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ABC News Medical Expert Jamie Zimmerman Dies In Drowning Accident In Hawaii

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 20:27 PST, Oct 15, 2015

Dr. Jamie Zimmerman, a medical expert and reporter for ABC News, has died in a drowning accident while vacationing in Hawaii on Monday, according to multiple sources. Jamie was 31.

As previously reported in People, Jamie Zimmerman was alone when she made an attempt to cross the Lumhai River in Kauai, where Jamie reportedly lost her footing and was swept into the sea.

Lifeguards reportedly searched for Dr. Zimmerman using jet skis. After finding Jamie 200 yards from the mouth of the river, they brought her to shore where waiting medics performed CPR. Unable to revive Jamie, they took her to a nearby hospital, where she reportedly died.

Variety reports that ABC News President James Goldston informed ABC News staff in New York about Jamie Zimmerman’s tragic death via a memo on Thursday.

In addition, Goldston said that, on top of reviewing medical studies and doing extensive research for the Medical Unit of ABC News, Jamie also offered meditation sessions to the staff.

“Jamie had a passion to make the world a better place and help all of us lead better lives,” Goldston said. “We will miss her.”

Jamie Zimmerman’s mother, Jordan Zimmerman, confirmed her daughter’s death by sharing a tribute post on Facebook (click comments section below to see her post).

“Those of you who knew Jamie or perhaps read some of her writings knew that she loved people above all else. It was her passion to be of service and teaching meditation was her calling,” Jordan Zimmerman wrote.

Jordan Zimmerman also enumerated Jamie’s many accomplishments, not just for her contributions to the medical field, but also for her vast humanitarian efforts.

She was honored with UCLA’s prestigious Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award, was a Rhodes Scholar finalist, and earned the title of Dr. Jamie at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Jamie wrote for the Huffington Post, Sonima, and Mind Body Green. Most recently she interviewed Deepak Chopra and had planned to collaborate with him on his new project giyo.com. All this was in addition to her work with ABC News in their Medical Unit as well as The (Goldie) Hawn Foundation where she trained educators and school administrators to teach meditation to children.

She ended her tribute post thus: “Sweet dreams, my darling daughter, my sweet pea, my role model, my pride and joy! I will love you forever!! As I repeatedly told you, I was thrilled that you lived life to the fullest. Always know that I will miss you every second, minute and hour of every day. Until we meet again, my precious one!”

Deepak Chopra, a New York Times bestselling author and alternative medicine advocate, expressed deep grief over Jamie’s death with the following tweet:

Jamie Zimmerman once interviewed Chopra to get his thoughts on how one can find purpose in many aspects of life. Zimmerman shared the video interviews through her blog, Passion Pay Check.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a senior medical contributor for ABC News, expressed her sympathy towards Jamie’s family via the following tweet:

Numerous news correspondents and journalists from ABC News and many other various media outlets also took to social media to express their sense of loss in Jamie’s passing.

[Image courtesy of ABC News]

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