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November 13, 2023 / 2023 Connecticut's Healthcare Heroes Awards

2023 Healthcare Hero: Barbara Pelletier

Barbara Pelletier, UConn Health Physician Assistant Return to the honorees homepage  
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Winner Category | Urgent Care

Barbara Pelletier is a full-time physician assistant who has been practicing since 1994.

Her career has included family practice, urgent care, emergency medicine as well as a short time in occupational medicine.

Currently, she splits her time between UConn Health’s emergency department and UConn Health’s urgent care.

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What have been your significant contributions to your organization in the past year?

Over the past three years, it has been extremely difficult and stressful with COVID in this line of medicine.

Urgent care has been much busier, with patients coming in with more acute problems.

This year I had a 60-year-old male patient arrive at urgent care with chest pain, and he ended up coding. I, without a doctor working, ran the staff through triaging the patient, including giving him medications, coaching CPR and shocking him prior to the ambulance arriving.

He made it to the hospital safely, and I visited him the next day during my ER shift.

I love what I do and give my patients my personal touch. I feel the human side of medicine can be lost sometimes. Any chance I can show my kindness, I do. I try to treat patients like one of my family members.

I am especially good with my pediatric patients.

Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.

These past three years have been particularly challenging, as my dad and stepfather died suddenly, along with having to work on the front lines with COVID everywhere.

This has tested all of us in health care beyond what we could have ever expected.

I never expected to have to deal with a pandemic during the second half of my career.

Most people slow down at the end of their careers, but not in emergency medicine.

Personal Side

Favorite way to relax: I relax by traveling anywhere there is water. I love the ocean, or boating in New Hampshire lakes with my husband, Scott, and my daughter, Sabrina, and our cream golden retriever, Coby.

Hobbies: Visiting friends, going to concerts, listening to jazz

Favorite movie: “Seems Like Old Times”

Favorite cause: Helping dogs and cats find homes. I do this through various rescue groups.

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