An employee at a CoxHealth clinic in Branson has died from COVID-19.

Marie Brumbaugh was 40, and served as a medical assistant.

Steve Edwards, president and CEO of CoxHealth, released the following statement:

I am heartbroken to share that a CoxHealth employee has passed away from COVID-19.

Marie Brumbaugh was a medical assistant at one of our clinics in the Branson area, and was only 40 years old. She served our patients with great kindness, compassion, and honor, prioritizing the health and safety of others.

We share this in order to remain transparent to our CoxHealth family and the community, but our information is limited to honor the privacy of Marie and her family.

We do not know the source of the infection with certainty. There is a possibility she may have contracted the virus while caring for a patient undergoing routine clinic care unrelated to COVID-19. The patient needed to be unmasked for a short time during the course of treatment, and tested positive for COVID-19 after the clinic visit. It is also possible she acquired it in the community as the prevalence has been high in and around Taney County.

We deeply mourn the loss of our colleague and friend, and offer our love and support to her family and loved ones. A scholarship and support fund has been established for Marie’s daughter at the CoxHealth Foundation, and anyone who wishes to contribute should contact Lisa Alexander.

This is a somber time in our family at CoxHealth, and this loss is a realization of our greatest fear. We pray that it will serve as a reminder to our community of the seriousness of this disease.

Please honor this loss by remaining physically distant, diligently masking, and washing your hands. If you do not do these things to protect yourself, please do them to protect those around you. Please be safe, and think of others.