It takes a very passionate individual to work with, and help, individuals who’ve experienced trauma and are dealing with mental health issues. That’s why Dr. Lucy Osorio and the entire staff at Sunrise Medical PC are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care and compassion to every patient they treat, especially the kids who just want the chance to live out an innocent and fun childhood.
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Throughout the past few years of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve had to make a lot of changes in order to return to some sense of normalcy in our everyday lives. Individuals who have struggled with their mental health and traumas in their personal lives have had an especially hard time transitioning into a time of virtual work, socially distant gatherings, and overall lack of social interaction.
The mental health sector of healthcare has also had to jump through multiple hurdles to provide their patients with the highest level of care while navigating the safety measures put in place for the pandemic.
Dr. Lucy Osorio is a psychotherapist who specializes in helping individuals dealing with trauma, especially kids. When the Covid-19 pandemic initially stunted her ability to help her patients, she dedicated her energy into continuing to provide her services to her patients by any means necessary.
Sunrise Medical PC is made up of a group of health care professionals, like Dr. Osorio, who are dedicated to providing the highest level of care for their patients, but most importantly they make sure to treat them with the highest standard of compassion and respect. Their staff is fully made up of bilingual individuals, as the practice was created with the intention of helping the Spanish and Latino population who have had to navigate the healthcare industry in America.
“At Sunrise Medical we pride ourselves in our ability to help the Hispanic and Latino communities throughout Queens. Our staff is fully bilingual, and about 75% of the patients we see are of Spanish or Latin descent, but the basis of our practice has always been to deliver the highest quality of care to anyone who needs it, especially those who felt like they have been overlooked by their doctors,” explained Dr. Osorio.
“At Sunrise Medical we specialize in internal medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, and psychotherapy, but our main mission has always been about providing superior service, based on our values, to improve the quality of each life we have touched. The vision of our practice is to be a leader in the provision of quality, comprehensive healthcare and to exceed the expectations of the communities we serve.”
Dr. Lucy Osorio has always been dedicated to helping individuals who have been overlooked and underserved by the healthcare system, but also in general. According to her biography, “Dr. Osorio was born and raised in Colombia, South America. She’s always harbored a desire to help those less fortunate. She decided to pursue a career as a psychologist during her high school studies, as she hoped to provide assistance to women, children and families who had been living on the streets. She subsequently obtained a bachelor’s degree in social work from the National University of Colombia in 1983.
Upon immigrating to the United States, she earned a master’s degree in clinical social work from Columbia University in the City of New York in 1993. Soon thereafter, Dr. Osorio completed postgraduate psychoanalytic studies and coursework in family therapy.
Dr. Osorio has been working in the field of Mental Health for a long time, with individuals of many different backgrounds, but she dedicates a lot of time to work with the Spanish population. She has a lot of experience working with individuals, families, children, couples, and groups, but her big passion is to work with traumatized children and their parents.”
Dr. Osorio is so passionate about the individuals she works with, when the Covid-19 pandemic threatened to shut down her practice for an unknown period of time, she immediately began thinking of ways to make sure she could continue her services to help her clients navigate living in a pandemic on top of their general traumas and mental health issues.
“Obviously telemedicine has caused our industry to make some major changes within the past couple of years, and it’s hard for me to not be in the presence of my patients, especially my younger ones who sometimes get overwhelmed by the intricacies of discussing their traumas while sitting at home behind computer, but my dedication and commitment to my work has made the process much easier.
When the Department of Health told us that we had to close our offices when the pandemic first began, I was scared, but also determined to not leave our clients in the dark when it came to a plan of action on how we could continue to provide our essential services. I was just thinking about how many individuals were already navigating their own traumas and difficulties in life now had to think about living in a world with a virus that we knew nothing about and had no solid plan of how to get it under control (at least in the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic before there were more standard protocols/vaccines available).
So I told my staff that our office would remain open, but the doors would remain closed, as in we would all still continue to work out of our offices to make a solid plan of action, but would keep every patient and non-essential employee away for safety reasons.
We quickly adopted telemedicine practices and left our phone lines open for patients who were concerned about receiving medical treatment and services in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Our practice provides patients with a lot of services that are essential for their physical and mental well being, so it was never a question of would we stay open, we just had to figure out how.
To be able to provide a level of relief to our patients during the overwhelming initial months of the pandemic was an amazing reflection on the dedication we have to what we do here.
We may not be saving the world, but to have our valued patients reach out to us to thank us for simply helping them get their medications in an easy and efficient manner, it means the world. We are making a difference every day, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Once Dr. Osorio was able to quickly figure out how to help her patients via telemedicine, she could get back to one of the things she loved most in life, helping children.
“Seeing the happiness grow on a child’s face has to be the most rewarding thing about what I do. It’s one thing to have some fun with a child who really needs it, but to then be able to provide them with the tools they need to continue to grow into their happiness so it’s not limited to just the time they spend with me, that’s really what it’s all about.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Osorio has been able to build a multitude of relationships with many healthcare groups that had the same goal of helping individuals around the world who have been overlooked by modern medicine.
She has consistently maintained a relationship with the National Association of Professional Women, the National Association of Social Workers and People to People International. During her time with the latter organization, Dr. Osorio was grateful enough to have traveled the world to share her clinical and educational skills with other professionals to help them to build better professional knowledge to help families and children in crisis to get the correct diagnosis and correct treatment.
