We'd expected to hear canned statements defending the home's decisions, or nonanswers given under the guise of privacy concerns for residents and staff. That's what spokespeople often do when asked critical questions. DiMario took a different approach. She not only answered questions about the decisions the home had made and the staff's efforts but also connected us with nurses and managers to interview. We came to appreciate just how long and hard the staff had been working in an environment that had become dangerous and emotionally draining. Many had also scrambled to find temporary shelter and childcare so they wouldn't infect their families. The details we'd been hearing weren't so ugly because Birchwood had given up. They were ugly because the home was a war zone.