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Prince Wren Jr., 94, a native of Patterson and resident of Lafayette, died Friday, July 12, 2024, at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Jones Funeral Home in Morgan City. Burial will follow in Berwick Cemetery.
He is survived by his wife, Edna Williams Wren of Lafayette; son, Dana Wren of Lafayette; daughters, Andrea Smith and Allegra Wren, both of Lafayette; six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, a daughter and brother.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Registration for Medicaid in Louisiana dropped 18.5% from about 2.1 million to 1.7 million over the last 12 months, according to a recent report.
More than two-thirds of nonrenewals were terminated for procedural reasons, meaning registration forms incorrectly completed or not completed. Across the United States, about 1 in 3 Medicaid enrollees never completed the renewal process. 
Medicaid is health insurance program for low-income and people in need is paid  with county, state and federal tax dollars.
The demographics include children, elderly, blind and the disabled. Also covered are people eligible to receive federal assisted income maintenance payments.
The numbers are monitored by KFF, an independent nonprofit research, polling and journalism entity, monitors the unwinding of eligibility re-determinations associated with federal Medicaid rules and funding from the COVID-19 era. The continuous enrollment provision expired April 1, 2023; the subsequent time is colloquially called unwinding.
According to a KFF, nearly a quarter of those dropped from medicaid nationally are currently uninsured. About 47% of individuals dropped nationally during the unwinding period re-enrolled; this is accounted for in the state number of enrollments. 
The Foundation for Government Accountability, an organization “looking to trade in government checks for paychecks,” says Louisiana is in desperate need of a medicaid reduction.
“Louisiana is one of those states that should say, ‘Hey, do we really want to offer this Medicaid expansion to a quarter million able-bodied adults?’” FGA Policy Director Sam Adolphsen told The Center Square on Tuesday.
Adolphsen was referring to Louisiana being one of three states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare. The able-bodied qualify. An individual is not allowed to receive a private insurance plan if they’re eligible for the expanded Medicaid. 
Adolphsen’s group says 98% of low-income adults in America already have access to health plans with no out-of-pocket premium and no deductible, so kicking those individuals off private insurance bursts already tight budgets. 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a survey that found Louisiana’s hospital shortfalls in 2021 more than doubled the shortfalls before expansion. A shortfall is the difference between hospital payments from Medicaid and the cost of providing services to enrollees. 
Adolphsen says this is because Medicaid is a “poor payer” in the health care system.
Although the number of people on Medicaid has dropped during the unwinding period, Adolphsen says the real baseline for Louisiana is closer to 1.5 million, so the goal should be to get back to numbers before COVID-19. 
“They’re pegging that off of a high during COVID, which is an artificial high,” Adolphsen said. 
He believes Gov. Jeff Landry could help lower that number. 
“I think Louisiana is going to get back to what the right number is, because your current governor has a commitment to preserving resources for those truly needy individuals,” Adolphsen said. “He’s on the record about that, he’s been great on welfare fraud. He’s got a good leadership team in place, so I believe they’re going to do a good job at getting the program where it needs to be.”

Thibodaux Regional Health System announced the addition of Kimberly S. Dalmau, MD, gastroenterology, to the active medical staff.
She has joined Dr. Pasam Rao at Thibodaux Regional Gastroenterology Clinic, 604 North Acadia Road, Suite 410, Thibodaux, 985-493-4120.
Dalmau received her medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her Internship and residency in internal medicine at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans and completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at LSU in New Orleans.
Dalmau is board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. She specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and management of many digestive conditions such as GERD, diverticulitis, peptic ulcer disease, and IBS as well as colon cancer prevention and colonoscopy.
Thibodaux Regional Health System is an award-winning health system nationally recognized for excellence in clinical quality, patient experience, innovation, and vision and leadership. The system has been recognized as a five-star hospital by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Thibodaux Regional has more than 100 physician specialists, a premier, an 80,000-square-foot Cancer Institute, a nationally acclaimed 250,000-square-foot Wellness Center and Sports Complex, and many other clinical services.
Thibodaux Regional is a leader in providing highly specialized services including heart and vascular surgery, medical and radiation oncology, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, plastic and reconstructive surgery, laparoscopic bariatric surgery, pulmonology, rheumatology, women’s services, sleep disorders, wound care, inpatient and outpatient physical rehabilitation, and wellness services.

NephCure, the world’s leading research-based, patient advocacy nonprofit dedicated to finding better treatments and ultimately a cure for patients suffering from nephrotic syndrome and other rare, chronic kidney diseases, will host its fifth annual Boogie on the Bayou 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Gros’ Marina in Morgan City.
NephCure’s Boogie on the Bayou event is a family-friendly afternoon that will feature a special performance by local band Ryan Foret & Foret Tradition, fresh seafood from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, a silent and live auction, games, and more for the whole family to enjoy.
The event aims to raise awareness and money to help those who are living with rare and debilitating kidney diseases, and support NephCure’s efforts to find better treatments and ultimately a cure. Nephrotic Syndrome is an umbrella term for a range of rare, protein- spilling kidney diseases that currently have no cure and few effective treatments.
Over 35 million Americans, or one in seven, will develop chronic kidney disease. NephCure has provided more than $40 million to date in support of medical research, and today there are over 60 clinical trials studying new treatment therapies.
All proceeds from Boogie on the Bayou will support NephCure’s mission of finding a cure and providing education and support that will improve the lives of those affected by these rare kidney diseases, including many local Louisiana families.
General admission for the event will be $5 to be paid upon arrival. For more information visit give.nephcure.org/Boogie2024.
NephCure’s mission is to empower people with rare, protein-spilling kidney disease to take charge of their health, while leading the revolution in research, new treatments, and care.
Founded in 2000 by a group of committed patient parents, NephCure has invested more than $40 million in kidney disease research and helped create a landscape where there are now more than 60 interventional drug trials for primary glomerular kidney diseases.
NephCure is a U.S. tax exempt 501(c)(3) public charity.