In honor of National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, let's support our health care workers.
October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening month. Over the past year and a half, health care workers across the United States have tackled the Covid-19 pandemic on the frontlines day after day. They have cared for those we love with empathy, compassion and lifesaving critical skills. They are taking care of us — but who is taking care of them?
Our health care professionals have been tirelessly working under nearly impossible and unsustainable levels of stress to keep their communities safe, and it's taking a toll. In a recent study of frontline health care workers, 55 percent have self-reported burnout, and 62 percent say the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health. Alarmingly, three in 10 health care workers have considered leaving their chosen profession altogether during this pandemic.
What's more, 41 percent of our health care workers are millennials, and they will continue to comprise the health care workforce for decades to come. And yet, national labor shortages are forcing fewer employees to shoulder more of the work: The American Nursing Association estimates a need for 1.1 million registered nurses in the U.S. by 2022. It is of paramount importance that we work to create a sustainable health care system that takes care of its workers — not just to ensure great outcomes for patients, but also to retain and attract the hardworking health care staff we depend on.
Amidst staggering numbers of hospital admissions and new Covid-19 cases, our health care infrastructure is at a critical point: Our health care workers are in desperate need of support. The good news is that each of us can make a difference, today. In observance of National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, here's how you can help:.
- Recognize their efforts and sacrifice. First and foremost, thank them for their service. Whether this is on a personal level by checking in with friends and family who work in health care, or on a macro level by organizing community events to share their critical needs and perspectives from the frontlines, providing space to let them share what they have seen and are experiencing can be critical.
- Build trust with one another by listening to the advice of our trusted medical professionals. They've devoted years of training, studying and practice to fulfill the call for a cause bigger than themselves.
- Find the resources those working in health care ask for. Does your friend need help finding a therapist? Does your local hospital need more volunteers? Does your city need more contact tracers? There are lots of ways to help those on the frontlines without having formal medical training.
The effects of doing this work now will be long lasting. Young people are at the beginning of their careers, with so much possibility and talent. It is in our best interest to create a culture of support — especially as it relates to mental health — in the workplace for these early professionals so they can continue to grow into the leaders and pioneers that make America, well, America. If we act now, we can do more than just guard against future workforce shortages. We can instill a culture of support, empathy, and care — for everyone in the health care system.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.