Emergency doctor deploys with swift-water rescue team

Dr. Mariecely Luciano-Feijoo was driving home from work at on a September afternoon when she got a call to deploy immediately in response to Hurricane Helene, a highly destructive storm steadily approaching western North Carolina.

As a board-certified emergency medicine physician and a clinical assistant professor, Luciano usually cares for patients in the UNC Hospitals Emergency Department and educates medical school residents in training.

But Luciano also volunteers to be on a rescue team that responds rapidly to emergencies throughout the state through a partnership between the UNC School of Medicine’s emergency medicine department and the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

Bilingual assistance

In late September, Luciano found herself working outdoors in the middle of a natural disaster zone. This involved wading through flood waters, carrying a child to safety and assisting many other N.C. residents in the aftermath of the storm.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Luciano is fluent in Spanish, an ability that proved to be an indispensable asset.

She helped move one Spanish-speaking mother and her three children to higher ground. Noticing that the family’s cold and wet 6-year-old boy was especially frightened, she picked him up and carried him, while continually reassuring him and answering his many questions. When the child worried about a cat he spotted swimming in the water, Luciano quickly notified a nearby rescue team member who scooped up the feline and moved it to a safer location.

Luciano’s fluency in Spanish also enabled her to reassure and encourage a hesitant group of men to vacate the rising water immediately and to give them the location and information about the nearest shelter.

Visit UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hurricane Helene page to learn how the University has and will continue to respond to the storm.

Family connection to emergency service

Luciano’s mother was one the first two female firefighters in Puerto Rico. A passion for helping others led her to work in this role for decades. She rose through the ranks from a lieutenant to captain, retiring only because she had reached the mandatory age limit.

In her career, Luciano pursued emergency medicine because she wanted to help a wide range of people in the challenging, fast-paced and constantly changing emergency room environment. These skills are especially important in swift-water rescue, which involves working outdoors in a variety of conditions.

“I have always been drawn to faster paced medicine and saw how much good there was to be done while practicing as a physician in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria,” said Luciano. “The swift-water team appeals to me because it is uniquely challenging, and I also enjoy working in the field.”