Left to right: Rob Mack, Celeste Pazzaglini-Mack, Lisa Mack, Anne Rounds, Joe Mack
Thanksgiving with the Mack family can get a little technical, in the medical sense.
That’s understandable, when you consider that five of them – siblings Rob Mack, Joe Mack and Anne Rounds, and sisters-in-law Lisa Mack and Celeste Pazzaglini-Mack – are all SUNY Broome nursing graduates with decades in the field. The next generation of Macks is also heavily involved in healthcare, with more nurses, pharmacists, x-ray technicians and more than you could shake a stethoscope at.
The first generation blazed the trail at what was then called BCC, with Anne graduating first in 1975, Joe in 1976, Rob with a Liberal Arts degree in 1977 and a nursing degree in 1979, Rob’s wife Celeste in 1979, and Lisa – married to brother James Mack — in 1983.
“In those days, there was a huge waiting list to get into nursing school,” remembered Rob – a scenario familiar to the many students trying to enroll in SUNY Broome’s competitive nursing program even today.
Campus was different, then, with fewer buildings. The Decker Health Sciences Building didn’t take shape until the 1990s and so the Macks took many of their nursing courses in 901 Front Street, which has since been demolished to make way for the Student Village.
Nursing, then as now, was a tough program – but the Hornets still had time for fun. The college had a bar then (the drinking age was still 18) and the family remembers the mixers, complete with bands. Spring Fling, which drew the campus community together for one great party. The days when Anne raised her pompoms as a cheerleader and chanted herself hoarse. The day after Labor Day in 1975, the first day of classes, when Rob met his future wife Celeste.
The Macks also remember their inspiring professors: Rick Firenze, who still teaches at SUNY Broome, and Executive Vice President Francis Battisti, who is returning to the classroom this fall. And who could forget Professor Elliott Reitz?
“Great guy,” Rob Mack said. “He used to throw the best nursing parties!”
Family ties
The Mack family had a somewhat unusual introduction to the medical field. Their father worked as a barber for the Greater Binghamton Health Center, back when it was a psychiatric hospital with more than 3,000 patients on its vast grounds – with dormitories, facilities galore and even its own operating room.
He took his children to work with him sometimes and they fondly remember the kindness of the workers there, and the patients themselves. When it came time to contemplate the future, healthcare – and nursing in particular – seemed a familiar option.
“He wanted his kids to go to college, even though he did not,” Anne said of their father, who passed away during Rob’s senior year of high school. Rob remembered the care his father received and that, too, influenced his decision to become a nurse.
Back when Joe and Rob entered the field, few men worked in the profession, traditionally considered a female enclave, Joe acknowledged.
Joe Mack became a psychiatric nurse, working at the Greater Binghamton Health Center (formerly called the Psychiatric Center) and then the Glendale center for more than 38 years in a variety of capacities. He credited Professor Charles Kroll, who taught psychology at SUNY Broome, for contributing to his interest in psychiatric care.
Anne Rounds started off at Oneonta’s A.O. Fox Hospital, and then transferred after six months to UHS Wilson Medical Center, where spent 36 years doing emergency care. Lisa’s career took her to Lourdes Hospital, where she worked for a variety of departments before landing in ambulatory surgery, where she has worked for nearly 30 years.
Celeste began at Binghamton General Hospital before it became part of the UHS system, and worked as a private duty nurse for George F. Johnson’s daughter. She spent 38 years at Binghamton General and is now the Stay Healthy Center’s team leader in the Oakdale Mall.
Rob’s path took him both in and out of the field. He started off as a critical care nurse for 10 years, but then left nursing for 25 years to work in the business and financial services sector. Five years ago, the two threads of his career combined; he currently works in business development for UHS Business Direct.
“That’s the beauty of nursing: You can move around from department to department and never leave an organization,” Celeste said. “From patient care to education, the sky is the limit.”
Click here to learn about our 50th anniversary of nursing event on April 28.
