Thomas Waknitz, MDiv, is a professional chaplain and an INELDA-certified end-of-life doula based near Stillwater, Minnesota. He walks alongside residents, families, and staff in all aspects of life and end of life within senior living communities at Lifespark. Thomas also provides spiritual and emotional care for first responders through the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Chaplaincy Corps. He recently joined the board of directors at Brighter Days Family Grief Center, where he helps shape programs for grieving individuals and families across generations.

The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life

By Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN

Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN, is an award-winning hospice and oncology nurse, international speaker, and founder of Doulagivers Institute. As the bestselling author of The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life (Little, Brown Spark, published March 19, 2025), Suzanne has trained hundreds of thousands of end-of-life doulas and family caregivers worldwide. Her mission is simple yet profound: to ensure that every person has the opportunity to die well—with dignity, comfort, and choice.

In these excerpts, Suzanne shares practical, compassionate strategies to address what she calls the elder care crisis. She explores how longer lifespans, rising costs, and limited care resources are colliding—and how families can avoid crisis by creating a Living Well Aging Plan before it’s too late.

We are excited to announce that the INELDA scholarship program has officially reopened this week. The scholarship program is a vital part of our mission to expand access to end-of-life doula training and meet the critical need for doulas in marginalized communities. We are committed to making doulas more accessible to historically underrepresented groups, ensuring that end-of-life care reflects and honors the full diversity of the people it serves.

What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living author and INELDA-certified end-of-life doula Diane Button invites all INELDA doulas to live stream her book launch October 4. This poignant collection of stories highlights the powerful lessons Diane has learned from her “wisdom keepers,” revealing the core elements that contribute to a deep, purposeful existence. The book features the heartfelt narratives of seven INELDA-trained doulas and others, through which “readers are encouraged to reassess their priorities, nurture their connections, and pursue their passions with renewed urgency and appreciation.”

Swan Hospice, located in central and southern New Jersey, has volunteer opportunities for end-of-life doulas who would like experience and hours. Swan Hospice provides supportive, holistic care that promotes comfort for terminally ill adult patients and security for their families. Its services include nursing homes, assisted living, and home service.

Cole has diverse experience from working in and around loss and grief since 2008. She has  worked as a chaplain-thanatologist in one of America’s 25 largest jails, mortuary college professor, crematory operator, hospice volunteer, grief support group leader for children as young as 3 to adults, and death companion, and she has served on the board of a green burial startup and as board president of a historic cemetery and arboretum.

*Please note that due to holidays this webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 30.

“I always invoice clients in advance. We set up a schedule and I explain that I invoice towards the end of the month for the following month’s services. If they are a short-term client, I invoice for the number of upcoming visits we have agreed upon. I let them know what services begin when payment is received.”

-Carla Parkes

Equal Deathcare aims to provide the tools and knowledge to ensure everyone is respected in death, no matter who we are or who we love. The organization teaches marginalized communities how to safeguard themselves and loved ones left behind from unsupportive legal next of kin and indifferent funeral professionals. Equal Deathcare collects nationwide resources and connects people to the deathcare services they need when they need them.

Telling people about their options at end of life constitutes free speech, according to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—and is thus protected by law. That’s the latest development in the case filed by EOL doula Lauren Richwine, who was ordered by the state of Indiana to obtain a funeral director’s license or shutter her doula business, Death Done Differently. The August ruling means that Richwine can continue practicing as a doula without becoming licensed as a funeral director.

“Low, static over time, and possibly unequal”: These are the findings of a recent systematic review on the usage of advance directives. The meta-analysis, published in Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, found a number of factors that indicate the likelihood of having an advance directive. Chronically ill patients, people with a cancer diagnosis, White people, educated people, and women were more likely to complete an advance directive.

Self-compassion isn’t only a useful tool for preventing burnout. It’s also related to attitudes toward end-of-life care, shows new research published in Omega—Journal of Death and Dying. In a study of 219 nurses working in intensive care units in Iran, researchers found that positive attitudes toward caring for dying patients rose in tandem with self-compassion.