May 24, 2008 4:04 pm US/Eastern
Tragic Boating Accident Claims Life Of BMC Surgeon
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
-
-
Dr. Erwin Hirsch is pictured here during a 1999 interview with WBZ-TV.
WBZ
The chief surgeon of Boston Medical Center's trauma unit was killed Friday afternoon when the boat he was in capsized, sending him and one other man into the cold waters.
Calling it a tragic boating accident, Boston Medical Centers says it is grieving the loss of Dr. Erwin Hirsch, who has served as chief of trauma surgery for more than 25 years at the hospital. Hirsch was also a professor of surgery at Boston University School of Medicine.
Hirsch was rowing in a moored boat Friday afternoon when it capsized in Maine's Rockport Harbor.
His boating companion was pulled from the waters by a passerby but Hirsch wasn't rescued until a Coast Guard crew arrived.
Hirsch was unconscious when pulled from the waters, which were estimated to be about 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to the Coast Guard, Hirsch was pronounced dead at Penobscot Bay Medical Center.
The hospital said in a released statement Saturday, "He exemplified our mission of providing exceptional care, without exception. He was a talented surgeon whose primary focus was advancing the treatment of trauma victims. Many people are alive today because of the work of Dr. Hirsch and the trauma team at BMC. Our thoughts and sympathies are with his family."
The surviving boater is from Salem, Mass, while Hirsch lived in Marblehead.
Hirsch also served as an advisor for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and was an original member of the department's Trauma Advisory Committee, DPH officials said. He was serving as chairman at the time of his death.
"His leadership drove the development of the State's Trauma Registry, which will improve emergency trauma care for all the residents of the Commonwealth," the DPH said in a released statement Saturday. "In addition to the countless lives that he saved as a skilled surgeon, it is fitting that his legacy of service in the creation of the Registry will help save many more lives in the future."
Read:
Accomplishments of Dr. Erwin Hirsch
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
