Members of the Healthcare Workforce Coalition visited Capitol Hill on July 25 to speak with lawmakers and legislative staff about three critical pieces of legislation impacting the healthcare workforce: the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HWRA) (H.R. 6205/S.3211), and the Reauthorization of the Dr. Lorna Breen Provider Protection Act (H.R. 7153/S. 3679).
- With physical and verbal assault increasing across the healthcare workforce, the SAVE Act would protect providers by imposing fines and up to 10 years imprisonment on those who assault employees, in addition to improving hospital safety and security.
- The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would help address the severe workforce shortage by recapturing 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians that Congress has previously authorized, creating immigration pathways for qualified foreign healthcare workers into the US healthcare system.
- The bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Provider Protection Act advocates for mental health, substance abuse, and burnout support programs and resources for healthcare workers. The reauthorization of the bill would continue and expand the number of grants which provide hospital leaders with proven strategies to reduce health worker burnout, including reducing administrative burden that contributes to workforce shortages and mental health crises.
Coalition members who participated in the fly-in represented many healthcare organizations, including VITAS, PRS Global, Health Carousel, AHA, MedPro International, Florida Hospital Association, Duke Health, The University of Kansas Health System, Saint Francis Health System, SSM Health, Fisher Titus, Health Carousel, and Lifepoint Health.
HWC advocates shared impactful stories and insights with legislators about the healthcare workforce, including current challenges and opportunities facing nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, and workforce leaders. Particularly, HWC advocates discussed workforce shortages taking place due to burnout, safety issues and unsustainable workforce trends, and that jobs like medical assistants, home health aides, and nursing assistants need to be protected.
We thank lawmakers and staff for their time and look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of the healthcare workforce!