The impact of COVID-19 has left no one in New York untouched, and health care workers saw some of the worst of its devastating effects. 

Republican State Sen. Daphne Jordan introduced legislation that would create a "Health Care Worker Peer Support Program" and provide counseling services for those who have been working in health care. 

This bill is modeled after the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer-to Peer Veterans's Counseling Program, named after Private First Class Joseph P. Dwyer, a MT. Sinai, New York native, who faced the challenges of PTSD after serving in Iraq. This veteran's counseling program was launched in order to provide a network of peer to peer counseling for veterans. 

The Health Care Peer to Peer Support Program would work much the same way, by providing a safe space for health care workers to come together and share their experiences on the frontline. 

“New York’s frontline health care workforce has been working non-stop since the COVID outbreak, putting in exhausting, long hours under incredibly difficult, demanding, and dangerous conditions," Jordan said.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 revealed and reminded us of the heroism and depths of sacrifice that health care workers are willing to make to protect and serve their fellow New Yorkers. Establishing a Health Care Worker Peer Support Program modeled on the successful, proven Dwyer Program is one way we can help deliver much-needed peer support services for our health care heroes."

Jordan said the need for this bill was heightened after the state Legislature heard testimony from hospital workers, some who shared they struggled with forms of PTSD after what they experienced.