By KWMU
St. Louis, MO – St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall is dead. He died Monday afternoon at Christian Hospital Northeast, where he had been battling a staph infection in his spine.
Westfall went to the hospital three weeks ago with back pains. His doctor, Dr. Douglas Zweig, told reporters Monday night the infection did not develop at the hospital; it was already there when he was admitted. "He was moved into the intensive care unit, where he has been supported for the past several weeks in an attempt to reverse the natural course of his illness," Zweig said. "The natural course of this illness, however, did take place despite exhaustive measures."
Spokesman Mac Scott also read a statement from Westfall's wife and three children, who expressed thanks for thoughts and prayers. The family also thanked the doctors and staff at the hospital for their care.
The family also discussed in the statement their decision last Friday to stop issuing updates of Westfall's condition.
"We wished we could have shared information on Buzz' condition on a daily basis, but we felt the need to maintain some level of privacy as we dealt with this difficult situation."
Westfall was 59 and was in his fourth term as County Executive. He served as the county prosecutor for three terms before that. Funeral arrangements are not yet set. Councilman Charles Dooley has been serving as acting County Executive for two weeks now.