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Our Mission, Vision, and Values A letter from Joyce N. Barlin, MD A letter from Risheet Patel, M.D. |
Who is Dr. Bob?
BIOGRAPHY ROBERT J. PAEGLOW, MD Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1954, Bob Paeglow moved to the West Hill neighborhood of Albany, New York as an infant. The West Hill neighborhood at that time consisted of lower working-class families of German/Irish descent. Bob was the oldest of 6 children born to Charles (Chuck) Paeglow, an x-ray technician and carpenter, and Arlene, a homemaker. He attended the neighborhood Catholic school, St. Patrick’s, and Cardinal McCloskey Memorial High School, graduating in 1972 without particular distinction except for a Regents Scholarship which enabled him to live at home and attend a local university free of charge. In 1974, Dr. Bob married Liliane (Leane) Dupuis, and their first two children were born while he was attending college. Both Leane and Bob worked part-time jobs to support their young family. Leane worked as a retail clerk and Bob worked unloading ships, as a plumber’s helper, and at many other odd jobs. Bob graduated from the State University at Albany, again without particular distinction. He was able to find a job with the local County Health Department which enabled them to move from their first tiny, two-room basement apartment to a more suitable living space. In 1981, Bob got a job in the Radiation Safety Office at Albany Medical Center. He taught himself Radiation Physics and gradually improved his position until he was teaching X-ray Physics in the Board Preparation Courses for the Radiology residents. Bob and Leane moved their family to Altamont, a rural village west of Albany, where their younger two children were born. In 1988, while watching a local television documentary about the health care crisis in the Capital Region of New York, Dr. Bob became convinced that not only was he capable but was called to go to medical school to become an answer for the multitude of people who had limited or no access to quality health care. Leane had completed her Associate’s Degree in Nursing at that time and would get numerous requests to give advice to friends and neighbors who had no health insurance. This further cemented Bob’s resolve to make a difference for those who were less fortunate. Bob applied to medical school in 1989, but due to his undistinguished academic record, was rejected for any interviews except for Albany Medical College, which granted Bob a “courtesy” interview although his grades were below the normal cut-off for interview. He was technically a faculty member there, as he taught Radiation Physics to the Radiology residents. Bob credits Divine Intervention with his being accepted to medical school in 1990. Motivated by the incredible privilege of being allowed to attend medical school, Bob poured himself into his studies. Despite working 24 hours a week to help support his family during the first two years of medical school, he managed to graduate “Cum Laude,” was named AOA, was President of his class for three years, and received the most honors and awards in his class upon graduation. In 1994, as a fourth -year student at Albany Medical College, Dr. Bob led a small team into postwar Mozambique, Africa to provide basic medical care to refugees of war. The horror he experienced in the refugee camps further cemented his resolve to use all of his resources to somehow make life better for the poor. Every vacation during residency was used to bring care to some hurting, desperate place, usually in Africa. Realizing that he could only make a small contribution by himself, he began to recruit medical students to accompany him on these missions in hopes of influencing them to make a deeper commitment to helping mankind. Since the first medical mission in 1994, and now as a board-certified family physician, Dr. Bob has led 25 medical missions involving dozens of medical students and caring for well over 100,000 patients on the mission field. In 2000, Dr. Bob began to feel a call to return to his old West Hill neighborhood which had degenerated into the poorest, most crime-infested, desperate neighborhood in the city of Albany. Selling the family home and investing everything, Bob and Leane moved into the inner city and founded Compassion in Action/Koinonia Primary Care located at the Capital Region Prayer and Healing Center, a Christian ministry Dr. Bob co-founded with Reverend Peter Whitehouse. Koinonia provides primary care and mental health care to the poor in the West Hill neighborhood and beyond. Dr. Bob has worked for 5 years without a salary to make this care possible. Leane has labored beside him as the office nurse and now as a nurse for the Neighborhood Health Advocate Program, as well as being named the Neighborhood Association president. Dr. Bob continues to involve the medical students and residents in every aspect of his mission, pioneering new programs such as the Care from the Start Program that involves first-year medical students, and using every opportunity to teach and influence medical students to learn the joys of caring for the poor and less fortunate. Although he has few material possessions, he considers himself incredibly rich. This richness has come from investing in the lives of others, not only of the poor, but also in those who will carry on his legacy of caring for and serving those less fortunate. |
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