NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2020) New York City will partner with the US Department of Defense to support the mental health of frontline workers fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Think about what our doctors, our nurses, our health care workers have gone through. We can't let them carry that burden alone," de Blasio said. "We need something even more in this moment of crisis, and that's where our military comes in. Now, they're going to play a crucial role in addressing the mental health challenges as well."
The new initiative - Helping Healers Heal Program - will be based on mental health support provided to soldiers in combat environments, according to New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray.
The program will integrate existing military tools and bring about 1,000 military behavioral staff to support the mental health of medical workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 fight, McCray said.
Under the plan which will be fully put in place by June, military experts in dealing with combat stress will assess frontline health care personnel individually and connect them to support programs, McCray added.
New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. As of Wednesday, there have been at least 164,841 cases of the virus in the city alone and 18,015 deaths across the state.
At least two health care professionals, who treated COVID-19 cases in New York City, have died by suicide this week, according to media reports.
