A top emergency room doctor battling on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in New York City died by suicide over the weekend, her family members have revealed.
Ms Lorna M. Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, died in Charlottesville, Virginia on Sunday.
In the days leading up to her death, the 48-year-old reportedly recounted to family members a series of traumatic scenes she'd witnessed working in the Manhattan hospital, including an onslaught of patients dying in front of her before they could even be removed from ambulances.
Breen had recently contracted COVID-19 but had returned to work at Allen after a week-and-a-half of rest. After the hospital sent her home, she re-located to Charlottesville to recuperate under the instructions of her father, Mr Philip C. Breen.
On Sunday, however, officers from the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a call seeking medical assistance after Breen made an attempt on her own life.
‘The victim was taken to U.V.A. Hospital for treatment, but later succumbed to self-inflicted injuries,’ department spokesperson Tyler Hawn told the New York Times.
Just days before, Breen’s father recounted how she appeared troubled by the devastating scenes she had witnessed while working with coronavirus patients at Allen.
‘She tried to do her job, and it killed her,’ Phillip Breen told the Times. ‘She was truly in the trenches of the front line.’
The grieving 71-year-old father said Breen had no history of mental illness, but during their final conversation together he noticed his daughter seemed detached and began to suspect something might be wrong.
‘Make sure she’s praised as a hero, because she was,’ he urged. ‘She’s a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died.’
NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital has not yet returned request for comment.
According to the Times, Angela Mills, head of emergency medical services for several NewYork-Presbyterian campuses, including Allen, informed staffers of Breen’s tragic death in an email on Sunday night.
‘A death presents us with many questions that we may not be able to answer,’ a segment of the email read, which made no mention as to the cause of Breen’s death.
Located in northern Manhattan, the 200-bed Allen Hospital has been regularly been overwhelmed since the outbreak began, housing as many as 170 COVID-19 patients at times.
Emergency medicine physician, Mr Dara Kass, who worked with Breen at the facility said even when she was at home recovering from the virus, Breen still made sure to regularly contact her colleagues to check-in on how they were and if they had the medical equipment they needed.
‘She was always the physician who was looking out for other people’s health and well-being,’ Kass said.
Daily Mail