Meet Our Staff

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Regina Palazzo, MD

Regina M. Palazzo, MD graduated from Temple University Medical School. Her internship in pediatrics was at Case Western Reserve’s program at the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland Ohio. From there she traveled to Seattle, Washington to complete a pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (University of Washington).

After residency Dr. Palazzo practiced pediatrics on the Blackfeet Indian reserve in Browning, Montana (a great cultural experience, not to mention great hiking and mountain climbing). From the mountains Dr. Palazzo traveled to the land of the thousand lakes to complete her pediatric pulmonary fellowship at the University of Minnesota. After fellowship Dr. Palazzo was recruited to the pediatric program at the Children’s Hospital in Boston where she served as the medical director of the pediatric lung transplant program and served as an attending in pediatric pulmonology for 5 years. Yale University’s School of Medicine enticed her to leave Boston and return to her native state of Connecticut (yes, born and bred in New London!) where she served for 10 years as the Cystic Fibrosis Center director, Pulmonary Function Lab director and director of the bronchoscopy program.

Nutmeg pediatric pulmonary services was born out of all of those experiences in August 2004. Dr. Palazzo includes in her practice the pediatric consulting responsibilities at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, Connecticut.

When she is not attending to those responsibilities she is the proud mother of 2 young adults and raises Wheaten Terriers in Madison, Connecticut.

Katarzyna M. Saar DO

Kasia was born and raised in eastern Connecticut after her parents immigrated to the United States from central Poland.

She attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA and received a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and French and later received her osteopathic medical degree at the New York Institute of Technology School of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, NY. Kasia was able to return to Hartford, Connecticut to complete her Pediatric Residency at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and later had the opportunity to stay at CCMC to complete her Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship and graduated in September 2022. During her time at CCMC, she was involved with the Asthma Center working on clinical and community research projects as well as translational research working on the mask microbiome of school-aged children with and without asthma. She was able to present her work at the American Thoracic Society meetings in 2020 and 2022 and currently is finalizing publications.

Kasia has a passion for advocating for climate change and its effects on children’s growth and development as well as respiratory health. She has been a Connecticut representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics Climate Change Advocacy Committee since 2021.

Kasia enjoys spending her free time with her husband and two young children outdoors including skiing, biking, playing tennis and swimming as well as traveling back to see her family in Poland. She is fluent in Polish and English, and conversational in French.

Kasia joined Nutmeg Pediatric Pulmonary Services, LLC in January of 2023 and has been an incredibly valuable asset ever since!

Gail Flynn, RT

Gail is a Respiratory Therapist and has been with Nutmeg Pediatric Pulmonary Services, LLC for over 10 years. She brings with her extensive experience in the acute and diagnostic fields of respiratory therapy.

In addition to her Respiratory license and pulmonary function credentials, Gail has a degree and experience in hospice and grief counseling.

In her spare time she trains and competes with her dog and sells vintage jewelry.

Monica Kukielka, M.S., RRT

Monica has over 14 years of clinical experience as a Registered Respiratory Practitioner. She earned her Master of Science from the Ohio State University and worked in cardiovascular research. In 2010, she earned her degree in Respiratory Care from the University of Hartford.

She has experience providing care for neonates, pediatrics and adults in hospitals and long-term care. Monica has served in several leadership roles for the state respiratory care society and clinical instruction for Norwalk Community College.

Outside of work, her most precious time is spent with her husband and son.

Jami Klubek, Practice Manager

Jami joined Nutmeg Pediatric Pulmonary Services, LLC in early 2021. She has an extensive background in office management and has previously managed a multi-location physical therapy practice based in Fairfield County.

Jami attended Goodwin College where she pursued her degree in Information Technology. She consistently made the Dean’s list and maintained a 4.0 GPA while working full time as the Operations Manager for a marketing company.

Jami is an avid sports fan, enjoys trips to Newport and spending time with friends. But her most favorite thing is laying on the beach where she can soak up the summer sun!

