Central Park Medical Unit Prez: Five Decades of Free Care

Rafael Castellanos has been with the Central Park Medical Unit since 1973 but will only admit to “forty-five years or more . . . plus” working at the unit.

Do not call him “Mister Castellanos.” “Ralph” works just fine, but he also goes by “Raf” and “Raffie,” among other names. “President Castellanos” is out of the question, though you would be right to call him that. Rafael is the President of the CPMU and has been with the all-volunteer ambulance since its days as the first-aid-kit-wielding New York City Bike Patrol. That was “kids on bikes to act as eyes and ears for the NYPD. It kept a lot of kids out of trouble,” Rafael said. Now, the CPMU boasts four ambulances, one ATV, and an SUV, numerous mountain bikes, and 150 volunteers, with the fastest response time in the State of New York: three minutes to the hospital.

“Most don’t people don’t know what we do. Most people don’t know they’re being treated for free by volunteers,” Rafael said.

Rafael’s pride in the CPMU, its mission and professionalism, is well deserved. Since Rafael has been with the unit, they have responded to all manner of tragedies and catastrophes throughout New York City. They were right beside the rest of the responders on 9/11, and the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, and were on the frontlines of COVID during the dark days in the spring of 2020.

“We’re just like any city ambulance,” he said. Be it a bike crash, heat stroke, an overdose, a psychiatric episode, Rafael and the CPMU are going to respond.

Rafael takes pride in cleanliness. He calls their ambulances “the cleanest in the whole city.” For one thing, it’s a sanitary measure and a mark of a proper, well-ordered ambulance. For another, it is a matter of respect. “We put cleanliness first,” he said. “It’s for the patient, for the public, and for yourself as a responder.” Even during COVID, when Rafael oversaw the unit running 24/7 crews, he still called for “a complete ambulance disinfection.”

Even after 50 years, Rafael still happily returns to the ambulance for each shift. “I wish I could spend every day on the medical unit,” he said. “That would make me so happy.” Like the other volunteers, he is an EMT and, despite the role of president, does not place himself above anyone else. “I wear a blue uniform, just like everybody else does.”

And as the all-volunteer unit suggests, no one is paid for their time while on shift. Rafael has never made a penny from his work in over four decades. “We have provided millions of dollars of free care . . . 50 years of free care.” Still, he believes it is for the best. “We have some of the most dedicated people,” he said, speaking of the CPMU volunteers. “Nobody is holding a paycheck over their heads. They’re there because they want to be there.”

When not on his twice-monthly weekend shifts, Rafael is the director of an insurance company, where he specializes in property titling. His LinkedIn page says he “Saves lives in his spare time.” He’s like all the rest of the volunteers in that way. Among the ranks of the CPMU are dog-walkers, bookkeepers, lawyers, IT consultants, nurses, students, and retirees. “We welcome anyone from any and all walks of life,” he said. “Any occupation, we probably have it here.”

Rafael has given 50 years to the CPMU and the patrons of Central Park. The unit sees over 3,000 calls a year. It is safe to say that Rafael has been through thousands of calls in that time, all without a paycheck, all for the good of others. The man who found purpose in serving his community and never looked back offered a simple explanation for why he does it: “It’s nice to be able to give back without asking for anything.”