HHS awards $103 million to fight workforce burnout and promote mental health
Forty-five organizations are getting the American Rescue Plan funds over three years.
Photo: Reza Estakhrian/Getty Images
American Rescue Plan money is funding $103 million to 45 grantees over three years to retain healthcare workers and to address burnout. The funds will also promote mental health and wellness and also go to training, with a focus on underserved and rural communities.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Carole Johnson announced the American Rescue Plan funding Thursday morning, on the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Recipients awarded the Health Workforce Resiliency Awards include healthcare providers, academic institutions and other recipients. The $103 million funding opportunity was announced in July 2021.
HRSA is awarding $28.6 million to 10 grantees to help healthcare organizations establish, improve, or expand evidence-informed programs and practices to promote mental health and well-being among the health workforce, including their employees.
Another $68.2 million is being awarded to 34 grantees to support tailored evidence-informed training development within healthcare and nursing training activities. This curriculum is aimed at reducing burnout and promoting resilience among healthcare students, residents, healthcare professionals, paraprofessionals, trainees and public safety officers such as firefighters, law enforcement officers and ambulance crew members.
The third award of $6 million is going to George Washington University to provide tailored training and technical assistance.
WHY THIS MATTERS
COVID-19 has compounded rates of depression and anxiety among healthcare workers, according to HHS. The relentless physical and emotional demands of treating patients during a pandemic have exacerbated long-standing barriers to workplace wellbeing.
Healthcare workers are exhausted, Becerra said during Thursday's press call. Yesterday, 1,900 Americans lost their lives to COVID-19, he said. Most were unvaccinated and needed hospitalized care.
"It is no joke to say they are tired," Becerra said, adding a 27-year-old clinical staffer told him she was just praying she could get through every shift.
The best way for the workforce to rest is for people to get vaccinated, he said.
No need is more acute than supporting the mental health of the workforce, Johnson said. This includes creating supportive workforce environments to fight that sense of being alone, of fighting a pandemic behind a hospital's closed doors.
"We are here with you, you are not alone," she said.
THE LARGER TREND
The funding adds to previous workforce investments such as residency programs.
A suicide prevention hotline, 988, will be getting $3 million in the coming weeks. The national launch will be in the next several months, Becerra said.
ON THE RECORD
"I have traveled to many health centers across the country and know that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified issues that have long been a source of stress for frontline health care workers -- from increased patient volumes to long working hours," Becerra said by statement.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
