Major Daniel E. O’Connell, MD, MPH, receives the 2021 Catholic Doctor of the Year Award on Oct. 26, during the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ annual Mass for Catholic Healthcare Professionals. / Mission Doctors Association.
Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 26, 2021 / 18:39 pm (CNA).
A neurologist who responded to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020 has been awarded this year’s Catholic Doctor of the Year Award.
Major Daniel E. O’Connell, MD, MPH, received the award Oct. 26 during the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Mass for Catholic Healthcare Professionals.
“Dan had shared his journey at the height of COVID in New York, and his service really stood out,” said Elise Frederick, Executive Director of the Mission Doctors Association, which bestows the award.
“Being able to let one’s faith lead in an environment where you are surrounded by others who share your faith is one thing, but doing so, quietly witnessing your values in such critical and challenging times takes a true leader.”
O’Connell was raised in the Catholic Church, and he said his Catholic faith is integral to his medical career.
“I certainly cannot see myself doing medicine without my Catholic Christian foundation,” he said. “I think that is a major driver— if not the ultimate driver— for me doing it, because I can’t imagine being a physician without that foundation.”
He attended public schools until medical school.
“I specifically sought out a Catholic medical school, which I think is somewhat unique in the modern era,” O’Connell said. “I never had that Catholic school experience, and…I wanted my grounding as a physician to be of Catholic origin.”
He attended medical school at the University of Loyola in Chicago. O’Connell said he found that Loyola emphasized ethical treatment of patients, with a grounding in Catholic spirituality.
He recalled the first day of an anatomy class. Medical students learn anatomy from individuals who have donated their bodies postmortem to the school. O’Connell remembers a Catholic priest blessed the cadavers, and prayed for the souls of the individuals who had donated their bodies.
“And there was a pledge to treat these cadavers … with the utmost respect,” O’Connell said. “I thought that was a great initial grounding, moving forward in our training as physicians with that Catholic mindset of respecting the human person, the dignity of the human person.”
Today, O’Connell is a practicing neurologist, with a specialization in neuro-oncology and pain management. He is also a medical officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
He first got involved in the military in college, through Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. After college, O’Connell enrolled in the Individual Ready Reserve.
His first assignment with the IRR was in 2019 to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, in response to a shortage of medical personnel in the state.
On April 4, 2020, O’Connell was asked to deploy within 24 hours to New York City, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He met with other reservists at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
“And from there, within a day’s time or so, we took buses up to a deserted Times Square,” he said.
O’Connell was familiar with New York City, because he did his internship in internal medicine at New York Medical College.
“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.”
O’Connell assumed he would serve at the Javits Convention Center, which had been converted into a makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients. But active duty military were helping to run that.
“The greatest need turned out to be in the surrounding community hospitals, and the various boroughs of New York City, which are extremely dense in population, and — especially in areas where we were assigned— are disproportionately impacted by the COVID crisis for a number of reasons,” he said.
O’Connell was assigned to serve at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, which he said was the second-most hit hospital in the city at the time. His work was limited to the ninth floor, which was a medical surgical unit that had been converted into a medical ICU.
He said the floor had about 30 rooms that held about 60 patients. He remembers the hospital drilled holes into the walls for wires to pass through from patients in the rooms to machines in the hallway.
“That’s how sort of desperate the situation was,” O’Connell said. “Temporary ventilators had to be put into the rooms, and they had to put IV lines— because there was no space in the rooms themselves, they’re not built to be a medical ICU — in the hallway outside.”
O’Connell is a neurologist, but his training included a year of internal medicine and three years of inpatient neurology. Still, he wasn’t certain how his skill set would translate to the needs of the patients before him.
“I did not know what to expect initially, but I was assigned to a floor team along with residents,” he said. “And, believe me, the last thing I wanted was to be a resident again. For anyone who knows anything about medicine, they can understand why. It was certainly a humbling experience.”
“The nurses and the respiratory therapists, in my opinion, did the bulk of the work, because the care [was] largely supportive.”
