Daily News | Philly death doulas guide people through the end of life
since the beginning of the pandemic, there’s no state licensing or required training for the role. INELDA has trained 225 death doulas in Pennsylvania since 2015. But insurance doesn’t cover the work, meaning it’s hard for people to make a living at it, and many potential clients don’t even know it’s an option.
Other death doulas work with clients who have a terminal diagnosis or who are actively dying. Rev. Jamie Eaddy-Chism of East Falls has worked as a death doula for almost 10 years and founded the business “Her work never fits into a single genre: sometimes she declutters a room or lights a scented candle; sometimes she acts as a kind of translator between families and medical workers.
Recently, a mother hired Eaddy-Chism to serve as a death doula during the final three weeks of her 27-year-old son’s life. Facing his fourth round of cancer, the young man had chosen not to undergo further treatment. While he could still speak, Eaddy-Chism talked with him about his fears and hopes .
“The work with her was really to affirm that anger,” Eaddy-Chism, who is also trained as a minister, said. “We normalize grief and cultivate space for people to experience and express it.”