This opportunity not only allowed Dr. Osorio to do her work on a much larger scale, but use what she learned growing up in Colombia to provide children everywhere with some much needed fun and healing.
“I grew up in Colombia, and as I got older and began my studies, I saw a lot of different people struggling in their day-to-day lives, but seeing the population of children throughout my country who weren’t able to have the same opportunities as me, simply because of how much money they had or where they specifically grew up, stuck with me, and I always knew I wanted to help the kids more than anything.
My job has given me the opportunity to speak with doctors from other parts of the world and hear about the ways that medical professionals from all walks of life run their practices. It’s an amazing learning experience. I’ve even traveled to see first hand how different countries navigate the world of mental health and helping its citizens.
In those instances, I’ve actually been able to use my expertise to help advance certain practices and individuals who don’t have all the resources and technology that we do in America to help treat patients who are struggling with their mental health. It’s so rewarding to meet so many professionals like myself who are passionate about their work and their patients, but may not have the same resources that we do here, and to be able to provide those tools knowing that they now can continue to help their patients even after we leave, is amazing.
When I went to South Africa, I was overwhelmed with so many emotions. I was so happy to be there and to lend a helping hand for so many children and families who needed it, but so sad to see how differently things were there in terms of children who were dealing with trauma. I spoke with many kids who were in orphanages, suffering from HIV, and just begging to be taken home, or wherever they considered to be home.
I spent so much time getting to know those kids and just trying my best to provide them with some sense of normalcy in their childhood. We would play games, make up stories, and take pictures together which they always got so excited about. There was something very loving about gathering around all together and taking a picture as a group of loving individuals who were just enjoying each other and the moment, that’s what being a kid should be like all the time.
Thinking about those kids, and all the kids I’ve worked with honestly, and their reaction to just being able to have a fun afternoon together without worrying about the world and the issues that they have to deal with, it fills my heart. It drives me to never stop what I’m doing, and to do it as well as I can every time.
In the future, with travel restrictions finally starting to ease, I definitely want to get back into traveling to other parts of the world to learn more about what and how kids, and all individuals struggling with their mental health, deal with their own personal traumas, and how I can make that process easier for them. On a smaller scale, I want to be able to take the time to travel throughout hospitals near me to talk with families, couples, individuals, and kids and help them navigate their personal issues/stress for whatever reason.
I’m also hoping in the near future I’m able to cut out a portion of my schedule every day so that I can begin providing pro bono services for individuals who may not be able to afford it.”
“The mental health world can be really difficult to navigate for patients, especially when it comes to thinking about the cost, and it shouldn’t have to be! Our practice has always been about providing our exceptional services to the people who need it, so we’re always looking for new ways to increase accessibility. Everyone has the right to feel like they’ll be professionally taken care of when it comes to all aspects of their physical and mental health.”
Dr. Osorio’s dedication to providing every patient with a safe space to express themselves, explore their interests, and most importantly, heal, has driven her to becoming one of the most recognizable faces in her community, and in the medical world.
Dr. Osorio has been acknowledged as Employee of the Year by the Puerto Rican Family Institute Inc. and was recognized by the National Association of Professional Women in 2015. Additionally, she has been included in Marquis Who’s Who, a publication that honors notable individuals who are selected on the basis of occupational position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in their given field.
Despite all she’s done throughout her career and life, Dr. Osorio has no intention of stopping anytime soon. When one has such a large amount of passion for the profession they do, it no longer becomes work, and Dr. Osorio is one of the greatest examples of an individual who truly cares about what she does.
“I’ve always been the type of person who thinks that they can do better, even when they know they’re doing amazing, and that especially goes for my career. I work hard every day to grow and teach myself new ways of providing the highest level of care I can for the families, couples, kids, and anyone else that comes into my office. There’s nothing greater than seeing a person reach their full potential and get themselves through hard times, and I will continue to help every single one that walks through my door.
I hear a lot of heartbreaking stories regarding abuse, broken families, past trauma, mental health, etc. and one of the hardest parts of helping a patient heal is making them comfortable enough to feel like they can trust and open up to me.
It’s understandable that someone wouldn’t want to trust a random person with their pain, in any circumstance, so it’s amazing when we do get to a place where I can tell the patient knows they’re in a safe space, and all I want to do is help them heal and get to a place where they feel safe and happy all the time.
Not only is this beneficial for us when it comes to working through their trauma’s and struggles, but it’ll also help them in the future when it comes to expressing their emotions in general. Seeing that ‘lightbulb’ moment click when a patient begins to understand that they don’t deserve the things they’re experiencing, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t get through it/grow from it, is extraordinary.
When it comes to my younger patients, I want kids to be kids, that’s really what it’s all about. Unfortunately, life happens, and some children have to deal with emotional damage and trauma that forces them to grow up too fast, but I will work every hour of every day to make them feel like they’re deserving of love and healing. My work, however, stops at the office for a lot of these families.
When I have a child, for example, in a household that’s full of fighting and distractions, I need to make sure I’m providing the child with tools that they specifically need to navigate their emotions/specific issues. Luckily I’ve seen these tools be integrated into my patients lives, and I’ve seen the difference it makes first hand in not only the child’s happiness, but the families as well. My professional expertise allows me to easily analyze and plan out what a certain child needs to do to improve their overall well being, but my personal connection to this job and all of my clients is what really drives me to make sure that I’m doing everything in my power to improve their lives.”
To learn more about the amazing work Dr. Lucy Osorio does, and the practice that makes it happen, check out their website here!
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
