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Doctor from Parkland Becomes First Broward Physician to Die in COVID-19 Catastrophe

by Anne Geggis March 26, 2020

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Marate Doctor dead from COVID-19 Coral Springs

Dr. Alex Hsu

By: Anne Geggis

A Parkland doctor who practiced internal medicine at his Margate office for nearly four decades became the first medical professional in Broward County to die of the coronavirus.

Alex Hsu died Wednesday, according to one of the staff who answered his office phone Thursday morning. Hsu’s cause of death was confirmed by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office and Margate Vice Mayor Arlene Schwartz.

The infection that has made a swift and deadly march across the globe, being transmitted person to person, is highly contagious, and medical professionals are thought to be at high risk for contracting it. The rumored cause of his death that was soon confirmed sent a ripple of fear among his patients and their families.

MyTrang Donahue of Royal Palm Beach said her mother saw him in mid-February to refill a prescription weeks before his diagnosis.

“The moment I heard about it, my siblings and I were distraught and I was in tears,” she said. “Dr. Hsu was amazing and well-loved by the community families he treated for over 38 years.”

Hsu was listed as a physician with Northwest Medical Center early Thursday, but his name was off the “find a doctor” list as of the afternoon. Jessica Waxman, spokeswoman for the Margate hospital, said he was an active staff member from 1995 to 2017.

“Patients of Dr. Hsu should contact his office directly with any questions,” she wrote in a statement.

Deerfield Beach Mayor Bill Ganz said he was a patient of Hsu’s for the last 18 years, and the news left him deeply saddened.

“He was a wonderful doctor and a really kind, caring person,” Ganz said.

According to public records, Hsu and his wife Theresa resided in Cypresshead since 1997.

According to this online biography listed with doctor search sites such as healthgrades.com and vitals.com. Hsu graduated from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in 1982 and is “affiliated” with the medical center.

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Anne Geggis

Anne Geggis has been a newspaper reporter for 30 years, most recently at the Sun-Sentinel. She graduated from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt., with a double major in journalism and sociology.