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Doctor Jumps to Death at Beth Israel
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 1, 2008
Modified Jul 1, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 1, 2008
Modified Jul 1, 2008
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Yesterday morning, a doctor jumped to his death from the 17th floor of a Beth Israel Hospital building. The body of 44-year-old Douglas Meyer was found "on an air-conditioning unit between two buildings" by a security guard at 7 a.m.
Meyer, called a "'gifted' gastroenterologist and liver specialist," had completed his rounds. A hospital technician told the Post, "We started calling him at 7 a.m., and we couldn't reach him. And then one of the guards came in and told me, and I started crying. The entire floor was crying, technicians, nurses, managers, everyone."
A nurse told the Daily News, "He made the staff happy. He was never dull and always upbeat." Meyer, who lived on the Upper West Side and was an assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; according to the News, would take his staff out and was often singing and humming while working with patients.
Beth Israel Hospital president Dr. David Shulkin said, "We are totally shocked and distraught. It's a big loss for us and his patients. He was a gifted physician who made many significant contributions in his field and, no doubt, would have accomplished even more had his life not ended so tragically."
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beth israel hospital
doctor suicide
Douglas Meyer
suicide
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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