Dr. Manuel Trujillo, the visionary chief of psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital, passed away on October 2nd in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, at the age of 80. He was celebrated for pioneering mental health initiatives that provided crucial support to New Yorkers navigating the profound trauma after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
His daughter, Cristina Trujillo-Lilly, shared that his passing was due to a stroke while he was enjoying a vacation in Spain.
Immediately following the 9/11 tragedy, Dr. Trujillo was instrumental in crafting Bellevue’s mental health strategy. His teams offered compassionate support to bereaved families, disoriented children, overwhelmed rescue workers, and survivors grappling with guilt. Psychiatrists were also stationed at the 69th Regiment Armory, a vital hub for response and assistance.
Emergency room doctors at Bellevue were deeply moved, often shedding tears, as loved ones arrived desperately searching for news of those being treated. Walls and fences around the hospital became poignant memorials, covered with photographs of missing workers, police officers, and firefighters.
“Even in my worst nightmares,” Dr. Trujillo remarked to a leading newspaper at the time, “I never imagined such a thing could occur.”
“The emotional toll was immense,” he penned in his 2002 Spanish book, “Psicología Para Después de una Crisis” (Psychology After a Crisis). “It deepened my connection with patients, reinforcing that a hospital is more than just a service provider—it is an institution that truly belongs to the community.”
A 2014 report in the Annals of Global Health revealed that Manhattan residents residing south of Canal Street during the attacks, and who joined a health registry, showed a 12.6 percent prevalence of probable post-traumatic stress disorder. This condition was predominantly observed among older, female, divorced Hispanic New Yorkers with lower educational and income backgrounds. The overall rates varied significantly, from 6.2 percent in police officers to 21.4 percent in nonuniformed volunteers.
Dr. Andrew W. Brotman, who served as Bellevue’s executive vice president in 2001, noted in an interview that, “As a Spaniard, he held a special fondness for the Latino community and championed inclusivity.”
Dr. Luis Marcos, then president and CEO of the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation and currently a psychiatry professor at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, recalled in an email how “Dr. Trujillo promptly organized and personally led multiple daily two-hour group psychotherapy sessions, held across various downtown locations, for victims, their families, and the brave rescue workers.”
His daughter, Ms. Trujillo-Lilly, further explained that he “personally led a daily team of doctors and social workers, engaging with first responders and the families of the missing.” She continued, “The profound experiences from that time inspired him to write a book on trauma, offering guidance on surviving stress during crises. This work later informed responses to other major events, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings (where he coincidentally assisted) and the 2020 pandemic.”
During his tenure as Bellevue’s director of psychiatry from 1991 to 2008, Dr. Trujillo championed neuroimaging for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, significantly expanded the hospital’s substance abuse detoxification services, and established a specialized program in public and global psychiatry at New York University.
He was also a key architect in developing comprehensive psychiatric care within emergency rooms. Furthermore, he played a crucial role in discussions that culminated in New York State’s inaugural involuntary outpatient program, designed to offer psychiatric treatment and housing solutions for homeless individuals struggling with mental illnesses.
In a 1994 interview with a major publication, Dr. Trujillo argued for a higher standard for involuntary treatment than merely posing a danger to oneself. He stated, “Danger to self has typically been interpreted by doctors as physical violence to oneself. However, insidious neglect can be equally lethal.”
Manuel Trujillo Pérez-Lánzac was born on September 28, 1945, in Zaragoza, Spain. His father, Manuel Trujillo de los Rios, was a veterinarian, and his mother was Ana Pérez-Lánzac. He and his three siblings spent their formative years in Seville.
After graduating from Colegio San Antonio Claret in Seville in 1962, he secured a scholarship to the University of Seville’s medical school, completing his degree in 1968, concurrent with three summers of mandatory military service.
In 1969, he married Dr. Karin Siljestrom, a fellow medical student. As psychiatry was less prominent in Spain then, they relocated to New York. There, he began his residency at Pilgrim State Hospital (now Pilgrim Psychiatric Center) on Long Island and later became chief resident at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
According to Ms. Trujillo-Lilly, he was drawn to psychiatry because he viewed it as an intellectually rich field, blending philosophy, history, and the study of human behavior.
Dr. Trujillo is survived by his wife, Dr. Karin Siljestrom; his daughters, Cristina Trujillo-Lilly and Dr. Karin Trujillo; his son, Carlos Trujillo; four grandchildren; and his sisters, Mariana Trujillo Pérez-Lánzac and Maribel Trujillo Pérez-Lánzac.
His extensive academic career included teaching at Columbia University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, and New York University. In the early 1990s, he also served as the leader of the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals.
His impressive career included serving as chief of service at South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island (1976-1977), directing the evaluation and research program at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan (1981-1985), and holding the position of medical director at Holliswood Hospital in Queens (1985-1989).
Dr. Marcos of NYU emphasized Dr. Trujillo’s profound legacy in medicine and psychology, highlighting his contributions to “psychotherapy, cultural sensitivity in psychiatry, and the understanding of the relationship between brain waves, imaging, and mental disorders.”
Dr. Joan Reibman, director of the WTC Environmental Health Center, stated in an email that Dr. Trujillo’s pivotal role in supporting New Yorkers devastated by the World Trade Center attacks was “extremely instrumental in developing the mental health services for survivors at the World Trade Center Health Center.”
She elaborated that “he facilitated the recruitment of the initial mental health team, which established crucial screening and treatment protocols.” She stressed, “Without his support, it would have been incredibly challenging to build the robust team of psychologists and psychiatrists that now serves the ongoing mental health needs of our members.”
Reflecting on the devastating aftermath of the World Trade Center attack, Dr. Trujillo once shared with a major newspaper that he found solace in the “calm integrity” of the passengers aboard the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Instead of succumbing to panic, they bravely chose to resist the hijackers, a testament to their incredible courage.
“That truly moved me,” he recalled. “Families could find a measure of comfort in the heroic actions of their loved ones.”