Category: Announcements

Our mission is to recruit, develop, and train the next generation of End-of-Life Doulas. Our unique, one-of-a-kind training program pursues excellence in every aspect of End-of-Life Doula care. We consider online courses to be your “license to learn.” Along with active current TB testing and background checks. We are preparing our End of Life Doulas to work with anyone ~ and in any community.

Becoming an End-of-Life Doula is a commitment, and our program requires six to twelve months to complete.

Our expectation is that you will have prior healthcare credentials, caregiving experience, and prior end-of-life care experience through an agency, volunteering or caring for a family member.

Our participants receive practical hands-on training. (We are non-medical support but do referrals to medical resources as often as necessary.) How?

Our program includes an internship embedded within a hospice or palliative care agency, along with a final sign-off from the supervising RN or case manager confirming readiness to begin the doula journey. This structure provides real-world experience and builds credibility in the field.

We expect all scholarship recipients to join the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance and earn the End- of- Life Proficiency badge as it ensures a standardized compliance and standard of care that everyone can emulate and respect.

We believe there are four major areas of focus for the entire family in the End-of-Life Doula career pathway:

1. Practical, hands-on care & support during the last six months leading throughout the active dying stage. Including Vigil or Sitter care.
2. Supporting the family and patient in navigating complex decision making that honor the dignity and quality of life for the loved one.
3. Building expertise in documentation, forms, and building collaboration with ancillary services to ensure thorough and complete care. Legacy building, after death care and grief support.
4. . The ability to cultivate and facilitate local community outreach and education to ensure awareness of our services.
5. Outreach and a call to action through participation in advancements within the Doula community state & nationwide.

Great things are happening in the End-of-life Doula community in Northern Michigan. Multiple collaborations and partnerships are being formed that will not only impact our local community, but nationwide through our First Mover efforts. In the near future, we’ll be providing outreach to the local community, providing seminars for seniors and their families regarding myths and misconceptions on hospice services, what’s new for 2026, and more.

Another speaker in our program will be an Elder Law attorney who will present the rapid changes happening concerning senior citizens. We will be partnering with a hospice agency to provide rules and regulations in what it means to be a hospice patient. We will also hear from a local funeral home regarding recent trends in green burial, cremation, and more in the funeral industry.

Be on the lookout for advertisements for dates and times in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties.

We have been speaking to multiple doula agencies across the US to find best practices and sharing our insight with them. There are many agencies out there that provide scholarships and stipends for up-and-coming doula graduates that will offset the cost of their services and outreach to the elderly in our communities.

We will be speaking with community members in order to profoundly affect doula services and the senior care model across the country. Great changes are happening and we look forward to reaching out to the community.

We’re pleased to announce that the Grand Traverse Community Foundation has awarded us a grant for our Final Journey Home Program.

Announcing: four students have been selected for the Doula Training Scholarship. More news to follow!