State leaders are dealing with another crisis that's affecting the youngest among us.

The rise in youth suicide and mental illness.

A new program at one of New Jersey's largest health care systems is pledging to train all of its primary care nurses on how to spot, evaluate and treat kids and teens who show signs of seriously considering suicide.

All by 2025.

It comes as hospitals across the state are reporting increases in pediatric emergency rooms, psychiatry visits.

Melissa Ross Cooper has the story.

If it weren't for the care I was given, despite rejecting it as much as I could, I wouldn't be standing here today.

Jasmine Samson expressing her gratitude to the staff of Hackensack Meridian Health for helping to save her life after struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts as a teenager.

You're consumed by our mental illnesses.

We are in so deep that we cannot hear anything in the midst of these cognitive distortions.

You may very well be the first light this you see coming out of a near-death suicide attempt and how you address them is vital.

So Samson is applauding Hackensack, Meridian Health, its commitment to caring for young patients dealing with mental illness.

The hospital is launching a new program in partnership with the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide that will train nurses how to properly spot when adolescents need help.

Here are the most state of the art Technology helps us know when a lifesaving transplant is needed or the best approach to heal and fix date of fracture.

But even the most advanced equipment can't always provide us with the insight of a child's mental health and emotional well-being.

For this, we rely heavily on our dedicated and compassionate, caring team members who interact with our patients and their families.

And even then, it's not always easy to gauge a child's emotional state of mind, which today is just so very important.

The program will provide training to more than 600 nurses starting next month, giving them the tools they need in order to better understand and manage behavioral health needs of at risk children.

These nurses are the ones who are organically becoming trusted adults in these children's lives, and these kids are dealing with despair.

Medical issues that can create anxiety.

And it's this training isn't only going to help these kids.

It's going to help their families who are standing next to them, going through this trauma with them.

Because the nurses are also going to have the tools to be able to talk to the families in ways that they need to be heard and listen to and know that that's part of her role.

We know that suicide is the second leading cause of death among our youth, and we know our nurses are uniquely positioned to play a critical role in suicide prevention.

Our nurses are at the forefront of patient care.

They are key to the successful outcomes.

Absolutely play an extraordinary role in the clinical care, but they're also advocates, intermediaries and even counselors at times.

We want to ensure that our nurses are equipped with the knowledge and resources they need to recognize the warning signs of suicide and help identify those children who may need a little extra support.

All nurses across Hackensack Meridian Health are also expected to receive training under the program by 2025.

For NJ Spotlight News.

I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.