‘Trusted colleagues’: GTA hospital network mourning the loss of 3 doctors

A Toronto-area hospital network is morning the loss of three physicians who recently passed away.

In a statement emailed to Global News, a spokesperson for Trillium Health Partners (THP) confirmed Dr. Jakub Sawicki, Dr. Stephen McKenzie and Dr. Lorne Segall all recently passed away.

The spokesperson said the men were “trusted colleagues who were committed to caring for their patients and community.”

The statement said a rumour circulating on social media suggesting the doctors’ deaths were related to the COVID-19 vaccine is “simply not true.”

Trillium Health Partners operates hospitals in western Toronto and Mississauga.

An obituary posted online said Dr. Segall, 49, passed away on July 17, after a “ridiculously unfair and hard fought year-long battle with advanced lung cancer.”

Dr. Segall is remembered as a “perfect partner” to his wife, and a “devoted father” to his three children.

“Enough cannot be said about the overwhelming love he gave to his family — he was eternally calm and generous in time and patience,” the obituary read. “His second devotion was to his work as an Otolaryngologist at Credit Valley Hospital. Lorne was an intelligent clinician and a talented surgeon.”

A day later, on July 18, Dr. McKenzie died.

A memorial notice said Dr. McKenzie joined THP in 1983 as a neurologist at Mississauga Hospital.

“He was one of the department’s founding members and was a source of stability as the program evolved,” the notice read.

The notice said Dr. McKenzie was a “caring, kind and gentle man, who truly enjoyed life.”

“He was very devoted to his family and took care to nurture long-standing friendships, including his many colleagues at THP,” the notice said. “He will be greatly missed.”

A memorial notice dated July 21 confirming the death of Dr. Sawicki, said he completed his training at the Credit Valley Family Medicine Teaching Unit in 2013, and had been a member of the Surgical Assisting team at THP since 2014.

After completing the program, Dr. Sawicki “continued to be involved in teaching family medicine residents at THP,” the notice said.

He then became the Medical Director of pain medicine clinics within the region.

“Dr. Sawicki was a kind and pleasant person, and he will always be remembered for having a smile on his face,” the notice read. “He was an excellent physician, and his patients would open up to his warmth and positivity.”

THP shared its “thoughts and deepest condolences” with Dr. Sawicki’s wife and son.