NEW YORK - When the coronavirus emerged as a public health menace, Vibhu Krishna, a medical student at Columbia University, helped to provide food and protective gear to doctors and nurses. Then she found another way to help. She created a digital platform for front-line medical workers to tell their stories.

"Faces of the Frontline" features posts like one about a pregnant Emergency Room.

"The community rallied behind her commenting like 'we're here for you. We support you,'" Krishna said.

She says this project fulfills her ambition to help people.

"The wellness aspect of this is huge. For people to share their anxieties. We had a nurse respond the other day, just saying, 'I needed to hear this today. Thank you,'" Krishna said.

Dr. Mannat Kaur works at a public hospital in Queens. She says seeing these stories and sharing them is therapeutic.

"I don't want to be a hero. I just want to do my job the way I used to before this pandemic hit, which to be fair, we were always working at capacity. It was a difficult flue season too. We didn't necessarily sign up to be on the front line of a war, but we are there," Kaur said.

She has days she can't face it.

"Yes. It's hard to accept being called a hero when the patients are still dying. It's hard. The risks we take everyday are high," Kaur added.

Dr. Dennis DeLeon posted a photo that helps to remind him this was always his dream job.

"You start seeing people your age, no medical history. Struggling to breathe coming in, then it really hit homes. This is something can affect everyone. I think a lot of us fear every day when we step into the hospital. It would be wrong not to," DeLeon said.  

"Faces of the Frontlines" includes all kinds of medical workers. Even veterinarians like Gabrielle Fadl.

"I recently had a doctor tell me that it's kind of strange to think of dogs and cats as patients, but that's what they are to us. But we have a responsibility and we took an oath to take care of them, especially in times of crisis," Fadl said.

"Faces of the Frontline" began in New York but now includes stories from across the country.

Krishna hopes to expand to include other front-line workers - not just to share their stories, but to document their heroic work so it is never forgotten.