An emergency room doctor from New York City who was on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic battle committed suicide on April 16. According to her family members, Dr. Lorna M. Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, died in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Deteriorating mental health
According to Dr. Breen's family members, the 48-year-old recounted a series of traumatic scenes that she'd witnessed working in the Manhattan hospital, including patients dying in front of her before they could even be removed from ambulances.
Dr. Breen had recently contracted COVID-19 but had returned to work at Allen hospital after almost 2 weeks of rest. After the hospital sent her home, she re-located to Charlottesville. She recuperated under the instructions of her father, Dr. Philip C. Breen.
On April 26, officers from the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a call seeking medical assistance after Breen attempted on her life. According to the department spokesperson Tyler Hawn, the victim was taken to U.V.A Hospital for treatment, but she later succumbed to self-inflicted injuries.
Dr. Breen's father recounted how his daughter appeared troubled by the scenes that she had witnessed while working with coronavirus patients at Allen Hospital. Dr. Philip Breen told the Times that his daughter tried to do her job, and it killed her. He said his daughter was truly in the trenches of the front line.
The 71-year-old father said that Dr. Breen had no history of mental illness, but during their final conversation, he noticed that his daughter seemed detaches and began to suspect something might be wrong. The grieving father stated that his daughter is a hero and she's a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died due to the coronavirus.
Dr. Angela Mills, the head of emergency medical services for several New York-Presbyterian campuses, informed staffers of Dr. Breen's tragic death in an email on April 26. The email made no mention of Dr. Breen's death, instead, she wrote that death presents them with a lot of questions that they may not be able to answer.
Allen Hospital is located in northern Manhattan, the 200-bed hospital has been regularly been overwhelmed since the outbreak began, admitted more than 170 coronavirus patients at times.
Dr. Dara Kass, an emergency medicine physician, who worked with Dr. Breen at the facility stated that even when she was at home recovering from the virus, Dr. Breen still made sure to contact her colleagues regularly to check-in on how they were and if they had the medical equipment that they needed. Dr. Kass added that her colleague was always the physician who was looking out for other people's health and well-being.
Coronavirus cases in America
The United States is still the country with the most coronavirus cases. The total number of coronavirus patients reached 1,010,604, with 56,821 deaths and 139,418 recovered cases.
Numerous states are planning to reopen businesses soon, although Dr. Anthony Fauci and the CDC strongly disagree because they are expecting a second wave that will have more devastating results.
