Bronx nurse wins $100K for loans
Soundview resident chosen as health care hero on Live with Kelly and Ryan
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,4 OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 BTR
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BY JASON COHEN
Jose Perpignan Jr. has dedicated
his life to helping others and recently,
the Soundview resident was nationally
recognized for his hard work in
the health care fi eld.
On Oct. 7, the nurse was named the
winner of “Live with Kelly and Ryan’s”
Healthcare Hero $100K Giveaway
in partnership with online personal
fi nance company SoFi.
Perpignan is a husband, a father
of toddlers and a nurse at New York-
Presbyterian Hospital in New York
City. The millennial worked grueling
12-hour shifts during the peak
of COVID-19 and witnessed the some
of the darkest days in his life and
the city .
“Being on “Live with Kelly and
Ryan,” that was amazing,” he said. “I
really have to thank SoFi. It basically
cleared out most of my student debt
loans, which I’m so grateful for. You
pray for something like that.”
The contest called for viewers to
nominate a doctor or nurse who has
made a difference in their lives or community
during the global pandemic.
Nominees would be eligible for a prize
of up to $100,000 to help them pay down
their student loan debt.
Perpignan, a SoFi member, has a total
of $130,000 in student loan debt and
was nominated by his friend Erika
for demonstrating “an extraordinary
commitment to his community during
the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“As a husband and father, Jose
never thought twice about putting his
health at risk to serve his patients and
his community,” Erika said.
Perpignan grew up in Brooklyn
and moved to the Bronx four years
ago. Since he was young, he always
wanted to be in the medical fi eld. His
father Jose Sr. was an EMT and while
attending college at Binghamton University,
Perpignan wanted to follow in
dad’s footsteps.
He works in the cardiothoracic department
at New York-Presbyterian
but helped in the ER and ICU during
the height of the pandemic.
“COVID was something I’ve never
experienced,” he said to the Bronx
Times. “I couldn’t prepare for something
so traumatic.”
As visitors were not permitted in
the hospital, Perpignan sat with patients
through their pain and when
they called family members on
iPads or phones.
“Knowing their loved one is dying
alone, that was the toughest one for
me,” he explained.
From the end of February to early
June, he and his colleagues did not
go home after work. Instead, they
stayed at a hotel in the city so they
would not expose their families to
the coronavirus.
He missed his wife and kids very
much and it was hard to be away.
“My wife Tiara, she was
scared,” he recalled. “It was very
tough emotionally.”
One person who stood out to him
was a nurse who came out of retirement
to help fi ght COVID-19. While
working, he contracted the virus
and died.
“I couldn’t imagine how his family
and friends felt,” Perpignan said.
“Watching him pass and be there and
grieve through an iPad, I will never
forget that. He put work in the fi eld
for years.”
Throughout the pandemic, Perpignan
not only helped people at
New York-Presbyterian, but also his
neighbors in Soundview.
He checked in on homebound seniors
and immunocompromised residents,
grocery shopped for them,
picked up their medication and
provided information on PPE and
health tips.
“The elderly, they were scared to go
out,” he said.
In 2017, Perpignan also co-founded
the Greater New York City Black
Nurses Association to provide resources
for underserved communities.
Since then, he has spoken to youth
groups about his experience as a nurse
and the impact of COVID-19 and co-led
virtual town halls to demand health
care access for underserved communities
and PPE for healthcare workers.
Since receiving the $100,000, he
is on cloud nine. With that money,
Perpignan was able to refi nance his
remaining balance with SoFi at a
lower rate.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity
and I’m grateful to be a winner and
recognized,” he said.
Jose Perpignan Jr., a Bronx nurse at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in NYC, has won $100K
to pay off his student loan debt. Photos courtesy of Jose Perpignan Jr.
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