As of Friday (April 17) morning, at least 51 US healthcare workers identified by Reuters as having died after being diagnosed with or showing symptoms of the deadly virus.
The four fallen healthcare workers brings the number to nine Asian Americans, (known by Views From the Edge) who have perished from the pandemic.
The other AAPI fallen heroes were: Ali Guillermo, Long Island Community Hospital; Dr. Alex Hsu, who was associated with the Northwest Medical Center in Margate, Florida; Kious Kelly, Mount Sinai Hospital West in New York City; and Filipino American nurses Ariceli Llagan of the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and Noel Sinkiat of the Howard University Hospital.
“It is with a great deal of sadness and heavy heart that we share with you the news of the passing of our beloved attending physician, Dr. Leo DeLaCruz,” Dr. Tucker Woods and Marie Duffy said in a statement.
Madhvi Aya had been a doctor in India, then trained to become a physician assistant after she immigrated to the United States in 1994. She had worked for a dozen years at Woodhull Medical Center, a public hospital in Brooklyn.
The 61-year old health worker began coughing around the time of her last shift on March 12. On March 18, her cough worsened and husband brought her to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, near their home. That was the last time he saw her. She died on March 29.
Dr. Leo dela Cruz, geriatric psychiatrist
Dr. Leo dela Cruz, a physician from Jersey City died April 8. A physician affillitated with Christ Hospital in Jersey City., N.J., died Wednesday at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey from complications with COVID-19
“It is with a great deal of sadness and heavy heart that we share with you the news of the passing of our beloved attending physician, Dr. Leo DeLaCruz,” Dr. Tucker Woods and Marie Duffy said in a statement.
“Once you met Dr. Dela Cruz, you would never forget him because of his kind, gentle and fun personality,” the statement continued. “He was a good person, a sweet man that was loved by everyone in the hospital.
On social media, co-workers and friends praised Dela Cruz, who was born in the Philippines. “He is one of the best friend you could ever have with gentle soul full of life and love to everyone,” One friend said. “Voted as one of the best doctors in New Jersey three years in a row!”
Madhvi Aya, 61, Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn
“She was always there for us, whenever we wanted,” her husband said. But when she got sick, “no one was next to her,” he said.
There's no telling when Madhvi Aya contracted the coronavirus. She was taking care of patients in early March before it was required to wear masks as the staff took care of patients. The hospital didn't require personal protective gear for staff caring for Covid-19 patients until March 17.
“This has been a heavy blow to us all,” Dr. Robert Chin, Woodhull’s emergency department director, said in an internal email on April 1. He asked coworkers for donations to help Aya’s family, for whom she had been the primary wage earner.
Daisy Doronila, 60, Hudson County Correctional Facility, N.J.
On April 5, Daisy Doronila was the fourth employee at the Hudson county correctional facility to die from the coronavirus.
“There would be people there for the most heinous crimes,” said her daughter, Denise Rendor, 28, “but they would just melt towards my mother because she really was there to give them care with no judgment.”
“Daisy could handle herself,” said the county director of corrections, Ron Edwards, describing her as sophisticated, intelligent and compassionate. “If someone got obnoxious with her, she’d put them in their place and call for help if she needed to.”
The jail in New Jersey where Doronila worked has been hit hard by the virus. As of April 10, the facility had 27 inmates and 68 staff members had tested positive, according to officials.
She was on self-quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19. On 21 March, she was hospitalized for shortness of breath. The next day, she was put on a ventilator. Two weeks later, she passed away.
On 16 March, Accad told relatives that she felt ill. Four days later, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. She told her family that she had tested positive for Covid-19, and asked them to pray for her.
She was born in Alimodian, Philippines. The eldest of four children, she graduated from Central Philippine University with a nursing degree in 1969.
Two years later, she moved to Chicago through a “fly now, pay later” program, joining tens of thousands of Filipino nurses who have moved to the United States. She later relocated to Taylor, Michigan, where she married William Accad, with whom she raised four children.
Her son, Mark Accad, said his mother Accad “died doing what she loved most – caring for people.”
Divinia Accad, 72, VA Medical Center nurse
Accad was looking forward to retirement after spending decades caring for US veterans, working her way up the ladder to become a Clinical nursing coordinator at the Detroit VA medical center in Detroit, Michigan
Accad cared for military veterans for over 25 years and was just a few weeks from retiring when the 72-year old Filipino immigrant contracted Covid-19On 16 March, Accad told relatives that she felt ill. Four days later, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. She told her family that she had tested positive for Covid-19, and asked them to pray for her.
She was born in Alimodian, Philippines. The eldest of four children, she graduated from Central Philippine University with a nursing degree in 1969.
Two years later, she moved to Chicago through a “fly now, pay later” program, joining tens of thousands of Filipino nurses who have moved to the United States. She later relocated to Taylor, Michigan, where she married William Accad, with whom she raised four children.
Her son, Mark Accad, said his mother Accad “died doing what she loved most – caring for people.”
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