What do Michael Jordan and Effie Chamberlin have in common? Neither of them knows how to retire. During her thirty months of "retirement", Effie spent three months working at her former job at Grace Cottage (while her replacement was out on maternity leave), worked as a Townshend Lister, filled in at a nursing home in Bellows Falls, and remained on the Windham Long-Term Care Network, Otis Health Care Center and Grace Cottage Foundation Boards.

Dr. Bob Backus’ words at Effie’s retirement party in 2000 seemed to predict the inevitability of Effie’s return: "A woman of untiring loyalty to the institution...imbued with a work ethic that says 'If you see a job that needs doing, do it, and do it until it is done.' A woman ‘born to help others.’...A very kind, loving woman who says what she will miss most in her retirement are the people, i.e. her co-workers and the patients."

"Yes, I truly missed the people here, very much so," mused Effie, when asked the reason for her return. "As someone recently said, I’ve ‘flunked’ retirement!".

Born in East Dover, the eldest of eight children, Effie (Bartlett) began her career at Grace Cottage as a nurse in 1961; she wore many hats while here, including Assistant Director of Nursing, Assistant Administrator of the Otis Health Care Center and Long Term Care Administrator. Now she has come back as QI Manager. What that means, in a nutshell, is that she makes sure that each and every employee complies with all of the state and federal government regulations that affect the Otis Health Care Center "and there are a lot of them," laughed Effie. Welcome back, Effie -- you’ve been missed.

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