In Case You Haven't Heard…

Abstract

In Pennsylvania, doctors applying for credentials at Geisinger health organization's hospitals are not required to answer intrusive questions about mental health care they have received, reducing the stigma around clinicians seeking treatment, CBS News reported July 8. The workplace is the new ground zero for addressing mental health. That means companies — employees and supervisors alike — must confront crises, from addiction to suicide. The initiative in Pennsylvania grew out of the work of a little known federal agency called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It's one of the key federal agencies leading workplace mental health efforts, from decreasing alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers to addressing burnout and depression among health care workers. But after gaining considerable traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, that work is now imperiled. The Trump administration has fired a majority of NIOSH staffers and is proposing severe reductions to its budget. Corey Feist, CEO and co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation, said renewing that funding to NIOSH is crucial to get these guidelines out to all hospitals. Without those resources, “it's just going to really delay this transformation of health care that needs to happen,” he said.