• How a lifelong Ochsner patient became an advocate for palliative care (page

Helping Families Find Peace and Strength Through Palliative Care

A generous donation will further the work of Ochsner’s Palliative Care Innovation Fund

By Melissa G. Landry | Photo: Melissa G. Landry

Virginia Weinmann in her home in New Orleans.

Virginia Weinmann and her family have been patients at Ochsner since the very beginning. Back then, in 1942, the clinic was at the corner of Aline and Prytania streets in Uptown, New Orleans. “We knew Dr. Ochsner had started it and he had a very good reputation,” Virginia said.

When Virginia’s husband, John Weinmann, started feeling unwell in 2016, it made perfect sense to go to Ochsner. They were longtime donors to many initiatives, including campaigns for research, educational lectures and unrestrictive gifts to provide help where it was most needed.

John’s illness began with a backache. At first, the Weinmanns thought John had simply strained his back after falling out of bed not long before. But after an appointment with his primary care physician, they received news that no family wants to hear: John had cancer.

The cancer was quickly spreading, and John’s pain was becoming unbearable. It only got worse as time went on. Within weeks, John was admitted to the hospital.

Given the complicated nature of the disease, doctors had conflicting opinions on treatment options. The family was even given a hopeful prognosis at one point. “The doctor told us that he would treat it, and my husband would go home and be as good as new by September,” Virginia recalled.

Although John improved initially, he regressed again. His immune system couldn’t withstand the treatment. On June 9, 2016, two days shy of their 61st wedding anniversary, John passed away. His loss was devastating for Virginia and her children, as were the few weeks prior. “They said that they could keep him comfortable, but they couldn’t,” she said. “They tried everything in the book.” The art and science of endof-life care

Palliative care is an area of medicine that focuses on improving the quality of life for patients living with serious illness and their families, like the Weinmanns. Despite the excellent care at Ochsner, Virginia wished she and John had received more palliative care services and guidance around end-of-life planning. She wanted more information to prepare herself, her husband and her children for enduring— and cherishing—their final days together. “People need to know the good and the bad,” Virginia said.

Virginia had kept detailed notes throughout John’s last months. She realized that by sharing her feelings and experience, she could help others watching a loved one deal with harrowing illness. “I began to think that it would be helpful for others to have someone who really knows how to talk to the patient and the family, prepare them for what might happen, and help them go through it,” she said.

A year after John’s passing, Virginia met with a doctor to discuss her ideas. The physician told her about palliative medicine, and the efforts at Ochsner to expedite treatment and improve communications. Virginia understood that this level of care was more about the art of treatment rather than the science of medicine.

Virginia and John’s altruism spanned decades but, in 2021, Virginia made an exceptionally generous gift to Ochsner Palliative Care Innovation Fund. Her

donation provided resources to train all Ochsner physicians in the art of palliative care.

“This gift will give us the ability to train staff on how to have and document

meaningful advanced care planning conversations so that their wishes will be followed by the healthcare team, giving comfort to both the patient and their families,” said Shannon Wentz, System AVP of Palliative Medicine at Ochsner Health. “We also plan to use the funds for specialized bereavement training for each campus, so that there will be an expert on the grieving process to assist families during their times of loss.”

The training includes five monthly

classes, with up to 25 providers in each class. It’s geared toward medical students and residents, affording them the chance to hone their palliative care skills early in their careers. Hospital medicine and critical care physicians who work closely with patients in need of end-of-life resources will receive priority training.

“This gift will give wings to the many ideas we have to educate our caregivers in the delivery of high-quality palliative care, and it is so appreciated,” Shannon said.

Virginia is improving the end-of-life experiences for countless families. Thanks to her generosity, medical professionals will be better prepared to broach difficult conversations with sensitivity, allowing patients’ wishes to be honored while relieving families of stressful decisionmaking during a time of crisis.

“I’m excited that it’s happening,” Virginia said. “That doctors will be trained, and be able to spread their knowledge to make a difference for families throughout our community. I hope they feel encouraged knowing I made this gift because I believe in them and in their abilities. And I hope others join me in doing the same.”

“I hope they feel encouraged knowing I made this gift because I believe in them

and in their abilities. And I hope others join

me in doing the same. ” — Virginia Weinmann

A Perfect Match

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her husband and daughter, but she refused to let her fear show. The morning of the operation, she bounced between their rooms, “making sure that they’re both ok, that no one needs anything,” she said.

