New York State Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Tuesday she will be taking Samara Khan, a community health worker at Bellevue Hospital, as her virtual guest to President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address. 

Khan is part of the NYC Public Health Corps, which was funded in part by the American Rescue Plan initiative.

During a virtual news conference Tuesday afternoon, Khan described the role community health workers fulfill on a daily basis.

Samara Khan will join Sen. Gillibrand as her virtual guest to President Biden's State of the Union address.

“Community health workers are helping our patients navigate the health care system, or advocating for our patients within the health care system, and we are carrying out one of the core principles of public health,” Khan said, after recounting how she helped one New Yorker lower the price of their insulin from $500 to $5.

She added that she applied for the job while working towards her masters degree at CUNY, and that the clinical experience it offered would be invaluable as she looks forward to a future in the health care system.

In anticipation of the president’s address tonight, Gillibrand said she expects Biden to discuss ongoing projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law, the long-lasting impact of COVID relief in strengthening public health and helping the U.S. recovery, and the war in Ukraine, among other topics.