,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cbdd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #bh1 #bjbj,ms4 ,rosen 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,fischer7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services to improve the detection1 prevention1 and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,emergency ,responders ,overcome ,act of #bjbj or the ,,hero ,act of #bjbj 4 #b4 ,data system to capture national public safety officer suicide incidence ,the ,public ,health ,service ,act is amended by inserting after section #cag,t of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;b-#bb7 the following3 #cag,u4 ,data system to capture national public safety officer suicide incidence 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 acting primarily through the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention and in coordination with other agencies as the ,secretary determines appropriate1 shall-- 7#a7 develop and maintain a data system1 to be known as the ,public ,safety ,officer ,suicide ,reporting ,system1 for the purposes of-- 7,a7 collecting data on the suicide incidence among public safety officers2 and 7,b7 facilitating the study of successful interventions to reduce suicide among public safety officers2 and 7#b7 integrate such system into the ,national ,violent ,death ,reporting ,system1 so long as the ,secretary determines such integration to be consistent with the purposes described in paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,data collection ,in collecting data for the ,public ,safety ,officer ,suicide ,reporting ,system1 the ,secretary shall1 at a minimum1 collect the following information3 7#a7 ,the total number of suicides in the ,united ,states among all public safety officers in a given calendar year4 7#b7 ,suicide rates for public safety officers in a given calendar year1 disaggregated by-- 7,a7 age and gender of the public safety officer2 7,b7 ,state2 7,c7 occupation2 including both the individual's role in their public safety agency and their primary occupation in the case of volunteer public safety officers2 7,d7 status of the public safety officer as volunteer1 paid-on-call1 or career2 and 7,e7 status of the public safety officer as active or retired4 7c7 ,consultation during development ,in developing the ,public ,safety ,officer ,suicide ,reporting ,system1 the ,secretary shall consult with non-,federal experts to determine the best means to collect data regarding suicide incidence in a safe1 sensitive1 anonymous1 and effective manner4 ,such non-,federal experts shall include the following3 7#a7 ,public health experts with experience in developing and maintaining suicide registries4 7#b7 ,organizations that track suicide among public safety officers4 7#c7 ,mental health experts with experience in studying suicide and other profession-related traumatic stress4 7#d7 ,clinicians with experience in diagnosing and treating mental health issues4 7#e7 ,active and retired volunteer1 paid-on-call1 and career public safety officers4 7#f7 ,relevant national police1 and fire and emergency medical services1 organizations4 7d7 ,data privacy and security ,in developing and maintaining the ,public ,safety ,officer ,suicide ,reporting ,system1 the ,secretary shall ensure that all applicable ,federal and ,state privacy and security protections are followed to ensure that-- 7#a7 the confidentiality and anonymity of suicide victims and their families are protected1 including so as to ensure that data cannot be used to deny benefits2 and 7#b7 data is sufficiently secure to prevent unauthorized access4 7e7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,annual report ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of the ,helping ,emergency ,responders ,overcome ,act of #bjbj1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit a report to the ,congress on the suicide incidence among public safety officers4 ,each such report shall-- 7,a7 include such suicide incidence disaggregated by age1 gender1 and ,state of employment2 7,b7 identify risk factors for suicide among public safety officers2 7,c7 disaggregate rates of suicide by-- 7i7 occupation2 7ii7 status as volunteer1 paid-on-call1 or career2 and 7iii7 status as active or retired2 7,d7 include recommendations for further study regarding the suicide incidence among public safety officers2 7,e7 specify in detail1 if found1 any obstacles in collecting suicide rates for volunteers and include recommended improvements to overcome such obstacles2 7,f7 identify options for interventions to reduce suicide among public safety officers2 and 7,g7 ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of suicide victims and their families1 as described in subsection 7d77#a74 7#b7 ,public availability ,upon the submission of each report to the ,congress under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall make the full report publicly available on the website of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention4 7f7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term public safety officer means-- 7#a7 a public safety officer as defined in section #abjd of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh2 or 7#b7 a public safety telecommunicator as described in detailed occupation #dc-ejca in the ,standard ,occupational ,classification ,manual of the ,office of ,management and ,budget 7#bjah74 7g7 ,prohibited use of information ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 if an individual is identified as deceased based on information contained in the ,public ,safety ,officer ,suicide ,reporting ,system1 such information may not be used to deny or rescind life insurance payments or other benefits to a survivor of the deceased individual4 4 #c4 ,peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical service agencies ,part ,b of title ,,iii of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdc