A New York City doctor who delayed his retirement in order to serve on the frontlines of the pandemic has died after contracting coronavirus.
According to the New York Times, pulmonologist James Mahoney, 62, was given the option to retire after working as a physician for 40 years.
But instead, he chose to continue treating his patients, working day shifts at the University Hospital of Brooklyn in the intensive care unit, and also working night shifts at Kings County Hospital Center.
He told his boss he had a fever on the second week of April, but continued to treat patients via telemedicine. He was admitted to the hospital on April 20 and could barely walk, according to the Times.
Mahoney died on April 27.
Many medical students, especially black students, considered Dr. Mahoney an inspiration. In an interview with the Times, Dr. Latif Salam called him “our Jay-Z.”
“One of the sad stories of this pandemic is that we’re losing people that we couldn’t afford to lose,” Dr. Mahoney’s boss, Robert Foronjy, said.
