INELDA Teams Up With the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization

When INELDA was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit corporation, our dream was to energize the development of the end of life doula approach to caring for the dying. Since we did our first public training in late 2015, we have witnessed an incredible upsurge in the momentum that is carrying this movement forward. In that first class, we trained 32 people. Since then we have trained over 900 people. And that number doesn’t include the many hundreds of doulas we have trained across the U.S. in programs we have built at hospices, hospitals, senior care facilities, and multiple communities.

In spite of the tremendous growth in the end of life (EOL) doula field, we have been disappointed in the relatively slow adoption of this approach in hospices and palliative care programs. The vast majority of these programs are still unaware of the doula approach. For those organizations that are aware, too many don’t understand the benefits to their patients and families, or to their organizations. But now we have a chance to make this different in a big way.

As of April 25, 2018, an End of Life Doula Council began operating as part of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). This council is dedicated to increasing awareness of the end of life doula role and promoting the use of doulas in hospice and palliative care organizations. The NHPCO is the leading industry organization for hospice and palliative care. INELDA has been involved in the development of the Council from the beginning and I am Vice Chair of the Council.

The Council began its work by writing a definition of the end of life doula role:

End-of-life Doulas (EOLDs) are caregivers who offer non-medical, holistic support and comfort to dying people and their families. Services are varied to meet individual needs and requirements, and may include education and guidance, as well as emotional, spiritual or practical care.

In the first formal meeting the Council also delineated the mission for the Council:

NHPCO hopes to involve its membership in the long-range goal of incorporating EOLDs into care delivery, either as agency staff, specially trained volunteers, or as independent contractors engaged by families. EOLDs enrich the experience for patients, family members and friends, and strengthen the relationship between medical and nonmedical end-of-life support.

The Council will meet once a month to advance the vision of end of life care that I started with 15 years ago, when I created the very first EOL doula program at a hospice in the U.S. That vision is to transform EOL care through the use of doulas, who provide an extra layer of support and guidance to the dying and their families, beyond what hospice can typically provide. Doulas restore the sacredness of the dying experience and bring deeper meaning to everyone involved. This approach to serving the dying has now been adopted by other individuals and organizations who will train doulas, growing the field as they do so. Some of these other teachers are also part of the NHPCO Council, and others will join the Council in the future.

INELDA is extremely pleased with the expansion of the movement we began. And we continue to deliver a training and certification process that we believe represents the standard for professionalism that our students—and ultimately the dying—deserve. We have continued to enrich our trainings and develop new offerings that can help doulas advance their knowledge and expertise. We pledge to all those who train with us that we will always work to improve our offerings and stay at the forefront of the EOL doula movement. We began with this commitment, and it is what drives us every day.

The NHPCO Council is another way we hope to influence the EOL doula movement and make sure that hospices and palliative care programs across the country begin to incorporate the doula approach in their services. Doulas are a natural and valuable extension of the team of people that work so hard to take care of the dying.

As the Council moves more energetically into its work, INELDA will keep you updated on its efforts and let you know how you can help us spread the word. This is an exciting time for all of us who see so clearly how EOL doulas can contribute to changing the way people die for the better.