Boyé puts on 'curbside quarantine concert' at Lakeview
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By Becky Ginos
BOUNTIFUL-Frontline workers who are in the trenches every day got a respite from COVID-19 last week as singer Alex Boyé gave a lively concert outside Lakeview Hospital to say "thank you."
A small crowd of doctors, nurses, first responders and even a patient wore masks and spread out while enjoying a meal from R&R BBQ as Boyé shared stories and music. Hospital CEO Troy Wood also got in the act as he sang the National Anthem to kick off the festivities.
"It came about because of boredom at home," said Boyé. "My wife told me I needed to get out of the house. At first I was trying to figure out what I was going to do to support my family and the next minute I put that on the backburner and asked 'what can I do to support my community?'"
The answer was curbside quarantine concerts, he said. "I got about 500 requests right away. Then a Chaplin at a hospital asked if I do hospitals. I told her I can't go inside but if you organize it I'll be there. This has made my year. Nobody can explain what goes on behind those (hospital) doors. I wanted to bring some cheer to them before they go back to war again."
He's done more than 20 concerts already. "I performed for a lady who passed away the next day," said Boyé. "She came to the window of her house and I performed on the grass. It's been amazing and such a blessing."
Brandi Allred is the Director of Nursing at Lakeview and appreciates the support. "This is super awesome," she said. "We've had some tough weeks at the hospital. To know that we have community support helps. We have an awesome team and we've come together to make sure the staff is safe. It's taken all of us to figure out new ways to get things done."
"This has been the greatest challenge of administrators across the nation," said Wood. "But probably the most rewarding watching the staff step up. It's like building a plane while in flight. There's a lot we don't know but we've learned so much. What we do in the next year will allow us to live among COVID instead of in fear of it."
Washing hands and social distancing will be part of our lives but we can still live, he said. "Utahns are so ready to live. We have to learn to do it correctly so we don't expose more people."
The first thing Lakeview did was limit visitors to the hospital. "We started testing and asked the COVID questions when they came in the door," Wood said. "If they had any symptoms they were not allowed in. That was a hard decision to make because healing comes from visitors. Staff members asked if the hospital could have prayer so we do that every Sunday at noon. We rely on science, hope, bravery and God."
Boyé told the crowd he was homeless at 16. "I was eating food out of a trash can," he said. "A gentleman came up to me and slapped the hamburger out of my hand and said 'you are a child of God and God doesn't create trash so you shouldn't be eating out of the trash.' I made a promise to him and to God that even if I was starving I would never eat out of the trash again."
The man took a lemon out of his pocket and tossed it to him, said Boyé. "I thought he was going to give me money. My stomach was growling like a lion. I thought, 'I'm starving' and I threw it back at him. I'm so embarrassed about that now. It was 30 years later that I heard the saying 'if life gives you lemons make lemonade.' I realized the gift he gave me was worth more than any money."
Then Boyé sang his song "Lemonade," and asked the audience to sing along and dance to the music.
"I wish it didn't take this experience to call you healthcare heroes," Boyé said. "Thank you, you've always been that way."
BOUNTIFUL-Frontline workers who are in the trenches every day got a respite from COVID-19 last week as singer Alex Boyé gave a lively concert outside Lakeview Hospital to say "thank you."
A small crowd of doctors, nurses, first responders and even a patient wore masks and spread out while enjoying a meal from R&R BBQ as Boyé shared stories and music. Hospital CEO Troy Wood also got in the act as he sang the National Anthem to kick off the festivities.
"It came about because of boredom at home," said Boyé. "My wife told me I needed to get out of the house. At first I was trying to figure out what I was going to do to support my family and the next minute I put that on the backburner and asked 'what can I do to support my community?'"
The answer was curbside quarantine concerts, he said. "I got about 500 requests right away. Then a Chaplin at a hospital asked if I do hospitals. I told her I can't go inside but if you organize it I'll be there. This has made my year. Nobody can explain what goes on behind those (hospital) doors. I wanted to bring some cheer to them before they go back to war again."
He's done more than 20 concerts already. "I performed for a lady who passed away the next day," said Boyé. "She came to the window of her house and I performed on the grass. It's been amazing and such a blessing."
Brandi Allred is the Director of Nursing at Lakeview and appreciates the support. "This is super awesome," she said. "We've had some tough weeks at the hospital. To know that we have community support helps. We have an awesome team and we've come together to make sure the staff is safe. It's taken all of us to figure out new ways to get things done."
"This has been the greatest challenge of administrators across the nation," said Wood. "But probably the most rewarding watching the staff step up. It's like building a plane while in flight. There's a lot we don't know but we've learned so much. What we do in the next year will allow us to live among COVID instead of in fear of it."
Washing hands and social distancing will be part of our lives but we can still live, he said. "Utahns are so ready to live. We have to learn to do it correctly so we don't expose more people."
The first thing Lakeview did was limit visitors to the hospital. "We started testing and asked the COVID questions when they came in the door," Wood said. "If they had any symptoms they were not allowed in. That was a hard decision to make because healing comes from visitors. Staff members asked if the hospital could have prayer so we do that every Sunday at noon. We rely on science, hope, bravery and God."
Boyé told the crowd he was homeless at 16. "I was eating food out of a trash can," he said. "A gentleman came up to me and slapped the hamburger out of my hand and said 'you are a child of God and God doesn't create trash so you shouldn't be eating out of the trash.' I made a promise to him and to God that even if I was starving I would never eat out of the trash again."
The man took a lemon out of his pocket and tossed it to him, said Boyé. "I thought he was going to give me money. My stomach was growling like a lion. I thought, 'I'm starving' and I threw it back at him. I'm so embarrassed about that now. It was 30 years later that I heard the saying 'if life gives you lemons make lemonade.' I realized the gift he gave me was worth more than any money."
Then Boyé sang his song "Lemonade," and asked the audience to sing along and dance to the music.
"I wish it didn't take this experience to call you healthcare heroes," Boyé said. "Thank you, you've always been that way."