Dr. Joseph Giordano, a surgeon who played a central role in saving President Ronald Reagan's life after an assassination attempt in 1981, has died. He was 84. Giordano died on June 24 at a hospital in Washington, DC, from an infection related to a lengthy illness, his family said, per the AP. He was in charge of George Washington University Hospital's trauma teams that treated Reagan after the president had been shot and badly wounded on March 30, 1981. Over the course of several dramatic hours, doctors stabilized Reagan, retrieved a bullet an inch from his heart, and stanched massive internal bleeding. The president spent 11 days at GW and fully recovered from his wounds.
"Dr. Giordano and the doctors at GW, without them, Ronald Reagan would have died," said Jerry Parr, the president's lead Secret Service agent at the time, in a 2010 interview for the book Rawhide Down. Giordano took over revamping and managing the hospital's emergency room in 1976, after his boss told him, "The handling of trauma patients down there is a real mess." Soon, the trauma center was regarded as among the best in the country. "We had everything going like clockwork," said Dr. David Gens, who helped treat Reagan. "Joe had us properly trained." The president had been shot as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel after giving a speech and was brought to the hospital, where Giordano heard over the intercom, "Dr. Giordano, STAT to the ER." He recognized the patient on a gurney as Reagan.
"How are you doing, Mr. President?" he asked. "I'm having trouble breathing," Reagan replied. Giordano made an incision eight inches below Reagan's left armpit and inserted the tube to drain the chest cavity, which was filling with blood. It relieved pressure on Reagan's lung and allowed him to breathe more easily. But the bleeding did not stop. The doctors decided to operate, per the AP. Giordano and Gens performed a peritoneal lavage—known as a "belly tap"—and ensured that Reagan's abdomen was clear of blood. They then turned over the patient to a chest surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Aaron, who halted the bleeding and retrieved the bullet. Three others were injured in the shooting: White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and Thomas Delahanty, a police officer.
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Giordano went on to be GW's chairman of surgery until retiring in 2010. He joined the board of Partner for Surgery, a nonprofit that arranges surgery for people in rural Guatemala. Giordano recruited doctors and nurses to travel there to provide badly needed medical services, said Frank Peterson, the group's founder. Giordano also led medical teams on such missions. "The one word I would use to describe him is humanitarian," Peterson said. "He had the skills and capabilities that made a world of difference to people who were in need." In addition to his role in Reagan's care, the physician is remembered for a line he delivered in the operating room. Just before receiving anesthesia, Reagan dramatically got up on an elbow, took off his oxygen mask, and said, "I hope you are all Republicans." Giordano, a staunch liberal, didn't miss a beat: "Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans." Years later, the surgeon jokingly reflected that "it was OK to be a Republican for a day, especially that day."
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