A group of United Airlines pilots took a detour to Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital on the Hackensack University Medical Center.
These pilots are a part of the nonprofit volunteer organization, Pilots for Kids. The organization was founded in 1983 aimed at serving hospitalized children but has since expanded to other groups of children. The pilots who visited Joseph M. Sanzari were from the Newark chapter.
One of those is actually a nurse, Paul Grieco. He was an ICU nurse before taking flight first as a medevac pilot, and then as a first officer for United Airlines where he has worked since 2018.
Grieco said it means the world to him to come back and help in the hospital again.
“Being able to return to a hospital as someone who once worked in critical care is incredibly meaningful to me,” he said. “I’ve seen firsthand how difficult and emotional this environment can be for patients and their families.
Working as a nurse, I saw families facing long days, uncertainty, and so much worry as they supported their loved ones. So to come back now, not as a nurse, but as a pilot and bring a sense of normalcy to families who are going through so much, and especially help a child smile, is really special to me.”