Mary Palazzo, Administrative Assistant

Mary joined Nutmeg Pediatric Pulmonary Services, LLC in 2019. Mary works the front desk and is an Administrative Assistant to the Practice Manager.

Mary is currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University where she recently obtained her Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. She is currently working towards her Bachelors Degree in Forensic Psychology.

In her spare time, Mary is an outdoor enthusiast! She enjoys traveling, taking her 2 dogs hiking and exploring new culinary adventures.

Testimonial

Our relationship with Dr. Palazzo began in 2021 when our daughter faced recurrent pneumonia, and even Yale Children’s Pediatric ER couldn’t identify the issue. After a roller coaster of illness, missed work, and constant worry, Dr. Palazzo diagnosed her and created a care plan we trusted. Both my husband and I work in healthcare, and when we say they don’t make them like that anymore, it’s true! Dr. Palazzo connects with her patients on a personal and emotional level while making wise medical judgments based on data. She provided answers and helped our daughter get healthy. Dr. Palazzo‘s office manager, Jami Klubek, and support staff, along with Dr. Katz, have been wonderful, helping us navigate FMLA paperwork and ongoing care for Caroline. We are so thankful for these medical professionals. Please don’t ever retire, Dr. Palazzo!

We would not have been able to successfully navigate the journey of our daughter River without the support and guidance provided by Dr. P. She goes over and beyond for her patients and provides families with an aptitude of knowledge regarding their children's diagnoses'. Dr. P is a true angel on earth and we are extremely lucky to have her on River's medical team.

Dr Palazzo and her staff have a very warm and welcoming practice. Dr Palazzo is a very knowledgeable doctor who has always taken the time to listen to our concerns. She is thorough with her care and empathizes with her patients and their families. Anyone that knows Dr. P will tell you that she has a genuine compassion for each and every one of her patients. My son has a very complicated medical history and we have been under her care both in the office and the hospital. We have depended on Dr P. during some very stressful times. We know that she is always there to help us through, while also advocating for our son's specific medical needs. We cannot say enough about how grateful we are to have her on his medical team!

I just wanted to share what a wonderful, compassionate and dedicated office Nutmeg Pediatric Pulmonary Services has been for me. Since I was an infant I have been under the care of Doctor Regina Palazzo and her services have been nothing less than professional and at the same time still treating me as a family member. I then was given the utmost honor of meeting Dr. Katarzyna Saar who, as I got older, her experiences and dedication to not treating every child the same and to really look and treat the lungs in every child accordingly, only enhanced what I love about this office. I highly recommend their services for any child because if you do call the office you will get a great staff who is just as supportive and concerned as the Doctors in the office are.

Dr. Palazzo is a brilliant doctor!! She has been caring for our daughter for 27 years. She is extremely dedicated to her patients and their families. Her knowledge, expertise and her ability to take a holistic view of her patients, helps to drive better outcomes in complex situations. In addition to her extensive knowledge, her kindness and humor has been a great source of comfort for us!

Thorough, insightful, brilliant, humble, out-of-the-box thinker, these are just a few of the thoughts that come to me when thinking about Dr. Regina Palazzo. We had the extraordinary luck to have been given Dr. Palazzo's contact information while on one of our many stays in the Yale PICU. The debate at the time was whether our daughter with significant special needs could survive a scoliosis surgery. Two Pulmonologists and one Surgeon had already told us no. Dr. Palazzo studied our daughter's case and agreed with the doctors that our daughter may not survive the surgery but also told us it was very likely our daughter would survive and proceeded to meticulously outline both scenarios. Dr. Palazzo explained to us that once we faced our greatest fear of the worst outcome and sat with it for a while to then put it away and focus on the likelihood of a successful procedure. What an extraordinary and wonderful thing to hear. We felt we were not only guided by a gifted physician but by a sagacious woman who spoke to us on a very human level. This is Dr. Palazzo's greatest gift. She is a unique, wise, and astute doctor with the biggest heart and good sense I have ever had the privilege to know. We went ahead with the surgery and it was the best decision we have ever made for our daughter. It was life changing. Meeting Dr. Palazzo was life-changing. We will be forever grateful.

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