Hospital COVID Cleaner In Chicago Talks About Her Work; 'I See Them Suffer. It's Painful'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- One hospital worker might have one of the riskiest jobs in any facility.

It's one you don't hear about often. She's responsible for cleaning a COVID-19 ward in Chicago. Evelia de la Cruz heads right into rooms filled with COVID patients. She dumps their trash, strips their sheets and sanitizes their beds at Roseland Community Hospital.

She sometimes works seven days a week. And since the pandemic started, she's only taken extra time off once, when she got COVID herself.

"I can help people who are sick by being there," she said. "Cleaning their room, I see them suffer. It's painful."

When de la Cruz heads back home to Calumet Park, she spends a lot of time cooking and praying. For her family's health, and for the pandemic to finally end.

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