SafeHaven, Virginia's clinician mental health program

Verified facts

Program

SafeHaven

Organization

Medical Society of Virginia

Location

Statewide, Virginia

Official website

https://www.msv.org/programs/safehaven/

Reported by the program

The program describes the following on its official information, reviewed on July 29, 2026.

What it is

SafeHaven was created by the Medical Society of Virginia as a confidential resource for healthcare practitioners seeking help for career fatigue, burnout, and other mental health concerns.

The confidentiality law

Virginia enacted SafeHaven's legal protections through House Bill 115 and Senate Bill 120, signed in March 2020, which the Medical Society describes as the first program of its kind in the nation. The law treats information and communications originating in SafeHaven as privileged, protecting records, reports, and proceedings.

Who it covers

The program says its protections were later extended to include nurses and pharmacists, along with medical, nursing, physician assistant, and pharmacy students, and that it works alongside state-led physician health programs as an in-the-moment resource.

shrinkiatry context

SafeHaven is the distinctive Virginia entry, because its core innovation isn't a clinic, it's a law. One of the biggest barriers to a clinician asking for help is the fear that seeking care will be discoverable and used against their license, and Virginia was the first state to write a confidentiality privilege specifically for a clinician wellness program. That legal shield, more than any single service, is what SafeHaven contributes, and it has since spread to other states. For the Atlas, it's the Virginia physician and clinician mental health entry.

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