Dr. Laurel Herbst (née Hermanson), 76, passed away at home in San Diego, CA on October 22, 2021, surrounded by family.

Born in Cleveland, OH, she moved to San Diego with her parents and brother, James, in the 4th grade.  At the age of 15, she was recruited to an early-admission program at University of Southern California, where she attended both undergraduate and medical school, graduating in 1969. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at LA County Hospital (USC).  She then did her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology in San Francisco at the VA, graduating in 1975.  After her divorce in 1977, she returned to San Diego with her three children, Michael, and twins Kathryn and Karen.

Dr. Laurie, as she was known to patients and colleagues alike, owned a private practice in Coronado, CA, and was the founding Medical Director for the San Diego Hospice in 1978.  It was the first hospice in San Diego and established prior to the development of the hospice Medicare benefit.  In fact, SDH was a pilot site to establish that benefit.  In that role, she helped to transform the organization into a world-leading center for Palliative Medicine, opening an in-patient Hospice, one of the first of its kind, in 1992, and developing a research and education program that continues to impact the practice of palliative care internationally.  She was a founding member of the National Academy of Hospice Physicians and sat as their President from 1995-1996.  During her tenure, she oversaw the name transition to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and the group advocated for Palliative Care to become its own medical specialty, a goal achieved in 2006. Along with educational efforts, Dr. Herbst recognized that hospice patients were under-represented in research literature and that it was critical to have mechanisms to test interventions that could improve care for this patient populations.  To that end she championed the development of an Institutional Review Board based within San Diego Hospice that paved the way for countless research projects to inform best practices in the care of hospice patients.  Key research was performed on interventions including ketamine, lidocaine, methylnaltrexone, statins, acupuncture, and dignity therapy among many others. Dr. Herbst made sure all of her faculty and trainees understood the importance of being involved on the local and national level to advance the principles of palliative care and the care for seriously ill patients. After 34 years, Laurel retired from San Diego Hospice and Institute for Palliative Care as their Vice President, Medical Affairs in 2011, but continued as an administrative volunteer at Scripps Mercy Hospital for several years.  Laurel also volunteered and taught internationally, working as a consultant to the Chinese Association for Life Care in Beijing, and helped initiate the change in Tanzania's law to legalize morphine for seriously ill patients.  Her life's work, while often challenging, was an enactment of her favorite quote by Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

During her life, Laurel was an avid enthusiast of the outdoors - she was happiest while tending her garden, or camping and fishing for trout in the rivers of California, Colorado, and Montana.  She also preached autodidactism and self-reliance, frequently asserting "If it's in a book, I can learn to do it", a sentiment she demonstrated by doing everything from framing a room addition to plumbing repairs.

Laurel is survived by her three children and two grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for the near future.  In lieu of flowers, Laurel preferred donations made to  Dr Laurel Herbst's Palliative Care Education Fund through http://jcfsandiego.org/