et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cbj;,b4 ,peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical service agencies 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing or enhancing peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies4 7b7 ,program description ,a peer-support behavioral health and wellness program funded under this section shall-- 7#a7 use career and volunteer members of fire departments or emergency medical services agencies to serve as peer counselors2 7#b7 provide training to members of career1 volunteer1 and combination fire departments or emergency medical service agencies to serve as such peer counselors2 7#c7 purchase materials to be used exclusively to provide such training2 and 7#d7 disseminate such information and materials as are necessary to conduct the program4 7c7 ,definition ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term eligible entity means a nonprofit organization with expertise and experience with respect to the health and life safety of members of fire and emergency medical services agencies4 7#b7 ,the term member-- 7,a7 with respect to an emergency medical services agency1 means an employee1 regardless of rank or whether they receive compensation 7as defined in section #abjd7g7 of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbhd7g772 and 7,b7 with respect to a fire department1 means a firefighter 7any employee1 regardless of rank or whether they receive compensation1 of a ,federal1 ,state1 ,tribal1 or local fire department who is responsible for responding to calls for emergency service74 4 #d4 ,development of resources for educating mental health professionals about treating fire fighters and emergency medical services personnel 7a7 ,in general ,the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,fire ,administration1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 shall develop and make publicly available resources that may be used by the ,federal ,government and other entities to educate mental health professionals about-- 7#a7 the culture of ,federal1 ,state1 ,tribal1 and local career1 volunteer1 and combination fire departments and emergency medical services agencies2 7#b7 the different stressors experienced by firefighters and emergency medical services personnel1 supervisory firefighters and emergency medical services personnel1 and chief officers of fire departments and emergency medical services agencies2 7#c7 challenges encountered by retired firefighters and emergency medical services personnel2 and 7#d7 evidence-based therapies for mental health issues common to firefighters and emergency medical services personnel within such departments and agencies4 7b7 ,consultation ,in developing resources under subsection 7a71 the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,fire ,administration and the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall consult with national fire and emergency medical services organizations4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term firefighter means any employee1 regardless of rank or whether they receive compensation1 of a ,federal1 ,state1 ,tribal1 or local fire department who is responsible for responding to calls for emergency service4 7#b7 ,the term emergency medical services personnel means any employee1 regardless of rank or whether they receive compensation1 as defined in section #abjd7g7 of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbhd7g774 7#c7 ,the term chief officer means any individual who is responsible for the overall operation of a fire department or an emergency medical services agency1 irrespective of whether such individual also serves as a firefighter or emergency medical services personnel4 #e4 ,best practices and other resources for addressing posttraumatic stress disorder in public safety officers 7a7 ,development2 updates ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall-- 7#a7 develop and assemble evidence-based best practices and other resources to identify1 prevent1 and treat posttraumatic stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers2 and 7#b7 reassess and update1 as the ,secretary determines necessary1 such best practices and resources1 including based upon the options for interventions to reduce suicide among public safety officers identified in the annual reports required by section #cag,u7e77#a77;,f7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act1 as added by section #b of this ,act4 7b7 ,consultation ,in developing1 assembling1 and updating the best practices and resources under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall consult with1 at a minimum1 the following3 7#a7 ,public health experts4 7#b7 ,mental health experts with experience in studying suicide and other profession-related traumatic stress4 7#c7 ,clinicians with experience in diagnosing and treating mental health issues4 7#d7 ,relevant national police1 fire1 and emergency medical services organizations4 7c7 ,availability ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall make the best practices and resources under subsection 7a7 available to ,federal1 ,state1 and local fire1 law enforcement1 and emergency medical services agencies4 7d7 ,federal training and development programs ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall work with ,federal departments and agencies1 including the ,united ,states ,fire ,administration1 to incorporate education and training on the best practices and resources under subsection 7a7 into ,federal training and development programs for public safety officers4 7e7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term public safety officer means-- 7#a7 a public safety officer as defined in section #abjd of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh2 or 7#b7 a public safety telecommunicator as described in detailed occupation #dc-ejca in the ,standard ,occupational ,classification ,manual of the ,office of ,management and ,budget 7#bjah74