared to non-healthcare workers, with RNs at an 18% higher risk of dying from suicide, according to a 2023 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The foundation offers guidance, toolkits, and action plans to healthcare organizations and program participants to help navigate and support mental health within the healthcare workforce.
Additionally, the foundation aims to do the following:
- Advance the implementation of evidence-informed interventions for healthcare workers. The Heroes’ Foundation has received immense gratitude and positive feedback from healthcare workers who have considered leaving their profession due to unmanageable workloads and who now feel supported, prioritized, and acknowledged through open conversations and impactful solutions to address healthcare workforce burnout.
- Increase support for Congressional reauthorization of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. Passed in 2022 to provide grant funding to support burnout-reducing interventions, the Dr. Lorna Breen Act has funded $103 million for 44 organizations to implement evidence-informed suicide prevention and burnout strategies. It also enabled the establishment of the Impact Wellbeing campaign to provide strategic goals and practices for employee mental health and wellbeing sustainability among hospital leadership.
To read more about Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation being selected for Fierce 50 of 2024, click here.