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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Second man dies after illness at Paradiso Festival

A second man has died after becoming ill at the Paradiso Festival in Central Washington, the British Columbia Coroners Service confirmed Monday.

Vivek Pandher died Saturday in Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia. The 22-year-old was one of dozens who were rushed to emergency rooms after attending the festival late last month at the Gorge Amphitheatre.

Barb McLintock, a spokeswoman for the Coroners Service, said Pandher was found unresponsive at the festival. He was initially treated at Quincy Valley Medical Center, then transferred to Confluence Health in Wenatchee, said Kyle Foreman, a spokesman for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

The cause of Pandher’s death has not been determined. Many who were treated after attending the festival suffered from drug intoxication or heat exhaustion.

A 22-year-old Portland man, Beau B. Brooks, died June 28, the morning after the two-day festival, possibly due to 105-degree heat, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Both deaths come just two years after a 21-year-old Washington State University student died at Paradiso from dehydration caused by the heat and methamphetamine intoxication.

Chad Sokol

GU nursing program receives accreditation

Gonzaga University’s nursing doctorate program has received a five-year initial accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Launched in 2012, the doctorate is described by the university as preparing nursing professionals to become specialized leaders in the rapidly evolving health care field. The five-year accreditation period is the longest available to new programs.

“It is an affirmation of the excellence faculty bring to this advanced practice nursing degree,” Brenda Stevenson Marshall, dean of Gonzaga’s School of Nursing and Human Physiology, said in prepared remarks. “It is obvious that we are qualified to develop a curriculum that speaks to the increased level of knowledge and growing complexity of the nursing profession.”

David Wasson