The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation

In this powerful episode of The DocBuddy Journal, host Kiera Helms welcomes Dr. Stefanie Simmons, Chief Medical Officer of The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation. Dr. Simmons shares the foundation's origin story, born from tragedy when emergency physician Dr. Lorna Breen died by suicide during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic after expressing fears about seeking mental health support.

The conversation explores the foundation's three-pronged approach to healthcare worker well-being: advocacy, advancing collaboration, and accelerating solutions. Dr. Simmons discusses their successful efforts to pass federal legislation supporting healthcare worker mental health, their work to eliminate stigmatizing mental health questions from medical licensing applications across states, and their "All In Caring for Caregivers" program.

As an emergency physician herself, Dr. Simmons brings valuable perspective on the unique challenges healthcare workers face when prioritizing their own mental health. The episode highlights the importance of addressing both individual support through coaching and peer programs and tackling systemic issues like administrative burden and EHR optimization. Listeners will learn about concrete resources available through the foundation and ways to get involved in this critical mission to destigmatize mental healthcare for those who care for others.

Links from this show:

• Impact Wellbeing Guide: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/healthcare/impactwellbeingguide/index.html
• Ambassador Application: https://drlornabreen.org/become-an-ambassador/
• Licensing Board Advocacy: https://drlornabreen.org/contact-boards/
• Credentialing Toolkit: https://drlornabreen.org/removebarriers/
• Donate: https://drlornabreen.org/donate/