End-of-Life Doulas in Rural Oregon: Improved Support for Living with Advanced Illness 

Living with serious illness can be difficult, especially for individuals residing in rural Oregon, where palliative care and hospice are limited or nonexistent. In the past several years, the role of the end-of-life doula has emerged to complement the medical care provided for individuals with serious and terminal illness. Embedding individuals trained to the end-of-life doulas skillset in rural settings can promote access to equitable, compassionate care for those facing life-limiting illnesses. In this workshop participants will learn about the Compassionate Communities model of care and how doulas are positioned to provide emotional, spiritual and practical support in collaboration with care teams. The presentation will also highlight a variety of innovative care models being employed with the goal of bringing more equitable end of life care to rural Oregonians.

Presenters: 

Elizabeth Johnson, MS is the Executive Director of The Peaceful Presence Project, a community based organization that provides non-medical, thoughtful support to individuals and families facing serious and terminal illness. She holds a Master's degree in Community and Urban Planning from the University of Oregon. She is passionate about integrating death and grief literacy initiatives in local communities to encourage honest dialogue around the complexities of the aging process.

Kari Sims Anthon, Certified End-of-Life Doula and Yoga Therapist is the Program Coordinator for The Peaceful Presence Project. She is trained as an end-of-life doula with Peaceful Presence and also earned an End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate from the University of Vermont Larner School of Medicine. She is a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists, a featured teacher on YogaAnytime.com and the founder/director of Life.Love.Yoga. in Sisters, Oregon.

Intended Audience: 

This presentation is intended for general interest. Content and educational opportunities may be of particular relevance to all professionals working with older adults, including CNAs, CHWs, public health staff and palliative care and hospice professionals. Material and learnings are also appropriate for educators, researchers, and students in the field of gerontology, sociology, social work, public health, and health sciences.

 Registration Fee

• OGA members: Free!
• Non-members: $10
• Non-member students/seniors and registrants with limited financial means: $5

Why do we ask for a fee?

OGA is a non-profit organization run by volunteers. Events and donations are our main sources of income to fund our educational and networking programs.

Reduced or complementary event registration is one of the great benefits for OGA members! If you like our educational programs - we strive to offer at least one event per month - becoming a member will pay off quickly! To learn more about OGA membership, please visit our Membership page.

No one will be turned away! If you cannot afford $5 at this moment, please contact us at [email protected] - thanks to the generous donations of OGA members and friends throughout the year, we can cover a small number of registrations for each event.

Please note that we offer CEUs only for our annual conference in October, not for our regular events. However, we are happy to issue a Certificate of Attendance upon request for those who attend this webinar for its entire length. To request one, please send us an email after the event.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE to receive the Zoom link. Should you encounter any difficulties registering online, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].