He said the majority of his time was spent doing essentially grunt medical work, though he did perform the occasional neurology exam. Between four and six days a week, O’Connell would check on patients, and help treat any conditions they suffered in addition to COVID-19. Many of his initial patients were older, and had medical conditions that were frequently exacerbated by the coronavirus.
O’Connell spent two months at Lincoln Hospital in New York City, and he estimates several dozen of his patients died from COVID-19 related respiratory compromise, or from worsening comorbidities in the setting of COVID-19 infection, during that time. By the end of his deployment, the number of COVID-19 patients on his floor had dropped substantially, allowing for a smooth transition of military reservists out of the hospital.
It has been more than a year since O’Connell’s deployment for the COVID-19 pandemic, and he is still processing the experience.
“My analogy is the 100 year flood,” he said. “It’s something that you don’t expect at all, but that you try to have some level of preparation for.”
“But one of the reasons why I joined the military reserves is to have an opportunity to assist, should something like this happen, as a military medical doctor.”
O’Connell said he struggled to accept the Catholic Doctor of the Year Award, because he believes respiratory therapists and nurses were the true heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he dedicated the award to them.
“They’re really the ones assisting us with the COVID crisis, because…there is no cure for COVID, so to speak,” he said. “There’s no treatment that you can give, in real time, for an acute COVID infection that will kill the virus immediately. Because of that, the needs are one of making the patients as otherwise healthy as possible, to diminish the likelihood of multisystem organ failure and other comorbidities.”
Still, O’Connell hopes his witness will encourage other doctors to let their faith guide their careers.
“Serving in a mission doctor capacity doesn’t always mean traveling to the opposite side of the world, to a remote location and helping individuals,” he said. “You can also do that locally.”
Mission Doctors Association will begin accepting nominations for its 2022 Catholic Doctor of the Year Award in January.
Past recipients of the Catholic Doctor of the Year Award include general surgeon and active missionary sister, Sr. Deirdre Byrne, who was a first responder on 9/11; and Dr. Tom Catena, a Catholic international missionary doctor. The award was given to ‘All Catholic Healthcare Workers’ in 2020.
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He “identifies” as catholic in the same way that Biden does. Twisting it to suit his political purposes. I find that dishonest and disgusting. Since there is no chance of his winning the nomination, Christie should have at least kept his moral stance intact. Pathetic.
Catholics aren’t required to take everything that comes out of a pope’s mouth as gospel truth. This is a misconception of many Protestants.
To be fair, the Pope has never denied Church teaching on marriage. Gov. Christie’s use of the declaration to appear more current and politically woke is even more disheartening than Fr. Martin’s publicized actions. Unless Gov.Christie actually misunderstood the document as changing Catholic marriage requirements, which is
possible considering the confusing way it’s written and how it’s been presented by the media. And perhaps the level of catechesis in people of Gov. Christie’s generation. Who knows?
We live in strange times.
Well if he can say, as he clearly did in Amoris Laetitia, that a man can “discern” that in his concrete circumstances that he can abandon his family and run away with his mistress to start a new family, he can conclude that this is what God is asking of him at this time, then it sounds pretty clear to me that Francis’ idea of marriage isn’t exactly the same as a Catholic idea of marriage.
I don’t thin kit is wise for Christie to follow the “changing times” instead of the Word of God. First the Pope never said it was legitimate to bless gay marriage. The blessings he speaks of is the same as blessing a Rosary or a home. It doesn’t seem that Christie knows his ancestral faith very well.
Christie should run,
At a fitness center and away from the food.
Not for President.
I remember seeing an enormous chair especially built to hold the weight and girth of President Taft.
I’d never vote for Gov. Christie but it wouldn’t be based upon his size. You’re correct that he needs to be concerned about it though.
