in their caravan of ambulance buses was terrifying. Some evacuees with dementia shouted and furiously clawed at them. Others begged not to be taken away. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption

toggle caption Seth Wenig/AP

For the 78 residents of St. Joseph's Senior Home in New Jersey, the arrival of hazmat-suited officials in March in their caravan of ambulance buses was terrifying. Some evacuees with dementia shouted and furiously clawed at them. Others begged not to be taken away.

Seth Wenig/AP

On a crisp morning in late March, health care workers in yellow hazmat suits arrived at St. Joseph's Senior Home in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

They were responding to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. But that response would make St. Joe's different than every other long-term facility in the state: it was the only such facility in New Jersey to be completely evacuated.

NPR Investigations correspondent Dina Temple-Raston has been digging into why that happened — and whether some residents of St. Joe's might still be alive if it hadn't. More from her reporting is here.

This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva, Lee Hale, Brianna Scott and Brent Baughman. It was edited by Sami Yenigun. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.

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