New York National Guard Doctor Wears Many Hats as N.Y.C. Emergency Room Doctor and Flight Surgeon

Story by Capt. Michael O'Hagan

A New York City emergency room doctor at the heart of the fight against COVID-19 recently added another role to his already impressive list of medical credentials this spring: flight surgeon in the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing.

Now a major, Dr. Lorenzo Paladino has 20 years of experience as an emergency room doctor and has also been training the pararescuemen of the 106th Rescue Wing’s 103rd Rescue Squadron in medical techniques for the past six years.

In civilian life, Paladino is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and also at Kings County Hospital Center. Research he conducted on the use of a single ventilator to support up to four subjects in 2008 was cited in a March 26, New York Times article on the COVID-19 crisis. Paladino has also traveled to Washington to discuss his research with federal health officials.

Dr. Lorenzo Paladino. | Photo credit DVIDS/Courtesy Dr. Lorenzo Paladino

“We are grateful and proud to have Dr. Paladino join us,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Stephen Rush, the 106th Rescue Wing Medical Group Commander.

“He is a master educator at one of New York City’s busiest emergency rooms,” Rush said. “His clinical skills and research background are a force multiplier for the Air National Guard, the Air Force and the pararescue community.”

Journey to Serving in the Air Force National Guard

Paladino said he made his decision to join the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing over a year ago. He liked the idea of being able to serve in his community while also serving the nation, Paladino said.

“I was always a New Yorker. I was born in New York, went to school in New York, went to med school in New York, I did my residency in New York also,” he said. “You always have a love for your hometown. I think being in New York was a big attraction, being able to help my hometown.”

Paladino’s journey into medicine started with scuba diving, then scuba rescue, then becoming a New York City paramedic, before deciding to go on to medical school. While working as a resident in training, Special Forces soldiers would rotate through his hospital for training and Paladino, as a former paramedic, would teach them.

Eventually he was invited to teach at the Special Forces School itself, where he would meet Dr. Rush from the 106th Rescue Wing.

“I want to help those who are helping us, the soldiers, the PJs [pararescuemen], the airmen, I want to help them do their job because they are helping us for the greater good,” Paladino explained.

A Doctor in the Era of COVID-19

Along with working in a big city hospital, Paladino has operated in austere environments. He has worked in the aftermath of earthquakes in Haiti, disasters in South America and with refugees in Iraq. These experiences prepared him for working in now-overcrowded emergency rooms in America’s largest city.

“I’ve been in places where the basics like toilet paper and food were scarce even for us as the rescuers, but also where the medical supplies were scarce for us. So I’ve grown accustomed to working in those environments,” Paladino said.

“But it is very alien to do that in my own zip code.”

Paladino’s swearing into the Armed Forces was planned before the current health crisis and there was discussion about putting it off or doing it by teleconference, he said. Instead, with downtime being so precious at the moment, he decided to come to the Wing in person to have the oath of office administered by Lt. Col. Glyn Weir, the commander of the 103rd Rescue Squadron.

Paladino then carried out his first action as a major that afternoon, holding a training session for the 103rd Rescue Squadron’s pararescuemen. He recalled not answering to one of the pararescuemen calling him a major for the first time.

It took him a moment to realize, “Oh, he’s talking to me.“

"The ability to attract people like Doctor Paladino to join is what makes the Air National Guard so unique,” said Col. Michael Bank, the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing.

“I am continually amazed at the level of talent and ability we recruit to our team,” Bank said. “Dr. Lorenzo Paladino has already been making a difference for us as an instructor and we couldn’t be happier to have him join our team. As the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing, I am proud we are home to some of the best medical minds in the military.”

-This story originally appeared on dvidshub.net. It has been edited for USO.org.