Angelle knew she could count on Ochsner’s Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) to provide support. Trained in child development, psychology and counseling, CCLS are a resource for pediatric patients and their families. “I know that if they’re there, Cecilia is fine,” said Angelle.

As Rhett was rolled into the operating room, he high-fived his daughter and exchanged “I love yous” with his wife. Recalling the Shaffette’s long battle to find Cecilia a healthy donor liver, Dr. Seal said, “With living donation, Rhett really had this extraordinary opportunity to take some control of this scary process.”

Dr. Seal got to work bisecting Rhett’s healthy liver. Shortly after, Cecilia’s surgery began. As Dr. Seal brought the donor liver to Cecilia’s operating room, “I was frankly shocked to see her liver… it’s really a miracle she made it as long as she did with this liver,” he recalled.

Rhett’s donation was seamlessly placed inside Cecilia, a perfect match. The Greg Smith Fund: supporting transplant recipients and their families

The road to recovery is a long one for transplant recipients, living donors and their families. Aside from the cost of the surgery and weeks of treatment, families also need to cover transportation, medications and post-operative care on top of food, housing and utilities.

The Ochsner Transplant Team launched the Greg Smith Fund in memory of a beloved clinical transplant coordinator who always went above and beyond to help families in situations like the Shaffettes during their toughest times with whatever they needed. Whether it’s covering care that insurance has declined, or funding gas so a parent can make ongoing hospital visits, the Greg Smith Fund fills in the gaps. Taking control of life again

A few months later, Rhett and Cecilia are both recovered and living healthy, normal lives. For Cecilia, that’s a first.

“It’s an indescribable feeling, to be able to save somebody else by donating something of yours,” Rhett shared. “She’s my little fighter. She’s my survivor. She’s awesome.”

In Brief: Innovations in Medicine and Patient Care

Discover ways Ochsner is staying on the cutting edge of medical research and treatments

By Rachel Carp

Making Strides Against the Most Common Cancer

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, which means there is no better time to highlight the Melanoma Program Fund. With over 5 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year, skin cancer is the most common—and preventable—type of cancer.

Today, the Melanoma Program Fund is helping to advance skin cancer care and treatment at Ochsner. Currently, Ochsner has three active melanoma therapeutic clinical trials and another two in startup stages. The team is also designing a clinical trial to test a novel medication that aims to both improve cancer outcomes and decrease the side effects that often come with immunotherapy regimens. This important research would not be possible without the support of our generous donors.

Innovative Care in Cardiovascular Health

Ochsner Health is on the cutting-edge of research in many areas of health care. This includes electrical cardioversion, a procedure that works to return an abnormal heartbeat to its standard rhythm. Gary Cox, a patient at Ochsner, expressed his gratitude with a philanthropic donation to the research of Daniel P. Morin, MD, MPH, Director of Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Morin is testing a novel strategy for electrical cardioversion in obese patients.

“We give to research each year because we know the impact of our donation might not benefit a large number of people in the present, but we know it will change the lives of so many in the future,” Gary said. “You can give a smaller amount and make a much bigger impact. In fact, the impact will outlive you and benefit generations to come.”

The cardioversion trial is a collaboration between Dr. Morin and Michael Castine, MD, at Ochsner Westbank, along with Paari Dominic, MD, at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport. Dr. Morin has helped devise the protocol and is on the trial’s steering committee. So far, Ochsner Health has enrolled 311 of the 633 patients involved in the trial at all of the centers combined.

Gary and his wife Jackie Cox support cardiovascular research because “the impact will outlive you and benefit generations to come,” Gary said. Photo: Gary Cox

COVID-19: Challenges and Progress

In the two years since COVID-19 changed life as we knew it and forced us to pause, Ochsner has been on the forefront of research related to the virus. Thanks to donor support, Ochsner was able to quickly initiate a project to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in New Orleans early in the pandemic. Currently, Principal Investigator Amy Feehan, PhD, is working on identifying the spread of Omicron (BA.1) and its newly emerging sister variant BA.2.

“We have the ability to gather a lot of data rapidly, but it would really help to be sequencing twice as many samples per week and jump from 50 to 100,” Dr. Feehan said. “Sequencing costs approximately $200 per sample, not including Ochsner processing costs. So far, donor support has been crucial to the success of our research—and we can make even more progress with your help.”

