Bill Text: NY J03361 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Resolution 3361 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: commending Dr. James Mahoney posthumously upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the New York State Senate

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-12-28 - ADOPTED [J03361 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-J03361-Introduced.html


Senate Resolution No. 3361

BY: Senator MYRIE

        COMMENDING Dr. James Mahoney posthumously upon the
        occasion  of  his  designation  as  recipient  of  a
        Liberty Medal, the highest honor  bestowed  upon  an
        individual by the New York State Senate

  WHEREAS,  It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those individuals within the Empire State who  have  made
strong contributions to their communities and who inspire others through
their model citizenry; and

  WHEREAS,  Dr.  James  Mahoney  has  given  not  only of his time and
energies but also of his competence,  intelligence  and  leadership  and
consequently has been designated for special honor; and

  WHEREAS,  This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Dr. James
Mahoney posthumously upon the occasion of his designation  as  recipient
of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the
New York State Senate; and

  WHEREAS,  The New York State Senate Liberty Medal was established by
Resolution and is  awarded  to  individuals  who  have  merited  special
commendation  for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts on behalf of
their fellow New Yorkers; and

  WHEREAS, Dr. James Mahoney, a lung specialist treating patients with
severe respiratory illnesses, of Freeport, New  York,  died  on  Monday,
April  27,  2020,  at the age of 62, due to complications related to the
novel coronavirus; and

  WHEREAS, The middle of five children to Oscar Mahoney, who served in
the United States Air Force, and the late Leila Mahoney, James  grew  up
in military housing in Bermuda and on Nassau's South Shore; and

  WHEREAS,  To  his friends, he was affectionately known as Charlie, a
nickname one of his father's buddies gave him as a child; and

  WHEREAS, A standout athlete, James Mahoney was the  Captain  of  the
football team at Roosevelt High School; while taking classes at what was
then C.W. Post in Brookville, he took a job transporting patients at the
Long Beach Hospital; this was when he knew he loved medicine; and

  WHEREAS,  James  Mahoney  graduated  from  SUNY Downstate College of
Medicine, Class of 1986, and never  left;  he  subsequently  joined  the
Internal  Medicine Residency Training Program, completing it in 1989 and
was selected as one of the best residents to  serve  as  Chief  Resident
from 1989-1990; and

  WHEREAS,  Following  that  appointment, Dr. James Mahoney joined the
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship, graduating in 1993; he  then  joined
the  faculty  of  the  Department  of Medicine as Assistant Professor of
Medicine and was a constant  and  reliable  provider  of  primary  care,
pulmonary  medicine,  and  critical  care  services  to  the  community;
furthermore, he won numerous awards, including Teacher of the Year; and


  WHEREAS,   Dr.   James   Mahoney   was   an  exceptional  internist,
pulmonologist, and critical care  intensivist  who  served  the  Central
Brooklyn  community;  his  expertise  in lung diseases and critical care
positioned him as one of the most valuable physicians in the  Department
of Medicine; and

  WHEREAS,  Dr. James Mahoney was planning on retiring in January, but
then the pandemic hit; he knew the danger but did not hesitate  to  help
when  he  saw  another  human  being  in need; he treated COVID-positive
patients at SUNY Downstate and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County,  and
refused  to  take a day off or to avoid close contact with his patients;
and

  WHEREAS, This brave  man  ran  from  crashing  patient  to  crashing
patient,  always  at  the bedside where it was most dangerous; he ran in
when others ran out and died doing what he loved to do best; and

  WHEREAS, When he was not at a  hospital  caring  for  patients,  Dr.
James  Mahoney  was  conducting  telemedicine  sessions with his regular
patients from home, making sure they  were  wearing  masks  and  washing
their hands; and

  WHEREAS, Well-respected and admired by both colleagues and patients,
Dr.  James Mahoney's accomplishments are all the more notable as African
American  doctors  make  up  less  than  5%  of  the physician workforce
nation-wide; and

  WHEREAS, If his patients were too sick or too busy to  come  to  the
hospital  for  routine  checkups, Dr. James Mahoney would willingly make
house calls; he not only healed people's bodies, he healed  their  minds
and their souls; and

  WHEREAS,  With  a stellar reputation for being the best of the best,
Dr.   James Mahoney was  often  referred  to  as  University  Hospital's
"Jay-Z";  an  inspiration  for  students,  particularly African American
students, he was a legend; and

  WHEREAS,  While  in  medical  school,  James  Mahoney  traveled   to
California,  where  he  met Lisa Johnson; the couple married in 1987 and
had three wonderful children, Jamie, Stephanie, and Ryan; James and Lisa
divorced in 2004 but remained close friends; and

  WHEREAS, Dr. James Mahoney, who was  a  natural  educator,  constant
storyteller  and  jokester,  loved  baseball,  casinos and cruises; each
year, he looked forward with great anticipation to  his  family  cruise;
and

  WHEREAS, A man of great faith and a heart of gold, Dr. James Mahoney
was  indeed the embodiment of "Humanism in Medicine" in its finest form;
and

  WHEREAS, In addition to his father and  three  children,  Dr.  James
Mahoney  is  survived  by  his two brothers, Dr. Melvin Mahoney (Mildred
Llanetta) and Ronald Mahoney; two sisters,  Rutha  "Sissy"  Mahoney  and
Saundra  "Chick" (Douglas) Chisolm; and his girlfriend and life partner,
Dawn Havens; as well as numerous friends and colleagues  who  will  long
cherish his memory; and


  WHEREAS,  Dr.  James  Mahoney  was extremely kind and compassionate,
accepting, considerate, patient, generous, smart, and loving; he will be
deeply missed and truly merits the grateful tribute of this  Legislative
Body; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend  Dr.  James  Mahoney  posthumously  upon  the  occasion  of  his
designation  as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed
upon an individual by the New York State Senate; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to the family of Dr. James Mahoney.