End of Life Doula Support
Support matters during life's transitions. As a birth doula, I've seen families prepare for childbirth and move through the process that brings their baby into their arms. I offer emotional, physical and informational support to the person giving birth as well as their birth partner and other support people, if applicable.
My role is to be present to the process. You cannot predict how one will experience birth or death, nor can you know how those loved ones will feel. We might prepare for birth by attending a class and having monthly, then weekly visits with our midwife or OB. When we think about death, there is no class and you may not have the forewarning that death is imminent. But we can still talk about and prepare for end-of-life, with or without a prognosis from your doctor.
How that looks is entirely up to you. Not everyone is readily comfortable talking about death. It may feel that it's "too soon" to bring up, whether you're the person looking for end-of-life doula support or you're the family member or friend of someone who might benefit from such support. We can worry that we're "sending the wrong message" if we mention death before it's obvious that the person is actively dying. But I wonder how it might feel if you wait and get to a point where your loved one is no longer able to answer questions and be part of any meaningful conversation. And if you're the person who is curious about receiving end-of-life doula support, you might wonder when that doula relationship begins. All that depends on what you're looking for, in terms of support.
As an end-of-life doula (EOLD), I can help with a variety of things. We might schedule out weekly or bi-weekly visits where we're building our relationship and talking about what's most important to you right now. We might meet with your loved ones to talk through where you are in your active living-time in life, rather than wait until your body is not working in the same way and conversing becomes more challenging. Your loved ones might live far away, and it might be decided that having an end-of-life doula nearby can provide some relief for both of you.
As an end-of-life doula (EOLD), I am self-employed; I factor my taxes and insurance into my hourly rate as well as the nature of being on-call for my clients. Being on-call for my clients means living my life and being prepared for a call at a moment's notice, day or night. Putting a rate on those hours can be very difficult. I want to support my clients to the best of my ability, be accessible to those that seek doula support and earn a wage that allows me to support my family.
To help avoid families needing to worry about paying my fees at a time when they're grieving the loss of a loved one, I require my vigil fees to be paid upfront. Some of these fees may be considered non-refundable. Below you will see the cost of EOLD support, for various services.
End-of-life doula support is offered at a rate of $35/hour between 9a-5p and $50 between 5p-9a. If you are interested in me sitting vigil with the dying person, there is also a monthly nonrefundable fee of $350. It is expected that we will communicate clearly the needs of both doula and the dying person to understand if there are limitations to the doula's availability and the changing needs of the dying person. Please note, in addition to the monthly nonrefundable fee, once the doula arrives to be with or near the dying person, the end-of-life doula support fee is a nonrefundable fee of $975 for up to 24 hours. This is to be paid at the time of the first monthly nonrefundable fee. After 24 hours, the rate returns to an hourly fee and is paid in addition to the initial $975 doula support fee. Once the doula is actively sitting vigil, there will be no further monthly nonrefundable fee, even if the timing occurs that would bring about a new month's fee. If your loved one passes quickly and suddenly and I have not been contacted to sit vigil, there will be no refund. This may seem confusing, seeing as I wasn't at bedside when your loved one passed. However, as a self-employed doula, I hold space on my schedule for your loved one and invest time and energy into supporting them.
One might plan to pay anywhere from $35 for a 1-time, 1-hour visit to provide end-of-life doula support (outside of sitting vigil) to $2025 for 10 hours of end-of-life doula support ($350), 2 months of on-call waiting to sit vigil with the dying person ($350/month= $700) + $975 for active dying support (up to 24 hours of care). Please note travel time may add an additional fee to each visit.
My role is to be present to the process. You cannot predict how one will experience birth or death, nor can you know how those loved ones will feel. We might prepare for birth by attending a class and having monthly, then weekly visits with our midwife or OB. When we think about death, there is no class and you may not have the forewarning that death is imminent. But we can still talk about and prepare for end-of-life, with or without a prognosis from your doctor.
How that looks is entirely up to you. Not everyone is readily comfortable talking about death. It may feel that it's "too soon" to bring up, whether you're the person looking for end-of-life doula support or you're the family member or friend of someone who might benefit from such support. We can worry that we're "sending the wrong message" if we mention death before it's obvious that the person is actively dying. But I wonder how it might feel if you wait and get to a point where your loved one is no longer able to answer questions and be part of any meaningful conversation. And if you're the person who is curious about receiving end-of-life doula support, you might wonder when that doula relationship begins. All that depends on what you're looking for, in terms of support.
As an end-of-life doula (EOLD), I can help with a variety of things. We might schedule out weekly or bi-weekly visits where we're building our relationship and talking about what's most important to you right now. We might meet with your loved ones to talk through where you are in your active living-time in life, rather than wait until your body is not working in the same way and conversing becomes more challenging. Your loved ones might live far away, and it might be decided that having an end-of-life doula nearby can provide some relief for both of you.
As an end-of-life doula (EOLD), I am self-employed; I factor my taxes and insurance into my hourly rate as well as the nature of being on-call for my clients. Being on-call for my clients means living my life and being prepared for a call at a moment's notice, day or night. Putting a rate on those hours can be very difficult. I want to support my clients to the best of my ability, be accessible to those that seek doula support and earn a wage that allows me to support my family.
To help avoid families needing to worry about paying my fees at a time when they're grieving the loss of a loved one, I require my vigil fees to be paid upfront. Some of these fees may be considered non-refundable. Below you will see the cost of EOLD support, for various services.
End-of-life doula support is offered at a rate of $35/hour between 9a-5p and $50 between 5p-9a. If you are interested in me sitting vigil with the dying person, there is also a monthly nonrefundable fee of $350. It is expected that we will communicate clearly the needs of both doula and the dying person to understand if there are limitations to the doula's availability and the changing needs of the dying person. Please note, in addition to the monthly nonrefundable fee, once the doula arrives to be with or near the dying person, the end-of-life doula support fee is a nonrefundable fee of $975 for up to 24 hours. This is to be paid at the time of the first monthly nonrefundable fee. After 24 hours, the rate returns to an hourly fee and is paid in addition to the initial $975 doula support fee. Once the doula is actively sitting vigil, there will be no further monthly nonrefundable fee, even if the timing occurs that would bring about a new month's fee. If your loved one passes quickly and suddenly and I have not been contacted to sit vigil, there will be no refund. This may seem confusing, seeing as I wasn't at bedside when your loved one passed. However, as a self-employed doula, I hold space on my schedule for your loved one and invest time and energy into supporting them.
One might plan to pay anywhere from $35 for a 1-time, 1-hour visit to provide end-of-life doula support (outside of sitting vigil) to $2025 for 10 hours of end-of-life doula support ($350), 2 months of on-call waiting to sit vigil with the dying person ($350/month= $700) + $975 for active dying support (up to 24 hours of care). Please note travel time may add an additional fee to each visit.
