Burnout, stress, depression, and departures from the profession point to unaddressed issues that threaten patient care and worker well-being. Read the 2021 UNAC/UHCP Mental Health Report: The True Cost of Being A Hero
The report—The True Cost of Being A Hero: Mental Health Strains in Nursing and Health Care—outlines the 2021 UNAC/UHCP survey’s findings, includes personal statements from health care workers under siege, and places the survey results into the larger context of academic research and journalistic investigations into issues that will drive the future of health care in our communities:
- Staffing shortages and the inability to recruit and retain a stable health care workforce
- Eroding care and safety standards for patients and workers
- Lack of mental health care and treatment for caregivers
Many of the causes of problems outlined in the report are systemic and entrenched. Solutions do exist. Our answers in the 2021 survey formed the basis for the report that found its way into the hands of AFSCME International’s legislative affairs department, where it was shared with lawmakers. The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Act will fund new grants to promote mental health among the health professional workforce. These funds can be used for establishing new, or enhancing existing, evidence-based or evidence-informed programs for improving mental health and resiliency among health care professionals