An Oakland nurse who cared for COVID-19 patients died after contracting the disease, her union said, one of more than 100 health care workers across California who have lost their lives to the virus.
Nurse Janine Paiste-Ponder, 59, who worked at Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, died on July 17, a press release from the California Nurses Association said Tuesday, which was also confirmed by the Alameda County coroner. She was a member of the union for more than 25 years.
“I just want Summit to know that they lost an amazing nurse,” Paiste-Ponder’s colleague, Toya Randle, said in a statement Tuesday. “She was a loving wife, a loving mother. ... All the nurses have been pleading and expressing their fears of what could happen. … It falls on deaf ears.”
Colleagues will remember the nurse at a vigil Tuesday 4 p.m. at the hospital. They will also call upon management to provide more personal protective equipment and testing for employees who may be exposed to patients, even when they don’t show symptoms.