“It [did] not even feel like New York,” he said. “It totally changed my perception of the city. It was a ghost town when we arrived and entirely deserted.”
This is what the 2022 Catholic Doctor of the Year awardee, Dr. Daniel O’Connell shared about his time in New York during the height of COVID in the spring of 2020.
Dr. O’Connell received the award during the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Healthcare Professionals Mass. Daniel credited the work of the nurses and respiratory therapists for the lifesaving work in New York and said he was accepting the award for all of these dedicated professionals as well.
Serving as a medical officer of the United States Air Force Reserves since 2010, this service now calls him to divide his time between New York, California, and Hawaii. And it was serving as a medical officer that called upon him to deploy to New York at the height of the COVID crisis in 2020.
For his service Captain Daniel O’Connell, MD was awarded the Air Force, Achievement Medal. In the commendation, it was noted that; “Captain Daniel E. O’Connell distinguished himself by outstanding achievement while assigned to the 64th Expeditionary Group, First Air Expeditionary Task Force, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey as a medical provider.” It further notes that he deployed with less than 24 hours’ notice in support of the COVID pandemic in New York and that; “His seamless integration into the hospital workforce immediately enabled the mitigation of patient suffering during an unprecedented high operational tempo.”
Mission Doctors Association was honored to present this award, recognizing Dr, O’Connell’s faith, service, and leadership.
National coverage of this award can be found here: