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Hospice Foundation of America Donates more than $18,000 to the Louisiana and Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization to Help Recover from Katrina
WASHINGTON, November 15—Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) will donate $18,000 to help Louisiana and Mississippi hospices recover from Hurricane Katrina, HFA President David Abrams said today.
Hospice Foundation of America’s unrestricted grant to the Louisiana Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (LMHPCO) represents all funds collected to date by HFA for relief of disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina. It includes an equal, 1:1 match of external funds from HFA’s general fund.
“We are committed to helping hospices affected by Hurricane Katrina,” Abrams said. “Hospice Foundation of America, with offices in Miami, has endured the wrath of many hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew and most recently Hurricane Wilma. On behalf of hospice patients and families, and the hospices that care for them, we felt compelled to react swiftly to the damage caused by Katrina.”
Immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, HFA issued an offer of help to Gulf region hospice organizations. The Foundation’s efforts included:
- purchasing a satellite phone to facilitate communication for the states’ hospice organization;
- setting up a patient-locator area on the HFA website (www.hospicefoundation.org) to help reconnect families and hospice patients; and
- posting a special Katrina Designation section on its donation webpage so that donors could ensure that their donations would go directly to hospices affected by the hurricanes.
Jamey Boudreaux, Executive Director of LMHPCO, told HFA, “You all have been there for me during the entire storm. I was looking for a satellite phone and you came through with the satellite phone immediately—it was a comfort to have knowing that if everything else failed, that would be there.”
Boudreaux also told HFA that they have received an estimated total of $90,000 in donations. They are issuing $500 checks to hospice patients and hospice employees whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged by Katrina. Many of these checks arrived before FEMA checks and insurance settlements.
Boudreaux says that besides the generosity that Hurricane Katrina has spurred throughout the country, “The disaster relief fund is really bringing hospice providers together—we now are having meetings of all hospice providers along the Gulf Coast.”
“We are grateful to all of the donors for realizing this need,” Abrams said. “Caring for the dying is never easy. Caring for the dying during and after a disaster requires heroic people and heroic organizations. We trust that HFA’s grant will help hospices continue their important work.”
HFA exists to help those who cope personally or professionally with terminal illness, death and the process of grief and bereavement. For more information about hospice or HFA’s programs, visit www.hospicefoundation.org
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