Reflections on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina - from Jamey Boudreaux, Executive Director for the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
Special Guest Reflections for Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Jamey Boudreaux; 8/28/25

As I think back to the horror of Katrina - 20 years ago – I remember the eerie silence of a dead city, mostly evacuated – a neighborhood with no cityscape background noise, no sounds of birds chirping or people talking, no music nor even the hum of powerlines or cars. 

That silence still haunts me to this day but what I remember most are the folks who helped us put this region of the country back together! In short:

• I’m grateful to all the first responders, especially the Coast Guard teams that recused over 7,200 people from the rooftops of businesses and homes in the immediate aftermath of the storm surge and levee breach. 
• I’m grateful to the hundreds of church communities and volunteers who came from the four corners of the country to help us gut and salvage over 200,000 homes.
• I’m grateful for the 250 donations we received from folks across the country, allowing us to distribute $100,000 between 191 identified hospice staff members and patients who lost everything in Katrina. 
• I’m grateful to the 10,000 immigrants who traveled to this region of country to re-build our homes and communities. 
• I’m constantly inspired by the courage of so many hospice professionals, who returned to their flooded and damaged homes, to care for their patients and families who also braved the journey back to their flood and damaged homes, to begin the process of recovery. 
• I’m grateful for the expansion of a healthcare support networks in this region – palliative care, pharmacies and DME suppliers - who provided hospice agencies with the resources they needed to care for their patients and families. 
• I’m grateful to healthcare software engineers who over the past 20 years have created greater access to medical records, especially new tools to ensure greater patient safety during emergencies, such as the At -Risk Registry that now connects hospice/homecare patients in need of assistance with evacuation directly to their local emergency managers.
• I’m grateful to more than 2000 hospice and palliative practitioners in Louisiana and Mississippi who care for over 12,000 hospice patients each and every day, helping them also plan for emergency situations.

I know we can’t prevent disaster from striking our community, but we can learn great lessons from tragedies that inspire compassion and kindness along the way. 
Jamey Boudreaux, MSW, M Div, Executive Director, LMHPCO.org

Honoring the lives and legacies of hospice leaders - August 2025

• Don Pendley, former President of the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Director of Hospice and Palliative Care at the Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey, died 8/9/25.
• Dr. Marlow Sloan, founder and former Medical Director of Sangre de Cristo Hospice & Palliative Care, Pueblo, CO, died 8/11/25.
• Dr. George Webb, former Medical Director for Hospice Institute (part of Hospice & Palliative Care of Louisville, KY, now Hosparus Health), early palliative physician, and pioneer author for end-of-life cultural diversity and disease progression resources for hospices nationwide, died 8/14/25.

Editor's Note: This new feature in our newsletter is inspired in part by the death of my dear friend and colleague, Dr. George Webb. His beloved wife, Pat Webb, was the first volunteer nurse at Hospice of Louisville in 1978 and continued serving in many roles until her death in 2020. Ongoing, we invite you to share obituary information relevant to our readers by sending it to jberger@hospicepalliativecaretoday.com.

Artificial intelligence in geriatric health care
Health Affairs; by Esther S. Oh, Peter M. Abadir, Joseph Grogan, Ravi Gupta, Anne Ollen, Daniel Polsky, Peter Weems, Phillip Phan; 8/20/25
Artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies are quickly integrating into the US health care system. Unlocking their full potential for older adults—the fastest-growing demographic in the country—and rural populations facing health access and support crises is essential. On May 1, 2025, the Johns Hopkins Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory (represented by coauthors Oh, Abadir, and Phan) and the National Institute on Aging hosted a summit on the future of geriatric medicine and AI, focusing on the challenges and effects of implementing AI-based technologies. We identified policy gaps and opportunities to support the fair and efficient use of AI technologies for older adults [including:]

• Promise and perils of AI for older adults
• Reimbursement pathways for AI technologies
• Enhancing data access, data quality, and interoperability
• Digitalizing rural settings and improving access to specialist care
• Encouraging trust and community engagement

...The most pressing need is a predictable Medicare reimbursement pathway in which AI-based technologies are not an “add-on” cost but rather a catalyst for productivity... In sum, we believe that if developers and regulators want older adults to adopt AI technologies, they need to think proactively about the stage-of-life needs, co-morbidities, and functional and mental capacity of the older adult demographic—in short, the 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility) of an age-friendly health system.

New hospice house playground dedicated to A.B.A.T.E 18 motorcycle group 
The Hawk Eye - Iowa's Oldest Newspaper; by Tracey Lamm; 8/26/25 
ABATE District 18 Motorcycle Club presented checks Friday to the Lee County and Home and Health Hospice House programs. An ongoing relationship between the motorcycle group and the hospice programs has resulted in an honor that will be a permanent part of the Home and Health Hospice House in West Burlington. ... [A] planned playground at the Hospice House will be dedicated to ABATE District 18 motorcycle organization. Jordan Price, Fort Madison, handles public relations for ABATE 18 and he said the motorcycle group has worked with the hospice programs for many years. ... "The proceeds are raised through motorcycle poker runs, donations, and lunches at Heartland Harley Davidson." The two hospice programs each received a check Friday night of $29,250, half for each of the total $58,500 that was raised during the annual Hospice Ride on July 20. Price said the amount far exceeded a goal to raise $40,000.

Social workers’ role in improving hospice live discharge processes 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/26/25 
A lack of standardized care coordination is challenging the ability for patients and families to receive support following a live discharge from hospice. Deeper integration of social work services may help address the issue. This is according to findings from a recent study published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, which examined different methodologies for preparing patients, family caregivers and providers for hospice-initiated live discharges from social worker perspectives. 

