Rosa Luna died May 4 after contracting COVID-19. She was a member of the cleaning crew at Riverside Community Hospital. (Family photo)
“I just want everyone to take this virus very seriously,” Dora Reaza, Luna’s daughter, said. “It seems like nobody is taking it’s seriously, but it is a horrible, horrible disease and you do not want your family member to die like that. My mother died in agony, complete agony.”
Reaza knew her 67-year-old mother had to be careful as she cleaned at disinfected room after room at the hospital where COVID-19 patients were treated and released.
Luna thought she was taking the necessary precautions to stay healthy.
“Her clothes would stay outside,” Reaza said. “Her shoes would stay outside, and she would immediately take a shower.”
But those measures were not enough. After cleaning hospital rooms for 25 years, Luna died in her daughter’s arms — never once voicing concerns about her safety.
“Underneath, we were all afraid,” Reaza said.
Luna’s family, friends and coworkers held a vigil outside of the hospital to remember all of the unseen health care heroes who continue to take big risks with little pay — those who keep hospitals clean.
“That’s why we are here, because sometimes the folks who do the hardest work are sometimes overlooked,” Alejandra Aguilera, a union representative, said. “We want to make sure that doesn’t happen here or anywhere else.”
Luna’s manager said she always wore a mask appropriate for the level of risk as she cleaned both COVID and non-COVID rooms.
“She was an amazing person, someone that not only held herself to high standards, but her peers and myself, as her manager,” Danny Hernandez said. “She held me to high standards.”
The auxiliary group at the hospital has started a scholarship fund in Luna’s name to help those who, like Luna, want to give back to their communities by becoming certified nursing assistants.
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‘My Mother Died In Agony’: Family, Friends Gather To Mourn Hospital Worker Who Died Of COVID-19 - CBS Los Angeles
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