Public Employee Press

Palladino gets public health award

Ralph Palladino, 2nd vice president of Local 1549, received the distinguished Marshall E. England Public Health Award April 26 from the Commission on the Public’s Health System.

The award cited his long time leadership on health care issues and his ability to bring the labor movement and the community together. At CPHS’s 16th annual award ceremony, honors also went to health-care activist Judy Wessler, Assembly member Adriano Espaillat and Lt. Gov. David Paterson.

Palladino has worked at Bellevue Hospital and been active in the movement to improve the public health system for the past 28 years. He is currently co-chair of Local 1549’s Hospital Chapter and co-chair of the Bellevue Childcare Committee. The committee’s work has resulted in a state-of-the-art child care center for Bellevue workers that is open 24 hours a day. In recognition of the work that he has done and his important voice in the labor and health movement, Palladino was recently appointed to Gov. Spitzer’s Transition Health Committee.

The CPHS awards are named in memory of Marshall C. England, the co-chair of the CPHS from 1991 to his untimely passing in 2000.