Banner Baywood Nurse Seeks Bone Marrow Match

Mesa hospital asks public to help with bone marrow drive Dec. 31

MESA, Ariz. - Once the individual providing care, registered nurse Bernadette Costa sits on the other side of healthcare today as someone in need. The Banner Baywood Medical Center employee is awaiting a call from the right bone marrow donor from a hospital room in East Mesa. Her condition, aplastic anemia, requires a bone marrow transplant but so far no donor has been identified. Originally from the Philippines, Costa’s family has been tested but none of them are a match.

To show their support for their fellow employee, a team of healthcare workers at Banner Baywood has organized a bone marrow drive to help find a donor. The hospital is asking the public, especially those in the Filipino community, to participate in hopes of finding a match.

The drive is Tuesday, Dec. 30 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Superstition Room at the hospital.

ABOUT BBMC
Banner Baywood Medical Center is a 340-bed facility known for its world-class programs in stroke care, oncology, women’s health, orthopedics and surgical technologies. The facility opened in 1984 and serves the growing East Valley communities of Mesa, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Fountain Hills and areas of northeastern Pinal County. In 2009, the medical center will expand with a new, $38.5 million emergency department with 54 patient rooms. Banner Baywood Medical Center employs more than 1,500 health care professionals and support staff, and has approximately 500 volunteers. The facility boasts a medical staff of more than 800 physicians, including primary care and specialty physicians. Banner Baywood is part of Banner Health, Arizona’s largest health care provider and second largest private employer.

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