He did not retire due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a famous doctor died in New York

During his career, he went through the AIDS crisis, the outbreak of H1N1 and the tragedy of September 11th. According to colleagues, this doctor had a great sense of satisfaction from helping others. The publication shared the tragedy details CBC.

“He was very proud of what he was doing.”

Physician James Charlie Mahoney has dedicated his entire career to the Brooklyn Hospital, which treats poor patients. He was already preparing to retire when the COVID-19 pandemic began, but refused to leave his colleagues in difficult times.

As a result, a pulmonologist and intensive care physician, beloved by many patients and respected by colleagues, died of coronavirus, from which he saved others.

“Even if he resigned, I'm sure James would have found a way to get back on the front lines during this pandemic, because he knew people were in trouble. He would not have been left out, ”said Dr. Robert Foronjy, Mahoney's friend and boss.

Foronji added that Mahoney worked tirelessly when the first wave of COVID-19 hit New York. “He worked during the day. He worked at night. Yes, James was exhausted, but I know he was very proud of what he did and had a great sense of satisfaction that he helped the community in such a difficult time, ”said Dr. Robert.

A 62-year-old doctor whom relatives called Charlie died on April 27. He has three children left, four brothers and sisters, his father and partner, who works as a nurse.

"He was the heart and soul of this institution."

Forongi is the chief physician of the pulmonary and emergency department at Brooklyn University Hospital, where Mahoney spent 38 years in the public wing of SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

During his career, Charlie went through the AIDS crisis, the H1N1 outbreak and the tragedy of September 11, 2001. “He was the heart and soul of this institution. And people from all walks of life, from all stations in the hospital, in the medical center, knew and loved him, ”Forongi said.

Mahoney was known for instructing young doctors, giving patients his personal mobile phone number, and making friends with everyone in the hospital, from the boss to the cleaners and cashiers at the gift shop.

“There is a real hierarchy in medicine, and it can be very rigid. Dr. Mahoney had none of this, ”Foronji said. "There were no barriers with Dr. Mahoney."

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He also worked night shifts at the Kings County Hospital Center across the street from SUNY Downstate.

Workers at two hospitals grieved relentlessly when they learned of the doctor's tragic death, Mahoney's brother Melvin said. “Believe it or not, I heard men cry. That's how much they loved my brother, ”he said.

Refused from a higher paying job

Mahoney had several opportunities to leave SUNY Medical Center to find better-paid jobs in more prestigious private hospitals. But the doctor always refused tempting offers, his sister Sundra Chisholm emphasized. He preferred to remain in the hospital, where he first worked as a medical student in 1982.

Many of SUNY's patients are low-income New Yorkers and minorities. As the newspaper wrote The New York Times, the hospital was forced to resort to a public fundraising in order to keep up with the requirements put forward to hospitals in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He was a man of faith, and in fact it was not what drives other people. He was not one of those who collected money, - explained Foronji. - He enjoyed life, helping people, from serving others, from making someone's load a little easier. And it was the community that he saw in need, and he made a difference for the better. "

"We did our best ... and that was not enough."

Mahoney worked in the intensive care unit when the first wave of the pandemic hit New York. By mid-April, he began to feel bad and stayed at home with the symptoms of the disease to recover.

“We finally convinced him to come,” recalls Dr. Forongi. - He barely made it. Later, he no longer remembered how we got from his house to the emergency room. His condition deteriorated so quickly. "

At first, colleagues at SUNY oversaw his treatment, but later decided to transfer him to Tisch Hospital, which has more sophisticated equipment for oxygenation of blood. Soon after he was hospitalized, he became even worse. “He could not be saved,” Forongi summed up.

Mahoney died on April 27 in the Tisch intensive care unit, surrounded by members of his "working family." “It was horrible to realize that we did our best to save the one we loved. And that was not enough, ”said a friend.

Before his death, Mahoney Foronji said that he was able to tell his friend how important he was to him. “I held his hand, said how much I love him. Everyone loved him. And he reciprocated, - the doctor continued his memories. "I'm grateful we had time to let him know how much everyone cared about him."

Even after his death, Mahoney's work continues to influence medicine because he spent years training and mentoring future doctors, Foronji emphasized. “He was a man with a big and kind heart,” the doctor concluded. “His legacy will live on thanks to his family, thanks to us and the people he has trained across the country, sometimes around the world, providing a humanistic quality of care, something they learned from Dr. Mahoney.”

Pandemic COVID: latest data

New York is the epicenter of the US pandemic. As of May 20, 359 cases and 235 deaths have been reported here, according to The New York Times.

Almost three times as often, the virus kills black Americans, according to a study published May 20 by the APM laboratory.