Funding page set up for slain N.Y. doctor
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to cover funeral expenses for Dr. Tracy Sin-Yee Tam, who was gunned down in a rampage by another doctor on Friday at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York.
Shortly before 6 pm Monday, almost $28,000 of the $50,000 goal was raised.
The accompanying text on the page says: "Tracy Tam was an exceptional and an extremely compassionate physician. She touched lives of many. She worked extra hours without incentive just to hold hands of patients that are about to pass or just to talk to them and listen to their needs.
"Tracy lost her life to senseless killing on June 30, 2017, at Bronx Lebanon Hospital while she was covering for another colleague. We are raising money to help fund Tracy's funeral costs and expenses. Any help would be greatly appreciated."
The doctor who set up the page went to medical school with Tam.
On Friday, Dr. Henry Bello, 35, went to the hospital armed with an assault rifle. He opened fire, killing Dr. Tam, 32, and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself after at first trying to set himself on fire.
Four of the others shot were doctors and a fifth was a patient.
Bello had resigned from the hospital amid allegations of sexual harassment. He emailed the New York Daily News two hours before the shooting.
"This hospital terminated my road to a licensure to practice medicine," Bello wrote, also calling out other doctors by name. "First, I was told it was because I always kept to myself. Then it was because of an altercation with a nurse."
Dr. Tam lived with her parents, immigrants from China, and her younger sister in Jamaica, Queens, where her father is a taxi driver, The New York Times reported.
The Times said the doctor chose to work in needy neighborhoods. She was also known for her kind, sweet demeanor.
"She was never above tucking her patients in at night," Dr. Iyad Baker, who supervised her during her residency, told the Times. "She would come in even when her shift is over."
williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com
(China Daily USA 07/04/2017 page2)