After 38 days in the ICU, a healthcare hero and COVID-19 patient was discharged from Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner in May 2020. Hospital staff lined the halls and cheered as Peter Woullard left the hospital. Peter has been working on the frontlines of the pandemic response at St. Charles Parish Hospital before testing positive for COVID-19 in late March 2020. Amy Feehan, PhD is the principal investigator for COVID-19 research at Ochsner

To see Amy in her own words, scan this code to watch a video.

Ochsner’s Vision for Healthy Vision

To celebrate Healthy Vision Month this May, we’re highlighting Ochsner’s Ophthalmology Research and Development Fund. The fund helps ensure that Ochsner physicians remain at the forefront of vision care, providing the most effective and cuttingedge procedures. Last year’s gifts helped support telemedicine for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disorder found in premature infants, at Ochsner Medical Center - West Bank. This crucial service has significantly improved the rapid assessment of babies at risk for blindness due to ROP. It’s essential for triaging babies for observation, employing rapid ROP treatment and monitoring the resolution of eye disease, all while preventing blindness in many premature babies.

Another tool supported by your donations is the Optos Camera, which has improved the efficiency and accuracy of making diagnoses of the retina. It supports Ochsner’s goal of presenting medical students, residents, fellows and patients with an easy-to-understand image of the patient’s eye condition. It also supports physicians’ research by making it easier to prepare patient case reports using images from the camera.

Glimpses

Ochsner continued to hold safe and fun events, bringing together our community of patients and practitioners to benefit our outstanding health services. Check out some photos from some of the events.

Congratulations Class of 2022! On Friday, March 18, 2022, our University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School students celebrated match day with a 98% match rate! Our new alumni enjoyed spectacular views at Rosie’s on the Roof in New Orleans as we toasted their accomplishments and welcomed them to the Ochsner Alumni Association. L to R: Rohit Rajendran, Dodd Denton, Hannah Rosenthal, a friend of the graduates and Nick Newcomb Photo: Helen Zito

Ochsner Community Health Center - Brees Family Center first anniversary celebration in Baton Rouge. This location has made a big difference for the Baton Rouge community and, according to East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome “has improved families’ ability to receive health care. To seek testing that is crucial to diagnosing, treating and managing illnesses. To receive COVID-19 vaccines. And the ability to do all this closer to home.” We are proud of the progress we’ve made and will continue to make in this community! Photo: Patrick Clay The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Alumni Reception was held in Chicago, Illinois on March 25, 2022. The event was hosted by George Chimento, MD. L to R: Dr. Amalia Decomas, Dr. George Chimento and Dr. Jim Mautner Photo: Helen Zito

Dr. Lock Ochsner, Dr. Pat O’Brien, Mary Lou Ochsner, Dr. Christopher White, Allen Davis and Miles Clements at the Red Tie Affair. Dr. White was honored with the John Ochsner Award. Photo: Ray Bender

Dr. Sammy Khatib, Gina Khatib, Jessica King-Bernard and Dr. Michael Bernard served as co-chairs for the Red Tie Affair on March 12. Photo: Ray Bender Dr. Richard Strub and Dr. Michael Sullivan gather with others for the Retired Physicians’ Luncheon on March 14 at the Stewart Riverview Terrace in the Benson Cancer Center. Photo: Beth Burris

To learn more about any of the funds mentioned in this issue or to make a donation, please scan this code.

May 13, 2022

Four Seasons Hotel Ochsner launched Colors of the Mind four years ago to generate revenue for the Neuroscience Patient Assistance Fund. The fund helps patients and caregivers defray expenses associated with a long-term or critical illness. The event also benefits programs such as the Neuroscience Innovation Fund, which allows clinicians access to the tools to provide cutting-edge care to patients.

May 21, 2022

Mardi Gras World The inaugural Imagination Gala will not only celebrate the incredible achievements of the clinicians of OHFC, but also raise funds in support of the patients and further advancements in pediatric healthcare.

November 2022

Since 2013, the Moonlight & Miracles Gala has generated much-needed funds to directly benefit the patients and programs at the Ochsner Cancer Institute’s comprehensive centers, located throughout New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the Northshore. For more information, visit ochsner.org/ moonlight.