Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act
This bill establishes and authorizes a series of programs relating to the behavioral health of law enforcement officers, first responders, 9-1-1 operators, and other public safety officers and health care providers.
Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must develop best practices for identifying, preventing, and treating post-traumatic stress and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers. HHS must work with the Fire Administration (a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and other federal agencies to incorporate the best practices into education and training programs for public safety officers.
In addition, the Fire Administration must develop resources to educate mental health professionals about the workplace stressors and evidence-based therapies to treat mental health issues common to firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) providers.
The bill also permits HHS to establish (1) a system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reporting suicides of public safety officers, and (2) grant programs to support behavioral health and wellness programs for fire departments, EMS agencies, and health care providers.