Macon Magazine

Hal Brickle With a true servant's heart, Hal Brickle relishes serving the people of this community. As the director of the Christ Church Weekend Lunch Ministry, Brickle organizes and mobilizes a dozen different teams of volunteers who come together from various churches, synagogues and other community organizations to serve lunch every weekend to those in need. With the onset of COVID-19 social-distancing requirements, Brickle smoothly transitioned the way the ministry traditionally served lunch to a more practical, safer method. For years, guests had been seated in the Christ Church chapel-turned-dining room for a hot lunch every Saturday and Sunday. "I restructured our program to have just four or five workers prepping bag lunches for distribution to our guests," Brickle said. "And the chapel has become the 'supply pantry' for our bagged lunches." Bagged lunches are now distributed following social-distancing guidelines, with recipients maintaining an appropriate distance from one another and taking their meals to-go. Weekend lunch volunteers are equipped with gloves, masks and disinfectant. "We're not doing anything different than we normally would," Brickle said. "We're just doing it with a mask and gloves." Serving lunch to about 230-250 people each weekend, Christ Church's Weekend Lunch Ministry is working with other community groups – Macon Outreach, DayBreak, Loaves & Fishes, The Salvation Army and more – to ensure no one goes hungry. "Our community network is growing," Brickle said. "It's like each of us was sitting in the corner with their own little piece of the pie. Now, we're all at the table together, working together." According to the Rev. Cynthia Knapp, rector of Christ Church, Hal has put into practice the vision of Christ Church functioning in concert with other churches and ministries in Macon. "When the coronavirus hit and many were shuttering their doors as volunteers sheltered in, Hal was rolling up his sleeves to get to work, making immediate changes to keep things safe for volunteers and for those we serve. He never stops thinking about what he can do to serve others." "The chapel is my respite," Brickle said. "I am certainly blessed to be able to do the little bit I can do to make a difference in our community. It's just in my blood."—Lisa Pritchard Mayfield LESLEY ANDREWS "I always wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember," said Lesley "LA" Andrews, a registered nurse at Navicent Health. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrews' conviction in her career calling has only grown. "When COVID-19 arrived in Georgia, LA helped take care of the very first rule out (negative) patient," said Tracey Blalock, chief nursing executive for Navicent Health. "This was a scary situation for all involved, as we did not know much about the virus and there were concerns about treating the patient and protecting teammates." However, Andrews was readily willing to take care of the patient. Her care allowed the hospital staff to discern what treatments were best. From there, the staff could improve the processes used to treat other patients. "After taking care of the first patient, our team gained more confidence to care for others, and LA has personally served as a bedside nurse, a runner and a charge nurse," Blalock said. Andrews is responsible for patient care, including housekeeping, labs and being a go- between for patients and their families. "Because visitors are not permitted, the bedside nurse becomes an extension of that patient's family while they are in our unit," Blalock said. Andrews' other responsibilities are to maintain a smooth operation of patient care, handle phone calls and secure anything needed off the unit, such as supplies or labs. She educates new staff on proper precautions, and is responsible for updating the patient care representatives during every shift of each patient's condition so that they can keep families informed throughout the day. "It is extremely gratifying to receive a very critical patient and be able to take care of them and watch them improve every shift," said Andrews. Although Andrews has been part of the workforce since she was 15, she said, "Having a nursing career has been the most rewarding and pleasurable work experience I have ever had. I feel honored to take care of people daily."—Ivy Marie Clarke 16

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