Cardiologist Yee Se Ong, MD, has died from COVID-19 complications. He was 76 years old.
Ong spent the last several months treating COVID-19 patients at Saint Francis Hospital in Muskogee, Oklahoma. According to a feature on Ong’s life from the Muskogee Phoenix, he spent “virtually every waking hour” of the pandemic working to help his patients.
In fact, he collapsed at the hospital on Nov. 28, and it was believed his exhaustion likely played a primary role. Eighteen days after that collapse, Ong tested positive for COVID-19. It is believed that he contracted it after being admitted to the hospital.
Friends and family who knew Ong shared kind words about him with the Muskogee Phoenix. One colleague described him as a “workhorse,” for instance, and another said “his impact on our community stretched far beyond healthcare.”
Muskogee’s mayor, Marlon Coleman, commented as well.
“His passing is evidence that COVID-19 has no regard for patients or physicians,” Coleman said. “It is my prayer that we will honor his legacy of care by caring for one another in these uncertain and turbulent times.”
Click the link below for more on Ong’s long life:
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.