Surgeon General Issues Landmark Report with New Solutions to Combat Crippling Worker Burnout Issue

Fierce Healthcare | By Robert King
 
Healthcare worker burnout was a staggering issue for systems across the country even before the pandemic, and, now, a new report from the U.S. surgeon general hopes to help by boosting benefits and reducing administrative burdens. 

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., released a general advisory Monday surrounding worker burnout, an issue that was present before the pandemic but only worsened as COVID-19 has impacted systems. Murthy is pressing for collaboration among regulators, health systems, communities and other key stakeholders to take a “whole-of-society” approach to the problem.

“COVID-19 has been a uniquely traumatic experience for the healthcare workforce and for their families, pushing them past their breaking point,” Murthy said in a statement. “Now, we owe them a debt of gratitude and action. And if we fail to act, we will place our nation’s health at risk.”

Murthy’s advisory lays out a series of recommendations to combat burnout, which is likely to get worse with more than half a million registered nurses retiring by the end of the year and a shortage of more than 3 million low-wage health workers projected over the next five years. The Association of American Medical Colleges has also projected a shortage of 139,000 physicians by 2033.

[Click to read the recommendations], which come roughly a month after a new survey from the union National Nurses United showed major spikes in workplace violence at systems across the country.

The surgeon general advisories do not have any binding actions but are an attempt to call attention to a public health issue. 

New Wage and Hour Division Resources for FMLA

At the Wage and Hour Division, we enforce the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which enables eligible workers to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave for mental health treatment for themselves or the care of qualifying family members (26 weeks to care for covered service members and certain veterans).

We are committed to supporting the mental health of workers and ensuring equitable access to job-protected leave through outreach and enforcement of the FMLA. New resources have been developed to assist in the compliance and implementation of FMLA provisions, and I encourage you to review those here: 

• Fact Sheet #280 – Mental Health Conditions and the FMLA
• Mental Health and the FMLA – Frequently Asked Questions
• Press Release – DOL Publishes Updated FMLA Guidance on Mental Health
• Department of Labor article – FMLA: Essential for Mental Health-Friendly Workplaces
• Social Media – WHD Twitter: FMLA and Mental Health

For more information about the Family and Medical Leave Act, please visit our website. If you are interested in scheduling an outreach event or training webinar, please feel free to contact me so we can coordinate that together.

Prioritizing Mental Health Care In America

NIHCM Foundation

By the end of 2021, Americans found themselves in one of the worst nationwide mental health crises in years. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience a mental illness each year, or more than 50 million people. Unfortunately, less than half of the people in need ever receive the mental health care they require. Due to physician burnout, a workforce shortage, and poor funding, this country has long struggled with handling the growing mental health crisis and providing equitable access to behavioral health care. The mental health system in America may be largely broken, but conditions are ideal for transforming the system with scientific advances, improved coverage, and political consensus on the importance of mental health. Goals once thought to be long out of reach may soon be possible.

This infographic highlights the many challenges contributing to America’s mental health crisis as well as steps to improve and strengthen mental health care and the behavioral health industry and promote individual resiliency. 

This infographic highlights the many challenges contributing to America’s mental health crisis as well as steps to improve and strengthen mental health care and the behavioral health industry and promote individual resiliency. 

The attached infographic highlights the many challenges contributing to America’s mental health crisis as well as steps to improve and strengthen mental health care and the behavioral health industry and promote individual resiliency.

See Infographic 

Home-Modification Bill Could Lead to Lower Costs, Partnerships for Home Care Providers

Home Health Care News

A bill allowing older adults to deduct home-modification expenses from their taxes was introduced in Washington, D.C. last week.

If passed, the Home Modification for Accessibility Act would provide a boost to aging-in-place efforts, perhaps spurring greater partnership between home care companies and home-modification businesses.

​​Already, home care industry leaders and home-modification stakeholders are heralding the bill as a major step forward.

“The preparation needed to make homes more safe and accessible include repairing uneven floor surfaces, adding brighter lighting, adding railings to stairs, widening doorways and raising countertops,” Scott Dingfield, director of communications for Right at Home, said in an email to Home Health Care News. “The Act will help these modifications to be less costly, and ultimately, make it easier for older adults to move around their home more safely.”

The bill would allow adults aging in place to offset the costs associated with making modifications to their homes through early retirement withdrawals and a lifetime tax deduction of up to $30,000.

“This also will have a tremendous impact on an older adult’s family members,” Dingfield said. “The more someone can live at home safely and with independence, the less time family members will spend worrying about mom or dad.”

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