Close friends Joshua Paredes, Michael Walujo and John LeBlanc are working together to set up a crisis help line for nurses following the suicide of their friend Michael Odell in January.
““We want nurses to realize that you’re not alone. You don’t have to check out early. You know, we’re here to talk to you before you take those last drastic steps.””
A nurse's death raises the alarm about the profession's mental health crisis
About 250 healthcare workers have signed up to provide support to their colleagues. And a law firm is providing pro-bono support to help get their group chartered. They hope to launch in the next couple of months. They're also getting help from a non-profit that helps military veterans cope with their mental health struggles.
“Veterans are in a unique position to be able to provide some insight and also help our brothers and sisters that are in the nursing field and frontline health care workers,””
There's significant overlap between what soldiers experience at war and what health care workers have been through the past year, he says, that put them at a higher risk of PTSD and suicide.
And peer support has helped many veterans, says Dalgarn. Studies have found widespread benefits — from improvements in symptoms of depression and PTSD to making people more likely to engage in their own care. In fact, it's been so useful that the Department of Veterans Affairs has incorporated peer support specialists into its primary care clinics.