59MD 

David Paulsrud’s life has been defined by service to northwest Iowa, the medical community, and his country. A former Green Beret, Paulsrud trained as an orthopedic surgeon, but the latter half of his career was shaped by his passion for serving patients with substance use disorder. His contributions to addiction treatment systems in the Sioux City, Iowa, area are broad and deep, but perhaps his most profound legacy is the many generous, warm individual relationships he formed with adolescents and adults in recovery. Now in his 90s, Paulsrud continues to share his wisdom with patients and providers alike. 

Directly out of medical school, Paulsrud volunteered for the draft and soon trained in military parachute operations. He served as a surgeon in the 82^nd Airborne Division, eventually joining the U.S. Army Special Forces in Laos during the Vietnam War. 

“We had small teams in about a dozen villages throughout the country doing intelligence gathering. I trained the medics,” Paulsrud says. “When I came back, Special Forces had become the Special Warfare Center, and I was assigned as the first surgeon on its general staff.” 

Following that assignment, he began residency training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Six months in, the hospital began to receive an influx of casualties from the war. 

“We’d get a whole airplane full at once,” Paulsrud remembers. “The trauma was immense and overwhelming. For a long time, a committee would meet inside my head to review all the most difficult cases ... I kept finding new cases.” 

As he re-adjusted to civilian life, Paulsrud was diagnosed with substance use disorder. In the course of his own recovery, he found a new passion for giving back to others struggling with addiction—one that would shape the remainder of his career and legacy. 

“Recovery gave me back a life,” he says.  

Paulsrud was instrumental in establishing three halfway houses in Sioux City and launching the outpatient clinic and medication-assisted treatment programs at Rosecrance Jackson Centers. When he retired from practice in orthopedic surgery in 1995, he volunteered as the organization’s medical director.  

In addition to leading meetings for recovery patients and training caregiving staff, he gave generously of his own time to educate community members on substance abuse. Through PROJECT HOPE, he held seminars to educate Sioux City-area church leaders in ministering to people with alcoholism. 

“I talk about what addiction really is—and that drugs and alcohol are not the cause of addiction, they’re the symptoms,” Paulsrud says. 

Paulsrud volunteered on the Iowa Third Judicial District Drug Court, educating law enforcement, courts, and local organizations to improve understanding and reduce stigma around substance use issues. He was also elected to serve five years on the Sioux City Council. He and his late wife, Joan, held frequent social gatherings for adolescents in treatment at their own home. He continues to stay active and engaged through teaching and service. 

“All the best things in my life have come because I said yes when asked to do something. And I had a lot of fun doing it,” Paulsrud says. “I have come to have an affection for people.”