This month, the San Francisco General Hospital and Department of Public Health communities were shaken by a preventable tragedy: the murder of a social worker who was killed while doing the job he loved.

SEIU 1021 members honored the life of Alberto Rangel alongside members of UPTE, the union he belonged to as an employee of UCSF, with a candlelight vigil on Sunday, December 7, and Monday, December 8,  in front of SFGH. 

The patient in ward 86 who stabbed Rangel had threatened to kill a doctor earlier that same day. A sheriff’s deputy was assigned to protect that doctor. Inexplicably, he was paired up with the doctor rather than monitoring the patient who, despite the known threats he had made that same day, was left unattended with staff. When he stabbed and killed Rangel, the deputy was nearby, but not close enough to prevent the murder. 

“This wasn’t a random tragedy,” said Katie Aschero, SEIU 1021 SFGH RN chapter president. ”This patient has cycled in and out of our hospital for years, and our staff has reported the threat and warning signs repeatedly. It was only a matter of time.”

Unfortunately, the perpetrator of this murder is far from the only patient or visitor to SFDPH’s public hospital and clinics who posed a serious threat to workers and other patients. SEIU 1021 members pushed for additional safety measures in last year’s contract, only to meet fierce resistance from the City, who said their demands were not feasible or that there was no money for them.

SEIU 1021 SFDPH members are now meeting regularly with SFDPH and Department of Human Resources officials to evaluate what went wrong and how to protect frontline workers from custodians and clerks to nurses and social workers moving forward with a more comprehensive safety plan. 

That includes thinking through appropriate staffing levels; types of staff, policies and procedures; ensuring necessary equipment such as panic buttons and cameras are in place and in working order; physical design of the space. Members across departments will be surveyed to collect as much input as possible so that specific types of hazards are considered throughout the workplace. Data will be used to gauge what types of safety protocols will be suggested and worked on with city leaders across all worksites. 

SEIU 1021 extends our deepest condolences to the husband, family, friends, and colleagues of Rangel.

Read more about the murder and its aftermath from the SF Chronicle here.