ROANOKE, Va. – A bill aiming to provide mental health resources for frontline workers is one step closer to being signed by President Joe Biden.
Late Thursday night, the senate passed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act.
The bill was named in honor of Breen, who took her own life last year in Charlottesville after struggling with mental health issues stemming from the pandemic.
Senator Tim Kaine says the bill has support from both sides of the aisle.
“I’m very emotional about this but I have a hard time talking about Lorna , who I never knew but I’ve kind of come to feel like I knew her but what makes me particularly emotional about it is the conversations that I’ve had with health care providers all over Virginia,” Kaine said.
The legislation would promote educational training on mental health and best practices to prevent suicide.
Kaine hopes the bill will be signed by the house in the near future.