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Published -
- April 27, 2020
- 11:39 pm
New York Doctor On Front Lines
Emergency room physician Dr. Lorna Breen survived the virus herself, but it was the grueling work, her father says, that took a grave toll.
What support and resources should be provided to frontline healthcare workers to help them cope with the pressures of their job during the pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of lives around the world, but it has hit healthcare professionals particularly hard. The pressures and stresses of working long hours in a high-stakes environment have taken a toll on their mental health, leading to several tragedies. The latest comes from New York, where a doctor who had been in the forefront of the fight against the virus has died by suicide.
Dr. Lorna Breen was a top emergency room physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan. In March, she contracted COVID-19 and took a leave of absence to recover. However, she returned to work soon after, eager to help her colleagues and patients. She worked tirelessly for weeks, often seeing more than a dozen critically ill patients per shift. She saw things that no doctor should have to see: patients dying alone, families unable to say goodbye, and a constant stream of death and despair.
However, the trauma of these experiences weighed heavily on Dr. Breen’s mental health. Her father, also a physician, said she had confided in him that she felt overwhelmed and exhausted, but had received little support from the hospital. Instead, she was urged to keep working, to keep pushing through, to keep fighting. Eventually, the pressure became too much, and she took her own life on April 26th.
Dr. Breen’s death is a tragic reminder of the toll the COVID-19 pandemic is taking on frontline healthcare workers. They are working in conditions that are physically and mentally demanding, often without adequate protective equipment or support. They are grappling with a disease that is still poorly understood, and for which there is no cure. They are facing a relentless onslaught of suffering and death, and yet they are expected to keep going, day after day.
This is not a sustainable situation. We need to recognize the sacrifices that healthcare workers are making, and provide them with the resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. This includes access to mental health support, adequate rest and recovery time, and proper protective equipment. It also means acknowledging the trauma they are experiencing and giving them the space and time to grieve and process their emotions.
Dr. Breen’s death is a profound loss to her family, friends, and colleagues. It is also a call to action for all of us to do better by our frontline healthcare workers. We owe it to them to ensure that they are valued, protected, and supported in their critical work. No more lives should be lost to a system that fails to care for those who care for us.
