NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Lambeth House residents and staff got a double dose of good news on Monday and Tuesday, courtesy of a local entrepreneur and a small group of Nashville, Tennessee women who have been watching events unfold in New Orleans. Donald Rulh, a local businessman, literally went the extra mile to help ensure that Lambeth House staff was fully prepared to meet the COVID -19 personal protective equipment demands of the coming weeks by making a late night drive to and from Lafayette to purchase 500 3M FDA approved KN-95 masks. Rulh and his daughters donated the masks to Lambeth House CEO Scott Crabtree outside the Lambeth gates on Tuesday.
For Rulh, a native New Orleanian and businessman, the plight of the nearly 260 residents and staff struck a special chord as he recalls his grandfather last years as a resident of Riverbend Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Belle Chasse (where he also made a donation of masks). According to Rulh, “While my spur of the moment late night trip to Lafayette was a piece of cake compared to what too many elderly people are facing, purchasing these masks was also something I needed to do to honor my grandfather and to help show my children that all of us can make a difference in many ways, even in the lives of people we may never get to know.”
The other long distance blessing for residents and staff came from nearly 550 miles away in suburban Nashville, where Beth Rodriguez, Susan Pruitt and a number of their close friends purchased and personalized nearly 150 cards of encouragement for Lambeth residents and appreciation for the retirement community’s staff. Their thoughtfulness echoes the huge local outpouring of support and encouragement from area school children church groups and others who almost daily send greetings and best wishes to Lambeth staff and residents.
