Nine health care systems were sent emails from the Free Press Monday asking about staffing levels, illness among employees and their preparedness for the expected surge in coronavirus cases. Some did not respond. Others provided varying levels of detail.

Only one — Beaumont Health — provided information about sick workers.

Aaron Gillingham, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Beaumont Health, said the system of eight hospitals is assessing staffing every day. So far, he said "only a few dozen of our employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

"When our employees develop COVID-19 symptoms, we treat them just as we would any patient. We assess their health and determine whether they should be tested for the virus."

It's clear many on the front lines of the worst health crisis of our lifetime already are sick.

These are the stories of the Michigan health care workers, all Detroit nurses, who are known to have died.

Lisa Ewald, Henry Ford Hospital nurse

Juleen Miller remembers the last time she saw her friend Lisa Ewald, a nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

It was three weeks ago, and they met at Secret Recipes Family Dining in Taylor for breakfast.

Miller had no way of knowing it would be the last time she'd ever see her high school friend again.

Ewald died this week of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Miller said. This Saturday would have been her 54th birthday.

Henry Ford Health System President and CEO Wright Lassiter III confirmed on Friday the death of an employee.

“There are not adequate words to describe how saddened we are," he said. "Our hearts ache for our employee's family, friends and colleagues. As health care providers on the frontlines of this pandemic, we know we are not immune to its traumatic effects.

"We continue to fight with every resource we have to protect our employees and provide the safest care to our patients. Because of patient privacy obligations, we cannot share additional information.”

Ewald lived in Dearborn and spent 20 years as a nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, most recently working in post-surgery rehab. Her niece and nephew, Mandi and Micah Standifer of Shelby Township, said she was a jokester and “a nerd in the best way.”

She attended the Motor City Comic Con every year and loved Harry Potter books and Star Trek. She was an active, optimistic person with no known health problems, they said.

“It’s hard to believe this even happened, because she was so full of life,” said Micah Standifer, 35. “She’s the person you would expect to beat it.”

Ewald also loved to travel and was an active member of the Wayne County Republican Party. They became friends at Inter-City Baptist School in Allen Park, where they both went to school.

Miller said they stayed in touch over the years, and last week, they exchanged text messages about how the pandemic was adding a new element of danger to the nursing profession.

Ewald assured Miller that she was fine. Miller planned to text Ewald again this week to wish her a happy birthday.

But now, she'll never get that chance.

“The worst part,” Miller said, “is that you can’t even really honor her with a funeral because of this stupid thing."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has banned large gatherings, including funerals, in hopes of slowing the virus’ spread.

Ewald believed she was exposed to the virus after treating a patient who later tested positive, said Mandi Standifer, 32.

Ewald told her niece she was not wearing a mask and had asked to be tested, but hospital officials told her she couldn’t get a COVID-19 test until she began to experience symptoms of the disease.

Ewald learned Sunday that the illness she was experiencing was COVID-19, said Mandi Standifer. By Tuesday, she was dead. Ewald’s neighbors and a fellow Henry Ford nurse found Ewald lifeless in her living room Wednesday morning.

The Standifers said they can understand the unique complications posed by a viral pandemic that caught the whole country off guard. They can understand that personal protective equipment and test kits are in short-supply. Still, they said, it’s frustrating that Ewald was forced to wait so long for testing, and then was instructed to go home and wait out the illness on her own.

“It’s just wrong,” Micah Standifer said. “You would think they would take care of their own.”

Henry Ford’s Lassiter said the hospital system adheres “strictly” to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when it comes to testing employees for COVID-19.

“Currently, the CDC recommends testing employees only when they become symptomatic,” he said. “Whether at work or at home under self-isolation, if an employee begins experiencing symptoms, they are urged to contact Employee Health and arrange for immediate testing. Meantime, we strongly urge anyone who is at home with symptoms to go to their nearest emergency room immediately if symptoms worsen, including a rising fever, uncontrolled cough or respiratory problems.”

Because the virus is highly contagious, Ewald’s house is under quarantine. The Standifers must wait until Monday, after the home has been sanitized, to retrieve the two pet cats Ewald left behind.

Instead of the large funeral they would have planned if a pandemic didn't make group gatherings risky, five family members are attending a small closed-casket burial service. They’ll stand six feet apart and watch as Ewald’s casket is lowered into the ground. A gathering for the rest of Ewald’s loved ones will wait until the pandemic has ended.

“It feels like a nightmare,” Mandi Standifer said. “I feel like I’m going to wake up and have a text message from her saying ‘I’m fine. I love you guys, too.’ But I’m not.”