Louisiana hospitals must now install bedside cooling units for bereaved families
A new state law mandates training and equipment to slow physical changes in deceased infants, giving parents more time to say goodbye.
By Luana Sato ·
Louisiana hospitals with maternity or neonatal intensive care units are now required to provide cooling devices for families who lose an infant.
The state passed Angel’s Law in 2026 to standardize bereavement care. The legislation mandates that hospitals train staff in grief support and connect families with counseling services. A central component of the law requires facilities to provide access to a cooling device. This equipment slows the natural physical changes that occur after a baby dies. The delay allows families more time for holding, taking photos, and making footprints.
Kristi Lamarque-Bordelon, a bereavement nurse navigator at St. Tammany Health System, advocated for the change. She took her proposal to Louisiana lawmakers in September 2025. Lamarque-Bordelon lost her daughter, Angelle, almost 28 years ago. She recalled having limited time with the infant and keeping only one picture and a curl of hair as mementos. She named the law after her daughter. Senator Patrick McMath helped carry the bill to a statewide vote. Lamarque-Bordelon said the legislative process was smooth, noting, “We got all yeses.”
The need for additional time is driven by the rapidity of post-mortem changes. Without intervention, these changes can shorten the window families have with their deceased child. Historically, many hospitals used ice packs tucked into blankets to slow the process. This method was often uncomfortable for parents. Megan Fussell, a nurse at St. Tammany Health System and a bereaved mother, described the experience. Her son, Taylor, was born without kidney development at 37 weeks. Fussell said he lived for a little over an hour. She had one day with her son after his death. She recalled the physical difficulty of the old method, saying, “You were not only holding your child, but you were also holding the bulky, cold ice packs as well.”
New small bedside cooling devices offer a more effective alternative. Sarah Montreuil lost her daughter, Faith, when the infant’s heart stopped at 22.5 weeks. Montreuil did not expect that day to be the final goodbye. The cooling device provided the family with the time needed to examine Faith’s features and hold her. Montreuil said the time allowed her parents to meet their granddaughter. She stated, “That gave us that time… to study her features, to just hold her, to love her, for our parents to meet her.”
The Louisiana Department of Health reported that all relevant facilities now have at least one cooling device available for use. Jordan Losavio, assistant secretary for the department’s Office on Women’s Health and Community Health, confirmed this milestone. The law also authorizes the department to seek grants and donations to financially support the initiative.
Joan M. Coffman, CEO of St. Tammany Health System, credited Lamarque-Bordelon with expanding the hospital’s existing program. Coffman said the perinatal bereavement team relies on nurses, physicians, and chaplains. She described these three groups as the core of the program. Coffman noted that Lamarque-Bordelon reached out to Senator McMath to allow him to take the initiative statewide.
Lamarque-Bordelon said families have thanked her for the additional time the work has provided. She said her goal is to make Angel’s Law the foundation of perinatal bereavement care nationwide. Montreuil said the time she had with Faith still provides peace. She said, “It still gives me peace knowing that we had the time that we wanted to have. We were able to do it on our own terms in a way.”
Lamarque-Bordelon stated that her work is not about herself. She said, “When I know that a family is like, ‘Thank you, because of this, I got to make the memories with my baby.’ You know, it’s not about me.”
