22 Oct Luke Duncan, MD: A 2025 Unsung Hero

Dr. Luke Duncan is Albany Med’s “Unsung Hero”. Dr. Duncan has been with Albany Med for nearly 15 years and has played an indispensable role advancing our ED. After finishing EM Residency at Albany Med, Dr. Duncan completed a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship. Dr. Duncan currently splits his time 50% ED and 50% in our Intensive Care Units. He is co-founder and Medical Director of the Albany Med ECMO program and is Medical Director of the Cardiovascular ICU (CVICU). In our ED, Dr. Duncan is Division Chief for our EM-Critical Care Division.

As CVICU Medical Director, Dr. Duncan cares for many critically ill patients needing ECMO. One story that exemplifies Dr. Duncan’s expertise; A young patient with asthma and influenza A at a small community hospital progressed to florid ARDS with severe hypoxia resistant to proning. Aeromedical transport was not an option, so a multidisciplinary transport team, including Dr. Duncan, were assembled to go and retrieve the patient. The team utilized inhaled nitric oxide to support the patient’s oxygenation while in route. Our patient, a parent of two, was successfully brought to Albany Med where they were cannulated for VV ECMO. Our patient made a full recovery after seven days on ECMO.

In our Emergency Department, Dr. Duncan’s outstanding leadership of our EM Critical Care Division provides us with a unique opportunity to innovate care delivery for critically ill patients.

EM-CC Division is to provide patients with comprehensive critical care while they are in the Emergency Department. Dr. Duncan and the team strive to educate Emergency Medicine trainees in advanced critical care modalities and act as a resource to other emergency physicians for their complex critically ill patients. Dr. Duncan is an amazing mentor – having trained or mentored approximately 24 EM Physicians in the field of Critical Care Fellowships.

Dr. Luke Duncan’s expertise extends beyond critical care. He has a passion for ED Operations and has helped transform patient care within our ED. Dr. Duncan was the “Chief Architect” of our new Team assigned Split Flow Model. Because of Dr. Duncan’s strategic vision for improving patient flow, our ED transformed into a more efficient department, improving lwbs, LOS and the patient experience. Dr. Duncan was the “genius and architect” behind our improvements.

We all look up to Dr. Duncan, a physician who always strives to improve our department and patient care. Dr. Duncan “does it all”, a mentor, coach, leader, “architect”, national speaker, wonderful colleague, and a pioneer in the field of Emergency Medicine-Critical Care. Dr. Luke Duncan is Albany Med’s “Unsung Hero”.

Recipient Bio:
After attending New York Medical College, Dr. Duncan completed an Emergency Medicine Residency (Chief Resident) and a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Albany Medical Center. He splits his time between the ED and the ICUs. He is the Division Chief for the Emergency Department’s Critical Care Division and is the Medical Director of the CVICU. He has been voted “Attending of the Year” and has received two Medical College “SOSA” awards for excellence leading multidisciplinary teams. He has presented critical care topics for AAEM and SAEM.

– Denis Pauze, MD FACEP