Lorna Breen was on front lines of COVID-19 battle

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A Manhattan ER doctor with local ties died by suicide on Sunday after working in the battle against the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Lorna Breen, 49, was staying with family in Charlottesville, Va., at the time of her death, according to multiple news outlets.

Breen’s Facebook page shows that she was a graduate of Wyoming Seminary Upper School.

Breen had been working at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan in the emergency room. Reporting from the New York Times suggests Breen had been working until she tested positive for the coronavirus, briefly returned to work after recovering, and then was asked to return home again. Friends who knew Breen suggested to outlets like the New York Post that she simply could no longer take the stress associated with the virus.

Dr. Phillip Breen, her father, told the New York Times that his daughter did not have a history of mental illness, and asked that his daughter be remembered as a hero in this fight.

“Make sure she’s praised as a hero, because she was,” the elder Breen told the Times. “She’s a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died.”

John Shafer, vice president of advancement at Wyoming Seminary, has been working at the school since 1975, and said he had fond memories of Breen.

“I was absolutely stunned and profoundly saddened when I heard the tragic news about Lorna last evening,” Shafer said in a statement. “I remember her well as a two-year boarding student at Sem. She was a swimmer and played softball, and she was a leader in the girls dorm.”

Breen, who graduated from Wyoming Seminary in 1988, was remembered by Shafer as an “outstanding scholar and a well-respected member” of the class before continuing on to Cornell University.

Shafer said he spoke with other students who remembered Breen, and he said they remembered her for her “kind, compassionate nature.”

“Clearly she used those traits in her profession in the emergency room,” he went on. “The word ‘hero’ truly describes her efforts in the fight against COVID-19. Our hearts, prayers and deepest condolences go out to her family.”

Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan