News

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2022 – The Medical Society of the District of Columbia is pleased to announce the launch of the Healthy Physician Foundation, a new 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to addressing and preventing moral injury in the physician population, specifically in the DC area.

Physicians are the lynchpin of healthcare but are vulnerable to extreme burnout and high rates of suicide –nearly double that of the general population – a reality that has been compounded by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.  The Healthy Physician Foundation was established to provide physicians with new tools, resources, and leadership to overcome the crippling impact of moral injury and burnout.

Healthy Physician Foundation Chair Dr. Susanne Bathgate emphasized that “District physicians are struggling from moral injury, burnout and constant threats to their wellbeing and health. The Healthy Physician Foundation will provide them with the support that they need and deserve.”

Learn how you can support the Foundation in its important mission at https://www.msdc.org/about-MSDC/HPF.

The Healthy Physician Foundation, launched this week, marks a new phase in MSDC’s mission to stop the scourge of moral injury, burnout, and addiction. It combines in one place two existing Medical Society programs, the Physician Health Program and the Wellbeing Program, and will build on those to provide enhanced programs, resources, and community to a profession overwhelmed and overburdened by myriad stressors and challenges. 

The Physician Health Program has for decades helped physicians dealing with addiction and career- or life-threatening illness. In 2020, MSDC launched a comprehensive physician wellness initiative to provide a broad array of resources and services to physicians. Currently, these resources include a physician wellbeing app, free consultations with vetted wellness professionals, a line-up of community-building programs, and articles on wellbeing.

The Foundation will house these two programs and build on them to address the full spectrum of physician health: from wellness and optimal physical and behavioral health at one end to illness--spanning physical and behavioral illness and addiction--and treatment at the opposite end.  As we near the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, the need for a healthy, resilient physician workforce has never been more dire. 

Through the Foundation, individuals and organizations concerned about the scourge of moral injury, burnout, and addiction can focus their giving on that single cause. Moreover, they can ensure that donations will be tax-deductible to the maximum extent of the law under the Foundation’s 501(c)3 status. The Foundation and Wellbeing Program are supported by a grant from the Institute for Technology in HealthCare, a non-profit organization, located in Washington, DC.  For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, see https://www.msdc.org/about-MSDC/HPF.

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Media Contact:
Pia Duryea  
Medical Society of the District of Columbia  
duryea@msdc.org     
(202) 355-9414  

About the Healthy Physician Foundation

The Healthy Physician Foundation is an affiliated 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to addressing and preventing moral injury in the physician population, with a specific focus in the DC area. This organization exists to provide programs, resources, and community to a profession overwhelmed and overburdened by stress. Learn more at https://www.msdc.org/about-MSDC/HPF