HJNO Mar/Apr 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  MAR / APR 2022 49 Jeré Hales Chief Operating Officer Lambeth House enlightening and moving for me. At Lam- beth House, we all looked out for each other. The staff took such good care of us. They came to our doors every day to check on us. It was unbelievable. It was all ex- tremely touching.” Happiest Memory? “I remember it so well. During the shut- down, we were all in our apartments, and I remember going to my balcony and hearing opera. It just blew me away that live performers were singing for us from the parking lot. The tenor sang one of my favorite arias, Nessum Dorma. It ends, ‘At dawn, I will win, I will win, I will win!’ Wow!” Advice from Charlotte “While I don’t dwell on this, I think epidemics and pandemics are things that humans will likely have to live with going forward. Three things to remember: Remain positive. I’m a believer that what you think, how you act, and what you believe is all connected. If you think nega- tive thoughts, it’s going to color what hap- pens to you and how you behave because you draw that energy to yourself. Don’t associate with toxic people. Choose wisely who you spend time with. Toxicity can be contagious. Slow down. In the early months of the pandemic, I wrote a poem reflecting the need for this. I titled it ‘Restricted to Property.’ It starts: Someday, some of us will look back on this and think we should have beenmore specific when we asked for a shake-up Yes, we needed some reminders to slow down To take care of each other and the earth To appreciate great literature and beautiful music, To eat healthier food and exercise our bodies and our minds To reach out with love to our families and our friends and strangers To work as one for the good of all. But, really, we had no idea.” Thank you, Charlotte, for your strength, your optimistic spirit, and for your infinite wisdom. n On Loss and Acceptance “The first loss due to COVID was a real eyeopener. I felt a lot of grief for friends who lost spouses during that time. In the beginning, it was mostly men and then a woman became ill, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’” When I questioned Charlotte about how she dealt with grief and loss during those initial weeks, her answer was profound. “I tend to have an unusual attitude to- ward death. I think it’s part of life. I say that as a woman whose husband died un- expectedly of a heart attack at the age of 59. He was young and vibrant. He went to work one day and just never came home. This experience helped shape how I think about life and loss. I learned to accept the cycles of life. We are born, we live, we die. I have come to that acceptance. We have this one life, and we all just try to live it as best we can.” On Vaccines “I amnot an antivaxxer, but I am also not someone who typically gets vaccines. The alternative of not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, however, was so unattractive that I wanted to get it. Lambeth House made it really easy for us. We got our first shot on December 31, 2020. My friends who didn’t live here were scrambling to get their first shot of the COVID vaccine. They said, ‘Charlotte, you’re so lucky. What a great way to welcome the New Year.’ None of us at Lambeth House hesitated to get the vac- cine. We (neighbors and friends at Lambeth House) all lined up.” Most enlightening part of her experience? “Seeing how much neighbors and friends really care for each other was most