The Heart of Hospice Podcast Hosted by Helen Bauer, BSN RN CHPN

1 in 4 Medicare hospice patients is a U.S. military veteran.  End of life workers need to know how to take care of their special needs and enhance their quality of life.  It’s important for EOL teams to know the signs of PTSD and how to listen when these patients (and their caregivers!) are communicating what they need.


Many military veterans experience trauma, guilt, and anger, causing what is identified as “soul injury”.  Having a soul injury or PTSD creates a need for specialized care.  Opus Peace has a great inventory tool for assessing whether someone has experienced a soul injury.   The Soul Inventory is available for free on the Opus Peace website.  You can access the Soul Injury Inventory here.  


Every discipline on the hospice team, including the End of Life (or Death) Doula, brings skills that seriously ill and terminally ill veterans need.  The caregivers providing support for those veterans need support as well.  Those caregivers are advocates, coordinators, and spokespersons for the veterans they care about.     


Find all the resources that Barbara Karnes has to offer at bkbooks.com.


Purchase the End of Life Guideline Series Bundle here.


Read Barbara’s blog here. 


Connect with Barbara Karnes on social media:    Facebook    Insta     LinkedIn   Twitter   Pinterest  YouTube   


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work?  Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media.   Facebook    IG   YouTube 


Hospice Navigation Services is here for you.  If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by sending an email to helen@theheartofhospice.com.


Find more podcast episodes from The Heart of Hospice at The Heart of Hospice Podcast (theheartofhospice.com)

Christina Keys can tell you the realities of being a caregiver for someone with a serious illness - the good, the bad, and the ugly. As the sole caregiver for her mother following a catastrophic stroke, Christina experienced financial, emotional, mental, physical, and relational impacts. The relationship between the two women was complicated, following a history of childhood abuse.  


When her mom needed end of life care, Christina was juggling a full-time job as well as all of her mom’s care. The caregiving needs became much more intense, often requiring two people. End of life conversations were frequent so Christina knew exactly what her mother’s wishes were. One specific request was a casket from Costco! The hospice care got off to a rough start at first, but Christina found an agency that was a better fit for her mom’s care. Knowing she would need the additional support, Christina also engaged an End of Life Doula. Christina has taken the memories of her caregiving experience and all the lessons she’s learned to support other caregivers.  


You can connect with Christina and the services she provides at christinakeys.com.


Socials for Christina Keys: Facebook  TikTok   Instagram  LinkedIn   


Find more caregiving resources at caregiving.com.  


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work? Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media. Facebook  IG YouTube 


Hospice Navigation Services is here for you. If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by sending an email to helen@theheartofhospice.com.

This trio of End of Life Doulas is educating the public and other doulas about EOL doula work, and how they support people as they die.  Diane Button, Gabby Jimenez, and Angela Shook are sharing their wisdom along with practical guidance for doula work.  With heart, compassion, and respect for the intensity of death, the three EOL doulas discussed the unknowns about doulas.  They openly acknowledge the difficulties doulas face when starting their practice, and the public’s lack of awareness about doula work. 


Diane, Gabby, and Angela have collaborated to write The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas & Caregivers.  It’s the quintessential guide to the services of EOL (or death) doulas, providing tips and templates for new doulas to jump-start their doula practice.  Caregivers, nurses, and other hospice workers can benefit from the book as well.  Anyone working with someone with a serious illness or their caregivers should know the work of End of Life Doulas. 


Purchase a copy of The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas & Caregivers by clicking here.     


Connect with Diane Button at dianebutton.com 


 Find Angela Shook at angelashook.com.  


 Connect with Gabby Jimenez at The Hospice Heart website.  


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work?  Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media.   Facebook    IG   YouTube 


Hospice Navigation Services is here for you.  If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by sending an email to helen@theheartofhospice.com.


Find more podcast episodes from The Heart of Hospice at The Heart of Hospice Podcast (theheartofhospice.com)

Hospice nurse Shelley Henry is supporting nurses working in end of life care with advocacy, video tips, and support for their self care.  Shelley uses the two words “divine intervention” to describe how she got ino working with patients at the end of their lives.   After 20 years in the hospice industry, Shelley remains committed to preserving the art of hospice nursing. She’s the president of The Amity Group, a staffing firm exclusively catering to hospice.  Shelley posts videos across her social media platforms featuring practical tips and guidance for hospice nursing.  


Shelley has designed a nurses’ bag that has all the pockets and places that hospice nurses need.  Check out the Tip Bag (along with her hospice documentation resources) at amitystaffing.com.


Find all the training and consulting services of the Amity Group here.


Watch Shelley’s videos on her social media.     Facebook    LinkedIn    IG    TikTok


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work?  Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media.   Facebook    IG   YouTube 


If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by emailing helen@theheartofhospice.com.

Sarah Cavanaugh believes having conversations about death helps us clear the air and find peace, whether those discussions are in person or in our hearts and minds.  Sarah is the founder of Peaceful Exit,  a company that explores all aspects of grief and loss. She co-designed a curriculum to open the conversation around the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of death and dying. 


She also hosts Peaceful Exit, a podcast that explores life, death and grief. In each episode, she talks with an author who has written extensively on the topic to help us normalize death as part of the human experience, no matter who you are, no matter your politics, spiritual faith or socioeconomic status. Peaceful Exit explores how to radically accept our eventual demise, how to talk about it and even plan for it. But it’s not all doom and gloom – there's joy, meaning and connection to be found in exploring the messiness of death, dying and grief.


Connect with Sarah Cavanaugh, host of the Peaceful Exit podcast:


Website: peacefulexit.net


Podcast: Peaceful Exit


Online Courses


Contact Peaceful Exit


Socials:  Insta   Facebook   LI


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work?  Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media.   Facebook    IG   YouTube 


If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by sending an email to helen@theheartofhospice.com.


Find more podcast episodes from The Heart of Hospice at The Heart of Hospice Podcast (theheartofhospice.com)

As a caregiver her entire adult life, Elizabeth Miller has learned how to find the joy in the caregiving life. As a Certified Caregiving Consultant, she helps other caregivers make the best of their own experience.  Elizabeth joined forces with her siblings to provide support for their parents, and for her developmentally delayed brother.  Each sibling brought his or her own skill set and strength to the care.  Elizabeth played the role of primary caregiver, sandwich caregiver (caring for parents and children simultaneously), and remote caregiver (providing support from a distance).  


After the death of her father, Elizabeth and her siblings moved their mom and brother Tom closer to where she lived.  She describes the impact of that caregiving as stressful, overwhelming, isolating.  It affected her mental and physical health in negative ways.   Elizabeth learned how to care for herself and set boundaries to maintain her health while she cared for the health of her family and her mom. 


If you’re needing support and guidance as a caregiver, Elizabeth Miller can help.  Her company, Happy Healthy Caregiver, can help you become happier and healthier. 


Connect with Elizabeth’s Certified Caregiving Consultant Services at happyhealthycaregiver.com


Check out the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast for support and caregiving resources. 


Book Elizabeth Miller to speak at your next conference or event.


Connect with Happy Healthy Caregiver on social media:  Facebook   Twitter   Insta   LI   YouTube


Register for the Tree of Life Conference from the International Doula Life Movement here. 


Want to know more about doulas, or connect with others who are doing death doula work?  Visit internationaldoulalifemovement.com. 


If you’re interested in becoming a certified death doula through IDLM, click here.


Access all the courses that IDLM provides here.


See all the events that IDLM is offering by clicking here.  


Connect with IDLM on social media.   Facebook    IG   YouTube 


If you have questions about hospice care or need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  


Book podcast host Helen Bauer to speak at your event or conference by sending an email to helen@theheartofhospice.com.


Find more podcast episodes from The Heart of Hospice at The Heart of Hospice Podcast (theheartofhospice.com)