Miami cardiologist Eugene Sayfie dies of COVID-19. He was still caring for ‘everybody.’
Dr. Eugene “Gene” J. Sayfie, a celebrated Miami cardiologist and internist who spent five decades practicing medicine in South Florida, was renowned for giving patients his cellphone number.
He even did house calls.
On Saturday morning, Sayfie died after being diagnosed with COVID-19 about six weeks ago at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, said his daughter Stephanie Sayfie-Aagaard, a freelance society columnist for the Miami Herald. He was 85.
Sayfie was still taking care of his patients before he contracted COVID-19, Sayfie-Aagaard said.
“He wasn’t even sick. Dad was taking care of everybody. Everyone is shocked,” she said, after leaving his side.
Norman Braman — billionaire, auto magnate, art collector, philanthropist, former NFL owner and sometime political activist — has met his share of interesting people. But few compare to Sayfie, his longtime doctor and friend of 50 years.
In an interview Saturday with the Miami Herald, Braman became emotional as he looked back on the 50-year friendship. Sayfie, who became Braman’s doctor in the 1970s, treated both of his parents until they died in 1974 and 1989.
Braman recalled how, in 2016, Sayfie flew from Miami to Monaco to help him treat a serious case of sepsis. They flew back home together in a medical helicopter.
It would be “uncommon” for a patient to become such close friends with his doctor, but Sayfie was not your average doctor. He was “a gift from God,” Braman said.
“You’re never going to find another individual like Eugene Sayfie in the world,” he said. “Never, ever ever ever.”
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine had recognized Sayfie’s dedication in 2012 by honoring him with the university’s first Distinguished Master Clinician Award. With the help of about $1 million in private donations, the medical school also opened the Eugene J. Sayfie Pavilion for Excellence in Patient Care.
Sayfie, who was born in Charleston, West Virginia, to Lebanese immigrants, measured life by two standards, his family said in his obituary. “The first — whether you enjoyed the journey. And the second — did you make a difference to others along the way. Dr. Sayfie exceeded all measures on both.”
As their father lay on his hospital bed, Sayfie’s daughters reminded him of that.
“We said to our dad, he did both of those things,” Lisa Sayfie said. “He really was the greatest person that any of us will ever know and he really was the greatest gift.”
Sayfie’s many medical roles
Sayfie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from West Virginia University, his family said. He was awarded a scholarship to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed residencies in internal medicine at the Harvard Medical School Services at Boston City Hospital and at the University Hospital of Cleveland.
Sayfie began practicing in 1960 and held several professorship positions in addition to his medical practice. He was an attending physician in cardiology and internal medicine at the University of Miami Hospital and University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine. He served the same role at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Aventura Hospital and was chairman in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases at Miami Heart Institute.
Sayfie also was a member of the courtesy staff at Jackson Memorial Hospital and, most recently, served as a concierge doctor of cardiology and internal medicine at Mount Sinai in Miami Beach — where his four daughters were born.
When he wasn’t working, Sayfie cherished spending time with his wife of 51 years, Suzie Sayfie, and his daughters. And he made a point to attend all of his daughters’ games and extracurricular events, even if it meant driving straight from the hospital and back again to pull it off.
He was so beloved that his daughters would compete with each other to snag a spot next to dad at the dinner table. They spent their Sundays at church and then watching the Miami Dolphins.
Suzie Sayfie and her daughters gathered Saturday in the girls’ childhood home to feel closer to their father and share memories.
“His greatest love and joy was just being home with his family and spending time together,” one of his daughters said. “He is the kind of grandfather that the children would just be crawling all over.”
“No matter what happens in your life, you can always come home,” another said, recalling what her father said to them. “For us, our dad really equals the word home.”
The Sayfie girls can never escape their father’s legacy. During an interview Sunday, they recalled how strangers would often approach them after hearing their last name, eager to share memories from their time as one of Sayfie’s patients.
Those he treated recalled how Sayfie never focused on what ailment brought the patient into his office, but instead on every aspect of their physical and psychological well being.
“Everybody called him for advice,” Sayfie-Aagaard said.
Sayfie’s survivors and services
Sayfie’s survivors include his wife, Suzie Sayfie; his four daughters Stephanie Sayfie-Aagaard, Nicole Sayfie Porcelli, Lisa Sayfie, Amy Sayfie Zichella; and nine grandchildren.
“The most important thing to him was his family, his faith and his practice,” Lisa Sayfie said. “He was the love of our lives.”
In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family asks that donations can be made to one of the following organizations Sayfie had supported: Mount Sinai Medical Center Foundation, Ransom Everglades School, St. George Cathedral or The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.
Services will be private due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Braman, who considers the Sayfie family as part of his own, said he was “privileged” to have met his friend.
“I dare that if you called 1,000 people you would only hear as I said. If it weren’t for this virus, there would be 1,000 people at his funeral celebrating his life.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 12:18 PM.
