Thread by @nytimes

Six months ago, this nursing home in Staten Island was one of the deadliest places in New York City, with 40 residents dying in the course of a month. Now the workers who risked their lives to care for them are facing a new fear: losing their jobs. nyti.ms/3oFACjt

Theirs are the untold stories of the pandemic: Most nursing home workers never spoke publicly about their experiences because the homes did not let them. Now the workers from the Clove Lakes home have agreed to speak out. nyti.ms/3oFACjt

Shawn McArthur, a certified nursing assistant at Clove Lakes, wrote a letter and left it in one of his books, “just in case anything happens to me,” he said. “I tried to keep it inside, but it was very scary.” nyti.ms/3oFACjt

Lana Bass and her husband both got the coronavirus in March. She later agreed to work in the newly established Covid unit at Clove Lakes. She was at the nursing home when the hospital called to say that her husband had died. nyti.ms/3oFACjt

Ingrid Wiesel said she did not know what scared her more, the virus or the job insecurity. With so many cutbacks throughout the industry, if Clove Lakes lets her go, she does not know where she will find another job. nyti.ms/3oFACjt

The crisis is not unique to Clove Lakes. In an August survey of nursing homes nationwide, more than half said they were operating at a loss, and nearly three-quarters said they could not last another year if things did not change. nyti.ms/3oFACjt