Lessons in caring

By Brian Acunto, MD, EJD

Medical Director, Emergency Services, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Atlantic City Campus


Safety Officer, AtlantiCare

I’ve cared for thousands of kids as an emergency physician. I’ve delivered a few babies – but only in emergencies and in medical school.

My wife Breana and I welcomed Anabelle at AtlantiCare’s Center for Childbirth in March. We were home from the hospital for less than two days when first New York, then New Jersey, shut down because of COVID-19.

All individuals and families have experienced life being a bit unreal through the pandemic. I was fortunate to be able to be home with my wife leading up to and just after the delivery. My parents had come to see the baby. Given the severity then of the pandemic where they lived in New York, we originally felt it was best for them to stay with us for a while.

We named Annabelle, in part, because of my wife’s fondness since childhood of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast character Belle. Among traits Breana admires are Belle’s open-mindedness, her interest in learning and her persistence.

As the pandemic evolved, we listened and learned. We persisted in doing as much as we could to save lives and live our lives.

Throughout COVID, I’ve helped our AtlantiCare team guide some policy and operational changes. We’ve tackled difficult, important decisions to ensure the safety of our patients, their families, and our staff and providers.

Input was open, focused, and based on what we’d learned as a team and as individuals.

I’ve learned from many.

Most of our Center for Childbirth staff didn’t know me personally. Some didn’t know I was a physician. They knew me as a first-time father. I saw the precautions the Labor and Delivery, and Maternal Newborn teams took to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Having been a little sleep deprived and much distracted by our own excitement, we forgot to get everyone’s names to thank them. The care they provided and personal connections they made will have a lasting impact on my family, and how I connect with patients and their families.

My father was a chief warrant officer in the United States Army Reserves. He served during Operation Desert Storm. He oversaw supply chains for the U.S. troops. While he and my mother stayed with us, my dad and I discussed some of the strategy he used to take inventory of, anticipate needs of and manage evolving situations.

These father and son discussions helped guide me and others as we designed tools and approaches we used in the Emergency Department.

When I first came back to work, I initially quarantined myself outside of work to protect my daughter, wife and parents. We shared socially-distanced meals outside the house – even on some cold April evenings – before my parents returned to their home and I to mine a few weeks later.

Both Breana and I learned the importance of being together to help raise our daughter. As new parents, it was difficult to isolate from family and friends. We recognized that in the scope of the pandemic’s wide-ranging impact, we were truly fortunate.

As I cared for those thousands of children over the years, I’ve tried to reassure parents, grandparents and other family members. I thought I was empathizing with them. Having my own daughter all of three months has taught me I’ve sometimes underestimated the love, fear, and hope parents have for their children.

Let’s live our lives more fully now. Continue to protect each other. As a physician, and now, as a dad, I urge everyone, if there is something there that isn’t quite right, get care. Dial 911 in an emergency.

Make and keep well visits for yourself and your loved ones. Breana recently took Annabelle to get her first vaccinations. It is one of the ways we are protecting our daughter.

Evermore, it’s a tale as old as time that it often takes loss or hardship to make us truly appreciate all that we have. I thank all my colleagues for the care you provide.

This Father’s Day, I especially acknowledge fathers, grandfathers, uncles and those who are father figures, including those who’ve become parents during the pandemic. And of course, I thank my wife. Her love and support make me a better dad and physician.