Chad was smiling that crisp early April day in 2008 when I met him in Harrisburg at the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association's (PSNA) annual legislative day. Nurses from around the commonwealth gathered to lobby government officials to keep nurses and patients safe.

Chad, PSNA's Government Relations Specialist, took my fellow nurses to speak to legislators, including an impressive young state representative from Montgomery County who would one day serve as our governor -- Josh Shapiro.

Looking back, Chad was the person who first pushed me to get involved in politics.

Even though Chad was a Republican, he told me that I, a Democrat, needed to run for office.

Why?

"Because we need good people in politics," he told me.

Because of my positive experience, I returned for the annual legislative day many times. Many years after my first lobbying experience, I was elected as PSNA's President. I left that role to run for state representative.

Tragically, though, a few years after I met Chad, he died by suicide at the age of 32.

I learned later that Chad was an Iraq War veteran and an Army Ranger. The post-traumatic stress injuries he experienced during his service for our nation were never treated.

Many of Pennsylvanians' 100,000 or so first responders (e.g., firefighters, police officers and EMTs), are also veterans. First responders, similar to military veterans like Chad, often experience trauma in their roles. Like a soldier, on any day, a first responder may experience death, grief, injury, pain, or violence. While the average person will witness less than five traumatic events throughout their lives, first responders may experience about 200 traumatic events throughout their career.

In Pennsylvania, post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) is rarely covered by workers' compensation. As a result of the lack of support, first responders feel like they have no choice but to "push through," leaving trauma and PTSI to go unaddressed.

Countless studies show the link between work hours, frequent and rotating shifts, trauma, and mental and behavioral health issues for first responders. Pushing through without support can also lead to mistakes and poor decision-making. A fire captain recently told me that the lack of mental health support doesn't just have a human cost -- it's a huge budgetary burden. Firefighters going out for long periods or leaving service due to unaddressed trauma further strains their current firefighters, adds to overtime, and forces departments to hire.

I was proud to work with Rep. Jenn O'Mara, who lost her Philadelphia firefighter father two decades ago due to gun suicide attributed to untreated PTSI, to put together a plan to fix this. Working with other state representatives who were also first responders in Harrisburg, and one representative who was also a workers' compensation attorney, we created a bipartisan bill to make first responders eligible for PTSI benefits under workers' compensation. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, our legislation passed its final hurdle by passing the Pa. House again, and Gov. Shapiro is expected to sign our bill into law!

As a nurse practitioner, I've treated patients with PTSI, and I know that, like a broken arm or leg, PTSI needs time and therapy to heal. Sadly, my friend Chad Cope never received the assistance he needed to treat his PTSI. But I believe our legislation covering PTSI under workers' compensation for first responders in Pa. will save lives. Our law will keep Pennsylvania strong and resilient by helping our first responders get the care and treatment they deserve.