A Kenyan nurse working in the United States has been murdered at a US hospital mental health care arm.
June Onkundi was working as nurse practitioner at Durham City, North Carolina. The psychiatric centre was identified as Freedom House Recovery Center where police were called to intervene on an emergency but arrived to find the Kenyan nurse already killed.
She was attacked by a mental patient she was taking care of at the facility. The attack pounced on her with a knife. She died on the spot.
The attacker was identified as James Gomes aged 47. He was reported to be a serial criminal who has allegedly spent more than half of his life in prison, is said to have been released recently after serving time in jail for other criminal violations.
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Onkundi had big dreams for her career. She had a Master’s degree in Psychiatric Nursing was about to commence her PhD program at Duke University, a leading institution of higher learning in North America.
The president of North Carolina Nurses Association released a statement Thursday on the death of Onkundi saying, “We are heartbroken by the senseless death of our colleague and fellow NCNA member, June Onkundi.”
He added: Our prayers go out to her friends and family. She dedicated her life to helping others and we should all be proud of the positive impact she had on some of the most vulnerable patients. Her loss has shaken the nursing profession throughout North Carolina.
“Violence in the workplace is one of the greatest challenges facing nurses, and the problem has grown exponentially over the last few years. It is my desperate hope that June Onkundi’s death serves as a turning point and that those of us in healthcare can truly begin to address this problem,” Meka Ingram said.
