Read this article about the hospital at the center of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak

The EvergreenHealth Hospital in Kirkland, Washington is at the center of the United States’ coronavirus outbreak, as the state is home to the largest cluster of COVID-19 patients in the country. At least 65 patients have entered the hospital for treatment and 15 have died – a number that accounts for half of the death toll in the US so far.

The New York Times takes a look inside how EvergreenHealth has had to adapt quickly to the “new standard”, including overtime work in all departments: sanitation, engineers and caregivers. Most of the cases received by the hospital seem to come from a nearby nursing home, where some patients die of COVID-19 within hours of admission.

Workers are also working to ensure they ration enough supplies to survive the pandemic by stocking glasses and masks in Tupperware and washing their helmets with bleach wipes instead of changing them regularly.

The piece is a short lecture, and it gives an intimate look at how a small hospital in suburban America could be the country’s “test run” for how it responds to a pandemic. As the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. continues to increase, it is essential to know exactly how healthcare workers respond directly to the outbreak and the sacrifices they make to try to save patients while containing the virus.