NFDA honors Grief Awareness Day - Aug 30
National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA); email; 8/28/25
With Grief Awareness Day approaching on August 30, there's an untold story about the professionals quietly on the front lines of America's grief challenges—and it's not who you might expect. Funeral directors have become essential facilitators in helping families process loss in healthy ways. They’re challenging harmful cultural myths about grief. Through thoughtful service planning and creating space for open dialogue about death, funeral directors are guiding families toward healing. National Funeral Directors Association leaders are available to discuss:

• Key elements of healthy grieving that honors the deceased while serving the living, including storytelling and viewing the deceased 
• How open dialogue about death and loss and “being seen” facilitates healing
• Facilitate and connect families with grief support groups
• How funeral directors have evolved from "cookie cutter" services to becoming emotional supports and event planners
• Real families' stories of how thoughtful service planning made a difference, including how a family who lost their young son to a rare disease transformed their grief into a nationwide awareness campaign with annual fundraisers
• The therapeutic value of family involvement in writing obituaries and selecting photos

Building the continuum: Inside New Day Healthcare’s growth & acquisition strategies 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/27/25 
New Day Healthcare in 2025 has been one of the home health and hospice sector’s most active acquirers. ... Founded in 2020, New Day’s roughly 10,000 employees provide hospice, home health, pediatric and personal care to roughly 180,000 patients annually. ... Brands under the New Day’s umbrella include Phoenix Home Care & Hospice, New Age Hospice, Compassion Hospice, Home Care Providers of Texas, Pathfinder Home Health, Envision Health Partners and AssistCare, among others. ... Hospice News sat down with New Day CEO G. Scott Herman to discuss the company’s growth, its approach to acquisitions, forthcoming changes in the C-Suite and where hospice fits into its strategy.

How to create meaning in every season of life with Dr. Trisha Welstad 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Trisha Welstad; 8/27/25 
In this conversation, Dr. Trisha Welstad shares her philosophy on leadership, highlighting the importance of healthy leaders who can heal the world, demonstrating how personal pain can shape a person's purpose, and highlighting the value of reflection in leadership. Dr. Trisha Welstad explores how purpose emerges from our deepest wounds and why healthy leaders can heal the world through their wholeness.  She shares her belief that purpose isn't a luxury, but a necessity for our identity, one that develops throughout all stages of life.

Do dementia care management programs work? A podcast with David Reuben and Greg Sachs
GeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, David Reuben, Greg Sachs; 8/28/25
With all the attention focused on Alzheimer’s biomarkers and amyloid antibodies, it’s easy to forget that comprehensive dementia care is more than blood draws and infusions. On today’s podcast, we buck this trend and dive into the complexities and challenges of comprehensive dementia care with the authors of two pivotal articles recently published in JAMA.

[United Kingdom] 'The word hospice can be terrifying - but this is why it's giving us extra life' 
Verve Times, story from Wetherby, UK; by Craig Fedirighi; 8/27/25 
The word “hospice” often conjures up images of people living out their final days in a room surrounded by nurses. But one mother says the hospice she goes to with her family has given them a life they could never have imagined would be possible. ... The 32-year-old said: “It’s one of those things where obviously the word hospice, everyone finds it scary. One thinks it’s the worst-case scenario, but it’s not. It’s giving you that extra life that you didn’t know you could have. ..."

Social Media Watch 8/29/25

• Jean Kutner, Chief Academic Officer at UCHealth and Distinguished Professor of Medicine, "Thrilled to share that six The National Institutes of Health ICs have come together to fund the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium led by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). This 5-year, $64m U54 award will support the growth of palliative and hospice care research, developing investigators, advancing new methodologies, and speeding the implementation of evidence-based care practices in the healthcare system across the United States. As one of the 5 principal investigators (along with Ab Brody, Melissa Aldridge, Chris Feudtner and Kimberly Johnson), we look forward to serving persons with serious illness and those who care for them by growing the scientific workforce, and accelerating new science and the evidence-to practice pipeline. Be on the lookout for ASCENT funding opportunities and resources in the near future!"
• Sheila Clark, President and CEO, California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, shared: Hospice Quality: In the Eye of the Beholder. We often hear the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In hospice, the same truth applies to quality. Ask ten people what hospice quality means and you will hear ten different answers. Patients, families, providers, payers, and regulators each see it differently. None of these views is wrong, but none is complete on its own... If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then so is hospice quality. The question for each of us is this: Whose eyes are we willing to see through?

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina: "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?"
Composing Life Out of Loss; Song by Louis Armstrong, sung by Cherie Mannino, video by Joy Berger; 8/29/25
Twenty years have passed, yet Katrina’s memories remain close.
We pause to honor the many lives lost and the survivors whose lives were forever changed.
We tune into the lasting impact of trauma–wherever and whenever it occurs–and how it continues to shape the ways we live, respond, and care for one another.
Today, we hold New Orleans and all “Katrina” communities in our hearts, sharing “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” as a tribute of remembrance and healing.
Editor's Note: Cherie Mannino, LISW (a licensed social worker / therapist), the singer of this recording is the

• great-great-granddaughter of Captain Mary Doullut, first woman riverboat pilot on the Mississippi;
• daughter-in-law of Frank Mannino, "Frankie Mann," beloved jazz music educator throughout Louisiana (died in 2007);
• rescuer of this recording as she fled New Orleans because of Katrina;
• social worker / therapist / musician who turned her loss into wise empathy and healing.

Click here for this brief music/photo video of "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?"