Cardiology chief dies at 52
MUSC lost a highly valued colleague and friend Friday, Oct. 27, with the death of its director of cardiology, Michael E. Assey, M.D.
Dr.
Michael Assey
A staff cardiologist at MUSC since 1979, Dr. Assey was a skilled clinician, a dedicated teacher, and an able administrator, well respected by his colleagues and patients alike.
“Mike Assey had a rare gift, the ability to inspire those around him,” said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. “I can say this from personal experience, because Mike inspired me. His vision for development of a Cardiovascular Research Institute was brilliant and captivating. It will serve as a template for programmatic growth for years to come.”
A Mount Pleasant resident, Dr. Assey was born in Georgetown, a son of John Thomas Assey and Helen Maguire Assey. He was a 1970 graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he earned his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1974. While there he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society.
In 1979, he completed his medical education at MUSC and joined the faculty the same year, rising to the position of professor of medicine and director of the Department of Cardiology. He was a diplomate of the Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular boards, a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the Council of Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association, American College of Physicians and Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions. He was a member of the Association of Professors of Cardiology.
“Michael Assey was a great humanitarian,” said Cardiovascular Institute vice chair Morris Kalinsky. “He was not only my physician, he was my advisor, and above all he became a close, personal friend to Sybil and me. He was caring, loving and one of the most brilliant individuals that I have ever come in contact with. I will miss him very much.”
“Michael Assey was a friend, a colleague, and a superb caregiver. The Medical University and the Charleston community have truly lost one of their finest,” said Melvyn Berlinsky, a member of the MUSC Board of Trustees. “However, he will always be remembered for setting examples of excellence and service that were shared with, and live on in, the many students, friends and patients he touched over such a wonderful career.”
“Michael Assey was a great physician and one of the brightest physicians I ever encountered,” said longtime friend and mentor Peter Gazes, M.D. “He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues. His death was so untimely, he had so much more to contribute.”
In 1998, Dr. Assey was voted into “Best Doctors in America.” He served as governor of the American College of Cardiology and president of the South Carolina affiliate of the American Heart Association. During his years at MUSC, he received numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching.
“His professional legacy lies in the generation of young doctors who, as Michael Assey’s students, not only learned clinical skills, but compassion and commitment,” Greenberg said. “He will be greatly missed.”
A fund has been established in the Health Sciences Foundation to endow the Michael E. Assey Chair of Cardiology in his memory.
“A chair to honor and memorialize Mike’s distinguished life and career is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man who dedicated his life to the service of others,” said Dr. Ian Taylor, chairman of the Department of Medicine. “The department has made an initial gift toward establishing the chair.”
Contributions can be made to the Health Sciences Foundation, 18 Bee St., Charleston, SC 29425, or for more information call Mikie Hayes, director of development of the Cardiovascular Institute, at 876-5006.
The Mass of Christian Burial for Dr. Assey was held Tuesday, Oct. 31, at Christ our King Catholic Church in Mount Pleasant.
Surviving are his wife, Valerie Hallman Assey; a daughter, Helen Amanda
Assey of Mount Pleasant; a son, Michael Maguire Assey of Mount Pleasant;
a sister, Jane Assey of Mount Pleasant; four brothers, John Adrian of Nashville,
Tenn., James Assey of Columbia, Dr. Tim Assey of Mount Pleasant and Robert
Assey of Georgetown.