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Joseph J. Costa, revered doctor at Mercy who ran critical care unit and treated COVID-19 patients,
Hat tip, Joe.My.God.
Gay Critical Care Doc Dies Of COVID In His Own ICU
July 29, 2020
July 29, 2020
OBITUARIES
Joseph J. Costa, revered doctor at Mercy who ran critical care unit and treated COVID-19 patients, dies of the disease
By FREDERICK N. RASMUSSEN
BALTIMORE SUN | JUL 29, 2020 AT 5:00 AM
It’s as if the last day of the life of Dr. Joseph J. Costa, who headed the critical care unit at Mercy Medical Center, had been scripted by a Hollywood screenwriter.
The Bolton Hill resident died there early Saturday morning of COVID-19 surrounded by admiring colleagues and staff, and in a place that he loved and where he spent two decades doing what he enjoyed most in life — treating critically ill patients. He was 56 years old.
“Mercy let me stay with Joe, and there was a vigil in his room,” said David Hart, his husband of 28 years. “I think there must have been 20 colleagues — doctors, nurses, techs and a housekeeper in the room — and they all placed their blue-gloved hands on Joe and I put my cheek next to his and held him in my arms until he died around 4:45 a.m.”
Mr. Hart said a housekeeper knelt by Dr. Costa’s bed and “shook with grief when he died, and said, ‘I’m now losing my best friend.‘”
With Dr. Costa’s death came a harsh realization. “I kept thinking, now there is one less ICU doctor to care for pandemic patients in Baltimore,” said Mr. Hart, a retired restaurant owner.
{snip}
In addition to his husband and parents, Dr. Costa is survived by two sisters, Jean Marie Costa of Brooklandville and Catherine Sharma of Potomac, and several nieces and nephews.
---------------
Frederick N. Rasmussen
I am one of The Sun's obituary reporters and have been writing them since the early 1990s. I attended Emerson College in Boston and wrote for Boston Magazine. I also was the author for nearly 20 years of The Sun's Back Story column.
Joseph J. Costa, revered doctor at Mercy who ran critical care unit and treated COVID-19 patients, dies of the disease
By FREDERICK N. RASMUSSEN
BALTIMORE SUN | JUL 29, 2020 AT 5:00 AM
It’s as if the last day of the life of Dr. Joseph J. Costa, who headed the critical care unit at Mercy Medical Center, had been scripted by a Hollywood screenwriter.
The Bolton Hill resident died there early Saturday morning of COVID-19 surrounded by admiring colleagues and staff, and in a place that he loved and where he spent two decades doing what he enjoyed most in life — treating critically ill patients. He was 56 years old.
“Mercy let me stay with Joe, and there was a vigil in his room,” said David Hart, his husband of 28 years. “I think there must have been 20 colleagues — doctors, nurses, techs and a housekeeper in the room — and they all placed their blue-gloved hands on Joe and I put my cheek next to his and held him in my arms until he died around 4:45 a.m.”
Mr. Hart said a housekeeper knelt by Dr. Costa’s bed and “shook with grief when he died, and said, ‘I’m now losing my best friend.‘”
With Dr. Costa’s death came a harsh realization. “I kept thinking, now there is one less ICU doctor to care for pandemic patients in Baltimore,” said Mr. Hart, a retired restaurant owner.
{snip}
In addition to his husband and parents, Dr. Costa is survived by two sisters, Jean Marie Costa of Brooklandville and Catherine Sharma of Potomac, and several nieces and nephews.
---------------
Frederick N. Rasmussen
I am one of The Sun's obituary reporters and have been writing them since the early 1990s. I attended Emerson College in Boston and wrote for Boston Magazine. I also was the author for nearly 20 years of The Sun's Back Story column.
