Oral history interview with Eileen Curtis
Title
Oral history interview with Eileen Curtis
Description
Eileen Curtis describes the Converse Home's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the decision to shut down right before the virus really exploded in Vermont in early 2020. The facility remained locked down for three months and she discusses the effect that having to isolate residents in their apartments had on the community. Their early actions kept COVID out of the Converse Home until November 2020, when an outbreak at the end of the year devastated their dementia community. Curtis talks about that event and other outbreaks as well as vaccination efforts, staffing challenges, the staff's ongoing work to protect residents the best that they could, and the unique experiences of different residents and staff members. She also explains more personal aspects of her life during the pandemic, including her mother's death and their relationship when her mother was a resident at the Converse Home.
Eileen Curtis had a long and varied career in the medical profession, starting with an explorer rescue post in Connecticut. As a member of the ambulance corps in Stamford, Connecticut, she was one of the youngest EMTs in the state of Connecticut. She also worked at the Visiting Nurse Association in Colchester, Vermont, for seventeen years and was employed for twelve years at the Converse Home in Burlington, Vermont. She retired from her position as the Converse Home's director of nursing one month after this interview was conducted in April 2023.
At the time of this interview, the Converse Home in Burlington, Vermont, was the oldest assisted living community in Vermont, having been in operation for over 130 years.
Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.
Eileen Curtis had a long and varied career in the medical profession, starting with an explorer rescue post in Connecticut. As a member of the ambulance corps in Stamford, Connecticut, she was one of the youngest EMTs in the state of Connecticut. She also worked at the Visiting Nurse Association in Colchester, Vermont, for seventeen years and was employed for twelve years at the Converse Home in Burlington, Vermont. She retired from her position as the Converse Home's director of nursing one month after this interview was conducted in April 2023.
At the time of this interview, the Converse Home in Burlington, Vermont, was the oldest assisted living community in Vermont, having been in operation for over 130 years.
Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.
Date
2023-03-28
Subject
Source
Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project
Identifier
AudioFileCOVID-015
Format
MP3
WAV
Type
Audio file
Rights
Permission to publish material from the Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project may be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.
Interviewer
Gustin, Amanda Kay
Interviewee
Curtis, Eileen
Duration
52 min., 38 sec.
Repository
Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4215
Collection
Citation
“Oral history interview with Eileen Curtis,” Digital Vermont: A Project of the Vermont Historical Society, accessed April 2, 2025, https://digitalvermont.org/vtcovid/AudioFileCOVID-015.