Transcendients: Memorial to Healthcare Workers
Died 16 May 2020
BARBARA BEDONIE
RACE/ETHNICITY Native American
OCCUPATION Certified medication aide
LOCATION Farmington, NM
AGE 56
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? Unknown/Other
She answered a calling to help fellow Native Americans
Barbara Bedonie was happily raising three children when she realized she wanted to do more. She enrolled to become a certified nursing assistant, which turned out to be a calling.
“She was truly happy working,” her daughter Charmayne Bedonie said. “I’ve been hearing so many stories from families she’s helped.”
For 17 years, Barbara worked at a nursing home and received awards for perfect attendance. Management admired her work ethic enough to pay for her to become a certified medication aide. She was Navajo and could speak to residents in their Indigenous tongue.
“I know she helped a lot of people just by speaking the language,” Charmayne said.
The home reported a number of Covid-19 cases. Bedonie tested negative for the virus repeatedly, but overwhelmed by fatigue, she knew something was wrong. She was hospitalized and finally a test confirmed she had the coronavirus, Charmayne said.
Charmayne expressed praise for the hospital and the nursing home. Her employer did not respond to questions about protective gear and said only, “Cedar Ridge Inn misses our beloved colleague very much.”
Charmayne said families have been sharing stories about her mother. “They say she was a beautiful soul, inside and out,” she said.
— Maureen O’Hagan