OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Governor Jay Inslee paid tribute to an Eastern State Hospital Nurse who died of coronavirus on April 13 during a televised event with nurses for Nurse Appreciation Day.
Inslee started his comments by talking about how appreciative Washingtonians are of nurses during the coronavirus pandemic, and paid tribute to Esequiel "Zeke" Cisneros, and Eastern State Hospital nurse who died of coronavirus in April.
KREM reported on Cisneros death in April, but didn't include his name at the request of the family.
Inslee's full statement on Cisneros is replicated below:
"Good afternoon, thanks everyone for joining us. This is a very special day and a special week. This is Nurse Appreciation Day and Nurse Appreciation Week. And that is always fitting, given what these professionals mean in our family and individual lives. It is obviously the most appreciative, probably, that the state has ever been for our nurses, for very, very good reason. We’ve seen what they’re doing for our families amid incredibly challenging times. We think of them, and I think of Esequiel “Zeke” Cisneros, who was a nurse we lost on April 13th at Eastern State Hospital. And I understand his wife is a nurse as well, and I think of Mr. Cisneros, that’s just every single nurse, every single day, while facing that right now, and I’m glad to be able to say that we have more than 7 million Washingtonians who hold these nurses our hearts right now.”
The Washington Department of Social and Health Services wouldn't officially confirm his cause of death, but KREM 2 confirmed it through other sources.
Eastern State Hospital is also wouldn't comment on Cisnero's cause of death, but issued the following statement: