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December 2021

DECEMBER 2021
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NEWS BRIEFS MEDIA INELDA UPDATE PRACTICE CORNER EVENTS
INELDA Winter Reading end of life doula books
OUR STAFF’S WINTER READING GUIDE

Winter often allows us to slow down and spend more time in a book. Here are a few of INELDA’s favorite reads.

Shelby (instructor): I would say Midwife for Souls (Pauline Books and Media, 2007) by Kathy Kalina was one of the first books that touched my heart and articulated what I experienced as a nurse. It helped me to realize how I could show up in this work. I also loved Caitlin Doughty’s Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Stories from the Crematory (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015). I love her writing style, and she educated me on the history around death care in our culture. This book gives a very honest look at what cremation is and what it looks like. I only recommend this book to others who are comfortable with frank death discussions.

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Doula Profile

Brian Ghafari, RN, BSN, MSHS

When and why did you decide to become an end-of-life doula?

End-of-life care chose me as the focus of my nursing work. I was called to serve the dying. As a new grad working in an ICU, I was assigned the dying patients since the seasoned staff did not like this part of nursing. I found out that I enjoyed providing care for patients and families going through the dying process. I found that I could be a rainbow in their storm—helping ease their fears and concerns, as well as providing information on the process.

end of life doula profile brian ghafari
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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DECEMBER
Peer Mentoring - BIPOC Peer Mentoring – BIPOC

Second Monday of every month, 7:00–8:30 p.m. (ET). This is a space for discussing opportunities and obstacles that may be specific to INELDA-trained BIPOC members and the communities they serve.

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DECEMBER
December Webinar - I'll Be Caring For You Webinar: I’ll Be Caring for You

Wednesday, 7:00–8:30 p.m. (ET). We will gather together for meditation, self-care, and affirmations as we imagine our tomorrow together. Join Dr. Jamie Eaddy Chism, INELDA’s director of program development, as she cares for you!

5
January
Peer Mentoring - All Doulas Peer Mentoring – INELDA Doulas

First Wednesday of every month, 7:00–8:30 p.m. (ET). We will discuss creative ways to find and work with clients. This is a space for discussing opportunities and obstacles that may be specific to INELDA-trained members and the communities they serve. Once registered, you will receive an email with a new link and passcode for 2022 group mentoring prior to the event.

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january
End-of-Life Doula Training Registration - SPRING 2022 End-of-Life Doula Training Registration Open for Spring 2022

Training registrations will open for our 2022 April, May, and June trainings. Doula training is for those who intend to serve the dying as part of a hospice program, in a hospital or care facility, through a community program, or in a private doula practice.

5
JANUARY
End-of-Life Doula Scholarship Applications - WINTER 2022 Training Scholarship Applications Open for Spring 2022
Scholarship applications open for our 2022 April, May, and June trainings. The application period closes February 2.
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january
Peer Mentoring - BIPOC Peer Mentoring – BIPOC

Second Monday of every month, 7:00–8:30 p.m. (ET). This is a space for discussing opportunities and obstacles that may be specific to INELDA-trained BIPOC members and the communities they serve. Once registered, you will receive an email with a new link and passcode for 2022 group mentoring prior to the event.

20
JANUARY
Peer Mentoring - PRIDE PRIDE Peer Mentoring Group Launches in January

Third Thursday of every month, 7:00–8:30 PM (ET). This is a space for discussing opportunities and obstacles that may be specific to INELDA-trained LGBTQIA2S+ members and the communities they serve.

ongoing End-of-Life Training Registration - WINTER 2022 End-of-Life Doula Training Registration Ongoing for Winter 2022
Spaces are still available for our 2022 January, February, and March trainings. Doula training is for those who intend to serve the dying as part of a hospice program, in a hospital or care facility, through a community program, or in a private doula practice.

MEDIA OF THE MONTH
media heartwood barbara becker
Heartwood: The Art of Living With the End in Mind
by Barbara Becker

Author Barbara Becker—a perpetual seeker, a mom, and an interfaith leader—recounts stories where life and death intersect in unexpected ways. She volunteers on a hospice floor, becomes an eager student of the many ways people find meaning at the end of life, and accompanies her parents in their final days.

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A Missing Seat at the Table: Loss and the Holidays

By Garrett Drew Ellis

Holiday Loss and Grief

The holiday season is a time when grief can be more difficult to navigate—particularly grief surrounding a recent loss, but also for losses that may have occurred in the last few years. No matter where the bereaved find themselves around the world, and no matter what holidays they observe, celebrations of light and family can make grief harder to bear.

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INELDA UPDATE
 A Message from Executive Director Henry Fersko-Weiss

Life is change. Perhaps this principle has become overly popularized in recent years. But its truth is hard to deny. As a fairly recent grandfather in my mid-70s, I see this truth every day from both ends of the life-span perspective. Change is powerful and unnerving at times, but it is also spectacular and presents amazing opportunities.

Message from Executive Director Henry Fr
Of course, change is not just personal; it affects businesses, communities, society, and the earth itself. We have all witnessed some of these larger changes over the past year at a speed and force that can be hard to grapple with but that must be engaged. INELDA is riding the force of change that is affecting the end-of-life doula field and the organic growth of our business. Since the beginning of 2021 we have more than doubled our team of staff and instructors, including two new executive positions. We’ve revised and redesigned our doula training and our website, launched a Care Partners class, expanded our scholarship program, added to our board of trustees, and improved our outreach to people of color, LGBTQIA2S+ people, and people with disabilities.. We have seen the first published research exclusively focused on INELDA doulas and have begun partnering with the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing in a grant to serve African Americans with metastatic breast cancer. I could go on. READ MORE

PITT CTSI GRANT AWARDED TO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING FOR ADVANCED BREAST CANCER PROGRAM

 INELDA® TO HELP ADAPT PROGRAM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

(Jersey City, NJ)- The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA) announce a joint initiative to bring end-of-life care to African American women with metastatic breast cancer. The effort is funded by a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI). The School of Nursing identified a service gap in end-of-life care within this population and committed to close that gap. In partnership with INELDA, the school was awarded the grant to fund end-of-life doula work specifically for African American women with advanced breast cancer. The program will launch in Q1 2022 and include five Pittsburgh-area patients and their families. READ MORE

University of Pittsburgh

INELDA’S DECEMBER WEBINAR

Monthly Member Webinar

I’ll Be Caring for You

Wednesday, December 29TH, 7:00-8:30 pm (ET)

Caring for yourself is one of the most crucial aspects of doula work and is too often forgotten. At INELDA, we recognize how important it is to do what flight attendants have encouraged us to do for years: “Put on your oxygen mask first before helping others.” Let’s end the year together by cultivating a compassionate space for self-care within our community. We are creating this time for you to put on your proverbial oxygen mask and receive care.

Dr. Jamie Eaddy-Chism - I'll Be Caring for You

We will gather together for meditation, self-care, and affirmations as we imagine our tomorrow together. Join Dr. Jamie Eaddy Chism, INELDA’s director of program development, and allow her to care for you!

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PRACTICE CORNER
TOOLBOX TIPS
Tool Box

Contracts can feel awkward, especially when discussing fees for your services. My advice is to be flexible on the use of the word contract, a term that can feel rather legalese and therefore off-putting. 

Feel free to call it a “partnership agreement” or “memorandum of understanding” or to use other language that feels more comfortable for you as an end-of-life practitioner. I also suggest including general information about the role of an end-of-life practitioner along with the partnership agreement. This can outline what services you will and won’t cover. As this is an emotional time in people’s lives, having a document that both you and your client can easily refer back to will help define the terms you established together—allowing you both to benefit from the structure of the relationship.

Shannon McGinn-Corona

SHARING SOURCES
Life Journeys Media: A Legacy Resource

Embarking on legacy projects with clients is often a very rewarding aspect of working as a doula. The telling and recording of stories can bring people who are dying much joy at their end of life, as well as preserve their experiences and memories for their loved ones. But the project can feel overwhelming to some people. Recognizing this through her years of leading life storytelling workshops for elders, Naomi Grossman, CEO of Life Journeys Media, decided to create a product that would make it easier for people to preserve their legacies in a book and pass that on to other generations.

Life Journeys Media

ASK INELDA

Ask Inelda Image - Eucalyptus Branch

I am still unclear on the timeline of doing doula work. Can you lay out a schedule based on three months out from someone’s predicted death? How much are we trying to cover, and how often are we meeting? —B.S.M.

Trainer Shelby Kirillin:  I liken this time period to the birth world. When people are first pregnant, they see a health care provider once a month. As they advance in their pregnancy, visits happen every other week, then weekly, then daily. It’s very much the same with the dying process, and yet every case is different. One example is when clients are far out, I may see them just once a month. The weeks that I am not seeing them, I may send a text and a note to say when we will see each other again. As they progress in their dying, it may be every other week and then weekly. You get a feeling of it from their symptoms, and sometimes I ask them how often they want me there. I always check in before I visit to make sure the clients still want me there. I usually set aside at least an hour for each visit. This will also depend on how you shape your services and whether you’re offering hourly rates or bundled services. The biggest part of being an end-of-life doula is being flexible and knowing that each client will have different needs. What are the care demands on your clients? Do they require legacy and planning? What is the physical and emotional status of the primary caregivers?

Please submit questions to [email protected]
Self-Care Prescription

Calming Wind-Down Stretches

As individuals working with the dying, our regular sleep patterns may often be interrupted. Physically preparing yourself to relax your muscles and wind down can lead to better and deeper sleep.

Shoulder rolls: Stand with a straight back, your legs hip-width apart. Let your arms hang loosely. Shrug both shoulders forward and up, then slowly roll them back and down. Repeat this several times. This helps to loosen the shoulders, neck, and back.

Standing forward bend: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Slowly bend at the hips and fold your torso towards the ground. Keep a small bend in your knees to avoid straining your back. Either let your hands rest on the ground or fold them to hold your elbows. Straighten your knees gently to stretch out the back of your legs.

Back stretch: Lying on your back, bring your right knee towards your chest, then let it fall to your left. Rest your left hand on your right knee and stretch your right arm out straight. Bring your gaze to the right, or slowly let your head fall to the side. Repeat on the opposite side. This twist will gently stretch your spine.

Excerpt adapted from Calm by Michael Acton Smith (Penguin).

Self-Care wind-down stretches

News Briefs
Transgender People Face Barriers to Cancer Screenings

Cancer screenings allow for early detection and can make a significant difference in treatment success. According to an online article in Health Essentials from the Cleveland Clinic, numerous barriers exist for transgender people that prevent them from receiving some cancer screenings, which can lead to diagnosis at later stages. These barriers result from economic disparities, discrimination by health care providers, and screening protocols that don’t acknowledge the difference between anatomy and gender identityREAD MORE

 News Transgender Cancer Screening
California Eases Access to Medical Aid in Dying

 As of January 1, 2022, the California End of Life Option Act, which permits terminally ill adult patients to pursue medical aid in dying, will undergo significant changes. Primary among them is a dramatic reduction from 15 days to 48 hours in the waiting time between the two required oral requests by a patient to their attending physician. READ MORE

News Alzheimers and Viagra
Viagra May Combat Alzheimer’s Disease

After screening a database of seven million male patients followed over a six-year period, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that Viagra appears to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 69%. To further explore the drug’s potential effect on Alzheimer’s, the researchers developed a lab model that showed Viagra (a brand name for sildenafil) increased brain cell growth and reduced the accumulation of tau and amyloid proteins that present in Alzheimer’s diagnoses. READ MORE

Psilocybin Study on Depression in Frontline Pandemic Workers
The Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to what is considered the first trial in the United States to examine the benefits of psilocybin for depression, anxiety, and burnout in frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The synthesized psilocybin will be combined with a therapeutic program used by a diverse population of clinicians. Results from the study are expected to be available in a year. READ MORE
The Final Word
For the Sake of Strangers
Dorianne Laux

No matter what the grief, its weight,

we are obliged to carry it.

We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength

that pushes us through crowds.

And then the young boy gives me directions

so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open,

waiting patiently for my empty body to pass through.

All day it continues, each kindness

reaching toward another—a stranger

singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees

offering their blossoms, a child

who lifts almond eyes and smiles.

Somehow they always find me, seem even

to be waiting, determined to keep me

from myself, from the thing that calls to me

as it must have once called to them—

this temptation to step off the edge

and fall weightless, away from the world.

 
Open Book
 

© INELDA 2021 International End of Life Doula Association is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
Tax ID#: 47-3023741
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