I think this comment is a little mean-spirited. Like many Americans, I have struggled with weight since my early 30s. I gained a lot of weight while pregnant and have had a terrible time losing it and have actually gained even more weight over the years–and lost it—and gained it back—and lost it—and currently, have gained back around 12 pounds of the 40 that I lost last year after retiring, and am determined to get back on track with healthy eating and walking daily and limiting my sweets–it’s HARD to lose excess weight, and I imagine that with Mr. Christie’s crazy schedule due to his choice to get involved with politics, it’s even tougher than for someone like me that has a lot of free time since retiring! Thin people have no concept, no understanding, and no sympathy for how someone like me can eat an entire large package of Oreos in 24 hours–I’m guessing that sweets are one of Mr. Christie’s weaknesses, too! It’s a lot harder than thin people think to change your entire lifestyle (which revolves around food!) and find healthy ways to deal with the cravings for sweets/salts/sofas! My motivation to continue the fight against fat is my beautiful 2-year-old grandson–I want to live long enough to see him graduate from high school! I hope that Mr. Christie can find a way to be healthy, and I pray that he and many others will continue to be wooed by the Holy Spirit (perhaps through his priests) into all truth regarding same sex couples.
I hope Gov.Christie sees the light too, Mrs. Sharon and I wish him the best for his health and weight issues.
He had stomach stapled if remember correctly
Yes.
I don’t look to Chris Christie for guidance on issues of moral probity. And, in a similar vein, I don’t look to Mr. George Bergoglio to explicate the perennial teachings of the Catholic faith. I look to Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, Church Tradition and the continuous Magisterium of the Church to guide my thinking. Bergoglio I consider to be an anomaly who will go down in the history of the papacy alongside those other popes who breached the mission of the office they held.
THE Gospels have no language condemning homosexuals. Christ instructs us to love our neighbors and homosexuals are our neighbors. We need our neighbors in Church where they can hear the Word of God—-that’s what changes people’s hearts. Whereas the Old Testament has language condemning homosexuals—-it also has language condemning the eating of pork and shellfish.
You seem to be leaving out the books of the New Testament written by St. Paul. He plainly taught against sexual immorality, which included homosexuality.
Gerald, I’d suggest that you exolore the teachings of the faith more deeply.
Gerald, the New Testament has plenty of language condemning that sort of deviancy. For goodness sakes. And Christ spelled out very clearly what and whom a marriage consists of.
There’s an extensive list of vices and disorders Our Lord didn’t specifically condemn in scripture but do you think that suggests a stamp of approval?
How about the New Testament which states there are no sodomites in Heaven? We must pray for them, not accept their sin.
Christie is just revealing how out of touch he is.
He might want to clue in on the excrement/fan response to FS before he rings in with his endorsement.
What a can of worms a few bishops and the Pope have opened. Does it help anything? Does it do harm? I have never felt such confusion in our Church as I have the past few years. Where does it all lead? When will it end?
It has all been prophesied. The second part of the Fatima third secret reveals that Satan has inserted himself to the highest reaches of the Vatican etc. This pope seems to be a Freemason who is leading the Church to the One World Church of the Antichrist. Remember, the Lord is in control. He seems to be making it clear who are the sheep and who are goats.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink the part we, as Catholics, should play in Democratic politics. Should we belong to parties, campaign, even vote? What does it mean to be “in the world but not of the world” ? What does it mean to be the leaven, salt, or light in the world? We live in a democracy but is this really compatible with Christianity. Don’t we live in a Kingdom right now. How can we have two masters? Arn’t we told that we are strangers and pilgrims merely passing through a foreign land? Why all this concern and bother about the temporal when we should be preparing ourselves for the eternal. Let’s come out from among them and get back on the straight and narrow path to eternity.
Not only are we Christians, but we are citizens of the United States of America. Your grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and husbands (and many women as well) have fought and died for this country, and every day, military, police, firefighters, and other first responders work to keep Americans safe. Our elected officials are mere men and women and make mistakes and go astray–AS WE ALL DO!!! It is our DUTY as citizens to participate in our government, which is OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, and FOR THE PEOPLE!! To not vote is to hand our country over to candidates who are willing to do anything to win–and I do mean ANYTHING-spend billions on a campaign, say anything, wine and dine anyone, endorse any policy–we can’t let this happen. We need to be involved as much as we are able and still manage to do our duty to our other responsibilities (church, family, workplace, etc.). And we need to do it all with the love of Christ as our motivation, and the teachings of Holy Mother Church and Sacred Scripture as our guide. If we lose and have to march into stadiums full of lions, at least we will know that we did our proper duty to our God and our Country. I love the United States and want it to be the shining beacon that our forefathers visualized.
