STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
Hospital honcho honored for public service
CONEY ISLAND
Hip, hip, hooray for Joseph Marcellino,
the director of Emergency
Management at Coney Island Hospital,
who recently received an award
for outstanding public service.
Marcellino, who was chosen as the
recipient of the 2019 Sloan Public
Service Award out of an original pool
of 250,000 candidates, led the hospital
through Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm
Sandy in 2012, drawing on his
lifelong career in crisis management.
“While everyone is running around
like a headless chicken, I’m the calm,
cool, collected one.
When everyone is
running out of the
fi re, I’m running
into the fi re,” said
Marcellino. “That’s
what I do. I’m the
guy you count on.”
Marcellino oversaw
the response
to both extreme
weather events, which each presented
unique challenges. The hospital evacuated
hundreds of patients to other facilities
in the days leading up to Irene,
but remained sheltered in the hospital’s
upper fl oors during Sandy.
“During Sandy, we had patients
coming to the hospital by boat,” he
said. “People look at hospitals as a
place of refuge. Whatever’s happening
in the community, people are always
going to go to the place of refuge.”
Marcellino said the award was in
his name, but belonged to the team
that he oversees.
“I’m so grateful and humbled to be
getting this award, but this award isn’t
just about me. It’s about having a great
team of people around you,” he said.
While the accolades belong to his
colleagues, the $10,000 reward is going
to his children’s college fund.
“Although, with the taxes in New
York City, who knows,” he joked.
A decades-long career in emergency
management has left Marcellino
prepared for almost anything.
“Weapons of mass destruction is
the worst nightmare,” he said. “In the
event of a nuclear bomb, I’m going to
sit down with my wife, and open the liquor
cabinet.”
Sanding O congratulates Marcellino
on the award, and for a successful
career! — Aidan Graham
SUNSET PARK
Miracle worker
Three cheers for Dr. Sheila Blumberg,
a board-certifi ed vascular
surgeon at NYU Langone Hospital–
Brooklyn who put patient Jose
Palacios back on a path to wellness
when she helped save his foot after he
developed a severe infection because
of complications related to Type 2 diabetes.
When Palacios arrived to the operating
room last March, he thought he
might never walk again. The infection
in his foot had gotten so bad his doctor
told him amputation may be necessary.
But when the surgery was over,
he could hardly believe his eyes.
“I fi gured when I woke up, I would
have no foot,” says Palacios. “So when I
looked over and saw my foot, I thought,
‘Wait a minute, am I dreaming?’ ”
Blumberg, a board-certifi ed vascular
surgeon, says Palacios was experiencing
COURIER L 40 IFE, MAY 31–JUNE 6, 2019 M BR B G
septic shock when he fi rst
arrived to the hospital’s Emergency
Department. He had developed a severe
infection because of diabetic foot
ulcers.
While Palacios’s outside doctor told
him the foot was unsalvageable, Blumberg
was able to uncover the underlying
issue — and reverse his fortune.
“He had deteriorated so much because
he not only had diabetic foot disease,
but also chronic venous disease
that went untreated,” she said. “He
would not have been able to heal his leg
without resolving those conditions.”
Blumberg used a procedure called
WILLIAMSBURG
“Orange is the New Black” actress
Diane Guerrero joined forces
with the do-gooders at the Fruit
Tree Foundation to plant trees at
a Williamsburg social services provider
on May 16.
The event is part of Fruit Tree
Foundation’s ongoing mission to
plant 200,000 fruit trees by 2020, in
an initiative that will strengthen
communities, by providing tasty
and nutritious fruit, according to
tree planting’s host.
“We believe the planting,
growth of the fruits and the education
that accompanies the process
can be used to empower residents
to be more conscious of their environment
and help them consider
healthy lifestyles,” says Juan Ramos,
Executive Director of Los
Sures, a social services provide located
on Hewes Street, where the
trees were planted.
At the tree-planting effort, Guerrero
spoke to locals about the importance
of fruit in a good and healthy
diet, claiming that advocating on
behalf of apples and oranges is one
of her top priorities.
“This cause is particularly close
to my heart as I understand what
it’s like to grow up in a community
with little access to good nutrition
and fresh fruits,” said Guerrero.
“Not only will the community be
able to enjoy vital nutrition at arm’s
reach, fruit trees help sustain natural
water resources, air pollutants
are fi ltered so people can breathe
easier, the soil quality improves,
and communities can participate in
everything from nutrition to farming
together.”
Meanwhile, artist Ed Massey decorated
Los Sures with an extravagant
— and, naturally, very fruity — mural,
which will serve locals as a reminder
to eat their fruits and veggies.
Finally, the planting became
host to a pop-up market serving
fresh fruits, along with organic supplements
and vitamins.
— Colin Mixson
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
Trailblazer
Standing O salutes federal
Judge Pamela Chen for her
trailblazing work.
Chen is a federal judge for the
United States District Court
for the Eastern District of New
York in Downtown, and was the
fi rst openly-gay Asian federal
judge when she took the bench in
2013.
She was honored for her work
at the Brooklyn Women’s Bar
Association at its Asian American
and Pacifi c Islander Heritage
Celebration on May 13,
which had plenty of fanfare and
food for the attendees.
“It was a wonderful event, you
can never have a bad event when
you have lion dancers,” Chen
said.
The Manhattan-based law professional
excisional debridement and skin graft
techniques to reconstruct his foot and
clear out the infection. To prevent future
occurrences and improve blood
fl ow to the leg, Blumberg used a process
called laser ablation on the troublesome
veins that limited circulation.
As a specialist in vascular surgery,
Blumberg is part of NYU Langone’s
Vein Center, one of the top vein treatment
programs in the city. The center
uses minimally invasive procedures
to treat conditions affecting veins (the
blood vessels that transport blood toward
the heart), including varicose
veins, spider veins, deep vein thrombosis,
and venous ulcers.
Since the surgery, Palacios, 56, has
been focusing on eating a healthy diet,
seeing his doctors regularly, and getting
plenty of exercise — on his own
two feet.
has presided over cases
such as the targeted surveillance
of Muslims by the New York Police
Department and has a proven
track record of bringing justice
to victims of human traffi cking.
The celebration, held at the
Bar Association’s Remsen Street
headquarters, was hosted by the
lawyers group, as well as the
Asian American Judges Association
of New York.
Chen said it was very gratifying
to be recognized for her
work.
“It’s nice to know that the
work that you do and the public’s
perception of it is that it’s done
impartial and fairly,” she said.
— Kevin Duggan
FRUITY: “Orange is the New Black” star Diane Guerrero helped plant trees in Williamsburg.
Photo by Craig Barritt
‘Orange’ star helps plant trees
Photo by Steve Solomonson
Photo by Caroline Ourso