T h i n k i n g f o r To m o r r o w
Attendees learn about Ochsner Neuroscience Institute’s mission at the inaugural Colors of the Mind fundraiser.
Pau l an d Do n n a Flower h o pe to e n s u re a b e tte r fu t u re fo r co gnitively im pa ire d pa t ien t s an d c are g i ve rs . By Jordan LaHaye
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n September 2019, Woodward Design + Build’s CEO, Paul Flower, stood onstage at the Fillmore New Orleans and told a story about his father’s decline by Alzheimer’s. “[I remember] the time he couldn’t remember my name when I came to visit. So he said, ‘You are the one who builds things.’… [Another time], Dad started talking, and though I could not understand, I listened as he went on for several minutes, then stopped and started laughing. He had told me a joke, so I thought of one of the many funny stories we had shared and laughed, too. And then, when he could not remember anything about me, but there was light and reaction in his eyes. Finally, no reaction, and hospice.” Alongside his wife, Donna, Paul was serving as the presenting sponsor for the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute’s inaugural Colors of the Mind fundraising event. Since the Institute’s beginnings, the Flowers have been some of the most fervent supporters of Ochsner’s vision for a center of excellence in Neuroscience, fueled by their own 10-year journey through his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s. That battle began 25 years ago, when resources — especially in the New Orleans area — were extremely limited. General understanding of the disease wasn’t widespread, and most assisted living facilities had no way to appropriately care for the memory impaired. “I think of what we went through with my father, and the great difficulties we had until we found one of the few people at the time who knew anything about memory impairment, a psychiatrist whose practice specialized in dementia,” said Paul. “We were one of the lucky ones.” Having access to focused, knowledgeable memory care made all the difference for the Flowers. It provided them with a diagnosis and deeper understanding of Paul’s father’s condition;
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training on how to best care for him, which allowed them to keep him at home much longer; access to experimental drugs, which greatly slowed down the disease’s progression; and then, eventually, entry into an assisted living home that had the resources to care for dementia patients. At that time, there were only four Alzheimer residential care homes in New Orleans caring for 16 patients. “There just was very little available at the time, and most assisted living homes weren’t trained for patients like him,” said Paul. Six years ago, when Ochsner’s President and CEO Warner Thomas shared his vision with Paul and Donna — plans to build a Neuroscience Center of Excellence, with resources to better serve cognitively-impaired patients and to explore the complex illnesses of the brain — the couple deeply understood the potential impact. In the past four years, the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute has developed into a cutting edge, patient-centered program — the only institution of its kind in the entire Gulf Coast region to achieve national ranking from U.S. News & World Report in neurology and neurosurgery. With some of the top experts in the field, its Brain Health and Cognitive Disorders Program takes a multidisciplinary approach to dementia care that is reflective of the Flowers’ own positive experience — emphasizing research, early diagnosis and comprehensive care plans geared toward increasing quality of life. “In our program, we really want to be sure that we are providing answers to the questions of patients and family members,” said System Chair of Neurology Richard Zweifler, MD. “We want to minimize the stress and anxiety that comes with the diagnosis of a degenerative neurological disease and the uncertainty of what the future will hold. Then, we want to provide as much support