James, be assured that there are many of us who have pondered the same dilemma – just how involved we ought to be in a government that’s corrupted beyond belief.
I don’t know about you James but I have 2 dozen descendants who have to live in this world after I’ve gone on to my reward. I have a duty to be involved in national and community affairs and elections even if I’d prefer not to.
What we neglect in our lifetime, our children and grandchildren will inherit.
Well said mrscracker.
Never does Christ instruct his disciples to go to Rome and write man-made laws to change the world. Christ gave us the Church to change people’s hearts and the world. The path to eternity runs through the Church, not Washington, DC. That is why everyone should be welcome in the Church to listen to the Word of God.
Everyone IS welcome in the church. After all, it is a hospital for sinners. The problem arises when sin itself is condoned.
give unto Ceasers what is Ceasers
in the G address, Lincoln reiterated that our country was basically an experiment:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
Who would have expected otherwise. The man is a product of post-conciliar catechesis at bests, if any at all. In essence, he is an example of the synodal katholic who live out of the virtue of convenience, with only a marginal grasp of up from down.
Chris Christie needs to read the Bible. You Cannot change Doctrine.
Politician, not statesman.
There is a world of difference.
God and Gods’ word never changes. God has sent numerous reformers to get this church back on track, but for some purpose He has hardened their hearts for His glory and purpose.
His presidential ambitions are one big fat joke. No doubt he will immediately get a private audience with the Pope if Father Jimmy Martin doesn’t get there first.
The new triumvirate: Obama, Christie and Fernandez? Read on…
Yea verily, the attitude of President Obama was also said to have “evolved,” between 2008 and the days immediately following his re-election in 2012. In 2008 he said, “‘I believe marriage is between a man and a woman; I am not in favor of gay marriage.’ This was a flat out lie according to his political advisor at the time, David Axelrod” (Recounted by Thomas McArdle, “Is Al Smith Dinner Still Worthwhile,” National Catholic Register, October 30, 2016).
Today, well, now candidate Christie already blurts that he’s in step with the signs of the times, whether married or not. But, let yours truly be the first to squash the possible rumor that Fr. James Martin is Christie’s campaign manager! Not at all! Martin is already too busy grooming Cardinal Fernandez.
Oh, now about Fernandez and his shunning of Scriptural citations…How about this less serpentine counsel: “…let your yes be yes, your no, no; that you may not fall under judgment” (James 5:12). Judgment, what judgment; who am I to judge?
“I had to change the way I’ve been raised both from a family perspective and what my mother and father taught me and felt and also from a religious perspective and what my Church taught me to believe”.
If Cardinal Fernández were not aware of the expected general interpretation of Fiducia Supplicans [FS] he must suffer a gapping cognitive blindspot. Whereas former governor Christie, a career in the judiciary as US attorney for NJ entirely capable of reading the message as sanctification of homosexuality. And isn’t this exactly what His Holiness Francis has had as a major objective during his pontificate?
Chris Christie’s sad conversion to the dark side of morality is a confirmation of Pres Biden’s all out promotion of disordered sexual behavior. How long will it take for a once staunch Catholic to acquiesce to abortion on demand? As scripture warned a time will come when even the elect will be in peril. What extravagant overtures of sanctity will we now hear from His Holiness to muffle the horror?
Love your neighbor means inviting everyone to Church to listen to the Word of God. The Church is the tool Christ gave us to change the world. It is an act of kindness to invite our neighbors to join us at Church.
I suggest Chris Christie and Pontiff Francis could just trade places, since it wouldn’t change anything.
It would be very mean to suggest that Governor Christie might be thinking that if the Church now allows blessings for homosexual couples that it could in the future declare that gluttony is no longer one of the deadly sins. Any comment to that effect should be blocked.
Perfectly understandable in the dim light of FS.
Chris Christie would do well to reflect before speaking, but he may be a bit desperate to continue as a Presidential candidate. However, we already have plenty of people who will slide with the times and strive to look “hip” and “with it.” Sadly, genuine leadership is a rarity, and so called leaders of today just run faster than their fellow followers.