MAiD: A Personal Story of Family, Policy and Commitment to Care
Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 7pm – 8:30pm ET
Our February webinar is open to all INELDA members as part of membership benefits.
Please login to your INEDLA Account to access the recording:
Webinar Guests:
Amanda Marie Ellis King, CFSP | Embalmer and Funeral Director, INELDA Trained-Doula
Jackie Naginey Hook, MA | Spiritual director, Celebrant, and INELDA_trained End-of-life Doula at Koch Funeral Home
Webinar Moderator:
Kimberly Stravers | INELDA Educator, Celebrant, and Former Funeral Attendant
Webinar Guest(s):
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Zeyneb Sayilgan, Ph.D. | Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS)
Please note that due to the Christmas holiday, our webinar schedule for December has been moved to the third week of the month. (This event typically meets on the final Wednesday of the month.)
Our September webinar is open to all INELDA members as part of membership benefits.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 7pm – 8:30pm ET
Webinar Guests:
Thalia DeWolf, RN and at the Academy of Aid in Dying Medicine
Janine Cuthbertson | INELDA’s membership coordinator, hospice volunteer and INELDA-trained End-of-life Doula
Webinar Moderator:
Douglas Simpson | INELDA Executive Director and board member of Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine
Webinar Guest(s):
-
Zeyneb Sayilgan, Ph.D. | Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS)
Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) is an end-of-life option where a physician prescribes medication to a competent adult with a terminal illness who wishes to end their life this way. As of January 2025, numerous countries and 11 states in the US have legalized MAiD, recognizing it as a humane way for people with terminal illness to end their lives. This March’s webinar MAiD: A Personal Story of Family, Policy and Commitment to Care will feature Thalia DeWolf, RN and INELDA’s membership coordinator, Janine Cuthbertson as they recount the inspiring story of Janine’s mother’s end-of-life journey with Medical Aid in Dying under Thalia’s supervision.
From Janine’s mother’s decision to use MAiD, to Janine’s fearful realization that no medical professionals were allowed by the hospice to be present, to their brave decision to connect with Thalia to seek the help that they needed, we will set the stage for the great acts of courage and advocacy that followed. We will explore Thalia’s reasons for going against the hospice’s rules and the decision to remain with the patient and family, the reasons Thalia lost their job because of those actions, and their subsequent appeal to an ethics board to challenge what they believed to be inhumane laws. We will discuss the outcome of the case which was reviewed and analyzed at length in various respected ethics journals.
Janine shares, “When my mother chose to use MAiD in 2021, I was her advocate and bedside caregiver. Through my—and from my—fear and anxiety from the acute lack of support, communication, and education from my mother’s medical team and strict red tape from her hospice, I vowed to not let others go through the same.“
This webinar will be a powerful look into the ways that MAiD helps people with terminal illness transition, the ways that fear complicates grief, how deathcare practitioners can be the best advocates for their patients and circles of care, and how laws that don’t protect the most vulnerable are meant to be challenged. We hope you will join us to hear this deeply moving story, and to learn about how end-of-life doulas can practice this courageous care for our patients and their circles of care.
INELDA executive director Douglas Simpson will moderate this conversation, guiding attendees through this engaging conversation.
Guest Speaker Bios:
Thalia DeWolf, RN, is a dedicated hospice and palliative care nurse in Northern California who advocates for the compassionate care of terminally ill patients throughout their final moments, regardless of their chosen path. As the Clinical Coordinator for Bay Area End of Life Options, she supported numerous patients as they considered medical aid in dying and was at the bedside of many who ultimately self-ingested the aid-in-dying medications and died. She played a key role in developing the doula training program at The Academy of Aid in Dying Medicine and now spearheads the academy’s hospice outreach program. In this capacity, she works avidly to establish and promote best practices for hospice patients contemplating or pursuing medical aid in dying.
Janine Cuthbertson has dedicated her career and passion to building in-person and online communities to help people connect, inform, support, and inspire one another, for communities including inner-city youth, mothers, and educators. She trained with INELDA in 2023 and currently serves as the organization’s membership program coordinator. Janine holds a proficiency badge with the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance and is MAiD-certified as an end-of-life doula through the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying. At home on Maui, she volunteers with her local hospice and is a MAiD navigator.
The recording of this webinar is available to Tier 2 & 3 members as part of their INELDA membership benefits. Tier 1 and Non-members who purchased access to the webinar may also view the recording.
Sign in to your INELDA Account to access a recording of this webinar [CLICK HERE]
ALL members can view this webinar as part of the INELDA membership benefits. [Members Register Here]
Non-members can purchase access to attend this webinar for $15 and will receive a link to view the recording following the event.
Tier 2 & 3 members can view this webinar at no cost as part of the INELDA membership benefits.
Tier 1 & Non-members can purchase live access to this webinar for $15 and will be able to view the recording following the event.
The recording of this September 2023 webinar has been made available to all members as part of your INELDA membership benefits. Non-members who purchased access to this webinar may also view the recording.
Sign in to your INELDA Account to access a recording of this webinar [CLICK HERE]
