ER doctor who died of covid-19-like symptoms was Fayette County native

Fayette County native Dr. Frank Gabrin lived his life helping others, all the way up to the end.

An ER physician at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey, Dr. Gabrin generally worked the midnight shift because that’s when sick people would come in, his younger brother, Mike Gabrin of Pittsburgh, said.

Dr. Gabrin volunteered at various clinics and spent weekends working with medical helicopter units.

“He was a remarkably compassionate person, and more than anything, he loved being a doctor and caring for others,” Mike Gabrin said. “He always put that first.”

Dr. Frank Gabrin died Tuesday, March 31, 2020, as a result of symptoms consistent with covid-19. He was 60 and lived in Manhattan with his husband, Arnold Vargas.

Officials with the American College of Emergency Physicians say he is the first emergency physician to die as a result of the virus. He died at home by his husband’s side.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that a former ACEP member and our current colleague on the frontlines — an emergency physician — has lost his fight against this virus,” ACEP president Dr. William Jaquis said in an April 1 statement. “Emergency physicians understand that sometimes in our efforts to save your life, we may end up sacrificing our own.”

Dr. Frank Gabrin grew up in the Balsinger neighborhood of German Township, about five miles from Uniontown.

Mike Gabrin said his brother knew he wanted to be a doctor by the time he was 3 years old. His first patients were family pets — dogs and cats — that he would bandage up and take care of.

“I remember one specific time we had a dog that was actually hit by a car,” said Mike Gabrin, 56. “It didn’t kill him, but he nursed him back to health.”

Terry Homer Stalnaker was a childhood friend of Dr. Gabrin and lived next door. Both were members of the German Township High School class of 1977.

Frank Gabrin was a go-getter who always had a smile on his face, she said.

He was a two-time cancer survivor and U.S. Navy veteran.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981 and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1985.

“He was always going out to catch that brass ring. He never stopped at what he was doing. He always went further. He always kept going,” said Homer Stalnaker, 61, of Uniontown. “He was just a true inspiration.”

Diana Tiberi Heneks was another classmate of Gabrin’s. She saw him almost every day and said he was an all-around wonderful person. She said the reunion committee is going to do something to honor him at the next class reunion.

“It’s just overwhelming that his life ended this way,” said Tiberi Heneks, 61, of Uniontown. “It’s very sobering for all of us that knew him and knew what he had gone through in his life.”

“He was a definite hero for sure,” Homer Stalnaker said.