The Madison County Rural Health Council, a non-profit organization in Cazenovia, has received funding from Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide End-of-Life- Doula services to residents of Madison and Oneida counties.
MCRHC Executive Director Christine Paul said, “We look forward to providing End-of- Life Doulas to our community to provide support during a difficult time.”
MCRHC’s first step was to interview community members interested in becoming trained as End-of- Life Doulas.
The role of End-of-Life Doulas are “to provide companionship, comfort, and guidance to those facing a terminal illness or death.’’
Those facing terminal illness or death should have opportunities to take an active part in their end of life care planning, as much as possible End-of-life Doulas can provide support to the dying person by speaking openly about dying, explaining the signs and symptoms of the dying process, helping to process emotions for all involved, assisting with physical and practical care to ease the burden on caregivers, exploring their life and legacy, and talking about creating an advanced care directive.
Candidates will attend a comprehensive training provided by INELDA.
After the training, all participants will work contractually under the Madison County Rural Health Council as End-of- Life-Doulas to care for and support the dying and those close to them in Madison and Oneida counties.
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