Nurses represented by the California Nurses Association strike on June 13, 2012, outside the Alta Bates Medical Center campus in Berkeley. Nurses from 11 Bay Area hospitals, including Berkeley's Alta Bates, went out on a one-day strike to protest. (Photo courtesy of Zach Copley/Flickr)

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) handed a $155,250 fine to Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for several coronavirus-related workplace safety issues, including the death last summer of a registered nurse, union officials representing the hospital’s workers said Monday.

Cal/OSHA launched an investigation into Alta Bates’ workplace safety protocols after nurse Janine Paiste-Ponder died from COVID-19 last July. The investigation found multiple violations, including the failure to supply N95-grade respirators to Paiste-Ponder’s unit.

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Eli covers public health, transportation and state politics for the Bay City News Foundation, serves as the main editor of the Public Health and COVID-19 Information Hub and assists with Local News Matters' social media strategy. He has also previously covered local politics in San Diego County as well as college and professional sports across the Bay Area.