Rep. Harder: 2 in 3 doctors experiencing burnout
April 26, 2023 - WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Representative Josh Harder (CA-9) called on the U.S. Surgeon General to immediately address the hospital closure 
emergency and worker burnout cliff after the bombshell report released on April 13th. This report was commissioned by the California Hospital Association and sounded the alarm that 1 in 5 hospitals in the state are at risk of closure. Recent reports also show that 2 in 3 doctors and nurses are experiencing burnout at work.
“Our health care system in California is dangling on a cliff. We barely have enough hospitals and doctors as it is, and this new report is literally the worst-case scenario,” said Rep. Harder. “I’m calling on the Surgeon General to step up and help us fix this before it’s too late.”
Read Rep. Harder’s letter below:
April 25, 2023
Dear Surgeon General Murthy,
I write today to express my concern regarding the well-being of our health workforce and urge you to work with lawmakers to draft a comprehensive strategy to address systemic burnout.
Earlier this month, the California Hospital Association reported that one in five hospitals are at risk of closure. This crisis is multifactorial and will require collaboration across all levels of government to ensure patients have access to care. As you know, one of the key contributors to this crisis is workforce burnout. A recent report indicated that sixty-three percent of doctors and nurses are experiencing a moderate or great deal of burnout at work. This is resulting in serious physical, psychological, and emotional distress that requires new investments into their well-being.
We need to increase our attention to this urgent public health crisis as soon as possible. I appreciate the work you have done so far to educate the public. Your advisory on addressing health worker burnout is an informative guide for how organizations can tackle burnout, and what policymakers should consider when crafting legislation. Given your expertise on the topic, I urge you to engage with Congressional leaders to reiterate the importance of addressing workforce burnout and help us craft policies that will address our nationwide crisis.
I appreciate your attention to this issue and I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Josh Harder
Member of Congress
Source: Congressman Josh Harder
