Nora Adachi

Nora Adachi left us in physical form on 27 October 2025.

An elegant, charming, poised, and thoughtful leader, community member, family member, friend, spouse, mother, and grandmother, she now lives on through her legacies, including the ongoing influences of her professional work, her many endearing and lasting personal connections, and especially her husband of nearly six decades and their two children.

Born in 1937, over her lifetime she experienced vast and wide-ranging adventures, personally and professionally. As a gifted nurse in infection control, she was an early leader in helping and supporting patients navigating a constellation of patient health challenges that eventually became identified as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

In the hospital, she designed and implemented policies to enable patients and health workers to function safely amidst epidemics and communicable diseases. If you had known her professionally, you might have heard her providing training on Universal Precautions.

She developed and conducted Infection Control seminars regionally and internationally, and she coordinated a cost-containment plan that resulted in a 60% reduction in the use of "regulated medical waste" disposal.

Additional focus topics included management of tuberculosis and multiple drug-resistant organisms, reducing nosocomial surgical site infections, and leadership in Occupational Health. She was an invited international speaker, and in 1992, she received the President's Award for Excellence in service to patients and to the Institutions from Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Nora was also an accomplished tennis player, graceful ballroom dancer, and masterful cook. She was the kind of person who offered a warm smile and kind greetings to each person that she encountered. We fondly remember her with appreciation and care, and we will always make sure to remember to wash our hands in honor of her extensive work in epidemiology and disease prevention.