By Halle Parker, Verite News, KFF Health News

In late August 2020, Ashlee Guidry and her staff kept a wary eye on guidance from local officials as Hurricane Laura passed over Cuba en route to southwestern Louisiana. Guidry was responsible for the safety of dozens of people living at Stonebridge Place, an assisted living and memory care facility in Sulphur.

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For days, Laura was just a tropical storm, wet and disorganized. But the Gulf of Mexico was warm — much warmer than average. Local officials worried the temperatures could supercharge the storm as it spun toward the Louisiana coast. So, just as Laura approached the open Gulf, two days before it would make landfall 30 miles south of Stonebridge, Guidry made the call to evacuate.

“I don’t think anybody anticipated it t

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