WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A Charlottesville family is receiving a high honor in Washington, D.C., Monday night.

On Monday, Senator Tim Kaine met with the Feist family to congratulate them ahead of the ceremony where they received the Surgeon General's Medallion, the highest civilian honor the US Surgeon General can present.

It’s being awarded to them for successfully advocating for Kaine's bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. It was named in honor of Jennifer Feist's sister Dr. Lorna Breen, a physician in Charlottesville who died by suicide after working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation promotes health care provider mental health.

In a pre-recorded video shown at the ceremony, Jennifer and her husband, Corey, shared what the process has meant to them.

"What we've learned in this process is that when the unspeakable happens to you and you speak about it, it gives others to speak too," said Corey Feist.

In a statement, Kaine said in part, "I am immensely grateful to Jennifer and Corey Feist and Dr. Breen's entire family for their work to turn their grief into action and provide our healers with the robust support they need and deserve.  I will continue to work with them to stand up for our health care heroes."