Prominent Gadsden doctor dies of COVID-19 after treating patients with the disease

GADSDEN, Ala. (WBRC) - A Gadsden physician who spent the last days of his professional career treating COVID-19 patients has died.

Dr. Chaihan Korn, 72, died Monday. His daughter, Jenny Korn, confirmed the news Friday.

Dr. Korn practiced in the Gadsden area for 43 years and worked out of both of the city’s hospitals, Gadsden Regional Medical Center and Riverview Regional Medical Center. His specialty was cardiology, and his practice was Advanced Cardiovascular Associates.

Jenny Korn, who says his family and friends affectionately called him "Papa Korn," calls her father "the best man I have ever known."

"The hole in my heart is so large," she tells us.

Korn and his wife emigrated from Thailand in the 1970s. He served his residency at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore in 1975, and served a fellowship at St. Frances' Hospital of Evanston, in Illinois in 1977.

Jenny Korn says her father had been working extensively with COVID-19 patients when he received his diagnosis nine weeks ago. His struggle with the disease was up and down, and he had to be intubated at UAB Medical Center in Birmingham.

Due to the continuing threat of COVID-19, Jenny Korn says there will be no funeral for her father in the immediate future.