*July Webinar* Doula Support in Hospitals: A conversation with Ginger Griffin

Ginger Griffin Since 2006, Ginger has been in her role as a social work case manager at a 25-bed critical access hospital in eastern North Carolina. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in medical social work and has been an accredited case manager since 2010. When the health system where she is employed began a concerted effort to improve end of life care and treatment, she felt greater training, education and understanding was needed to better serve the patients and families facing end of life. At the urging of co-workers who completed INELDA training with Shelby and Nicole, Ginger completed the INELDA training in 2018, in Raleigh, NC. She then completed her death doula certification process in 2019.

Since then, she has also completed training with Amy Wright Glenn to work with pregnancy loss, miscarriage, fetal demise and still birth. In 2023, she recertified thru INELDA as a death doula. Ginger has a dual role in her hospital. Not only does she provide social work/case management services, but she also works as a death doula for those patient and families placed in palliative/comfort care. She also extends her training to the family birthing unit when a fetal demise occurs or when the cuddle cot is utilized. Ginger has co-facilitated an infant loss support group, worked with other hospitals in the health system to develop and enhance their palliative care services and promotes advance directive awareness. In addition, Ginger has also trained hospital volunteers in the No One Dies Alone Program, so every patient in palliative/comfort care could have a comforting presence in their final hours.