LORNA BREEN

The Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which would help doctors, nurses, and aids, has been passed by the House of Representatives.

A bill aiming to provide mental health resources for frontline workers is one step closer to being signed by President Joe Biden.

A bill aiming to provide mental health resources for front line workers is one step closer to being signed into law.

The following article touches on mental health as it pertains to those who have worked on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the real emotional stories we cover play out in the documentary above. Health care turned upside-downIn March 2020, the world was flipped upside-down, and because of that, there have been and continue to be many who have experienced difficult moments, some of which have led to real mental health crises. As a society, we’re constantly putting an emphasis on physical health, which is important, but somewhere along the way, it seems as though mental health was forgotten. This certainly wasn’t someone who suffered from mental health conditions or depression for years. Watch our entire special, What Lies Beneath: Managing Mental Health, above.

ROANOKE, Va – A Virginia lawmaker is pushing for an increase in funding for mental health resources for healthcare workers. The push comes nearly a year after Dr. Lorna Breen took her own life in Charlottesville. Thousands of frontline workers have been struggling with mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Tim Kaine introduced the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act in hopes of providing immediate and long-term solutions for them. Lorna Breen’s family has also started a foundation in her honor, for more information visit its website here.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A New York City doctor killed herself in Charlottesville on Sunday. 49-year-old Dr. Lorna Breen was the medical director of NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital’s emergency department, the New York Daily News reported. The Daily News reported Breen had treated a “staggering number of coronavirus patients.” She was reportedly in Charlottesville visiting with family. Officers responded to a call for medical assistance in the 1800 block of Winston Road on Sunday, according to the Charlottesville Police Department. ”Frontline healthcare professionals and first responders are not immune to the mental or physical effects of the current pandemic," said Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney in a statement.