Doula Profile: Lisa Kaufman
Lisa Kaufman, MSRS, CMC, CTRS, C-EOLD, is a fellow/certified professional Aging Life Care manager and has worked with the specialized allied health needs of older adults since 1993. She has owned and operated SeniorCare Options since 2001. She is an active member of the Aging Life Care Association and is one of only a handful of certified care managers in Georgia as well as the only fellow/certified Aging Life Care professional in the state. She holds a certificate of gerontology from Kennesaw State University, and she is a certified trainer and consultant for Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care. She sits on the ALCA board of directors, and she is a past president of the ALCA southeastern chapter and a member of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association,. She is also an INELDA-trained end-of-life doula. In addition to championing for older adults, Lisa enjoys reading, cooking, and creating visual art. She lives with her spirited cats, and they keep her very entertained.
Q&A with Lisa
When and why did you decide to become an end-of-life doula?
I trained with INELDA in 2017, and as an Aging Life Care manager, I provide services up to the end of life. I wanted more training and a designation to better serve my clients and families.
How long have you been doing this type of work?
Intrinsically my entire health care career, but more formally since 2018.
What type of environment do you work in?
I own my own Aging Life Care management practice and provide patient advocacy, case coordination, and assessments on-site—wherever the client calls home. End-of-life doula work is an extension of that for me.
What do you do before you meet with a new client?
I have a free consultation with the family to assess needs and appropriateness and explain my process. Should they want to engage with me, I send my letter of agreement and schedule the initial visit to begin working with that client. I like to center myself before the first in-person meeting.
Can you share a short anecdote or insight that changed you?
I am much more comfortable with the signs and signals of the active dying process to help families traverse this difficult time. I encourage them to speak to the dying person and allow for silence. I model behavior to reduce discomfort and fear. My experience has taught me that our lives, dreams, and relationships all amount to one basic thing in the end—love. Encouraging families to be open to the love and expression with the departing loved ones is a gift, and the one true thing that matters above all else.
Who has been one of your teachers or mentors?
Teepa Snow, OTR/L, of Positive Approach to Care. She is amazing with clients having dementia, and the skills work well with end of life, too.
What do you wish you had known when you started as a doula?
How challenging it is to explain to others that being an end-of-life doula is not hospice, and for hospice to be open to working with outside providers who are not their volunteers.
Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow doulas?
Watch your boundaries, and remember you have your own relationship with death. Yours is yours, and theirs is theirs.
What is your dream for your practice or doulas in general?
I would love to have a team of end-of-life doulas to be able to provide true continuous care support during the active dying stage.