Read this first
- Quality Death has not vetted these organizations. Listing is not endorsement, and we have no referral or payment arrangement with any of them.
- The end-of-life doula field has no single credentialing body. Training organizations set their own standards. Ask any program what it teaches, who teaches it, and what, if anything, its certificate means.
- Directories are not quality checks. A listing tells you someone exists, not that they are right for a family. Meet, ask questions, and check references.
- Links change. If one is broken or has changed hands, do not trust it; search for the organization by name.
Find hospice or palliative care
Start here when a family needs to know who provides care where they live.
Care Compare: hospices
Medicare's own tool to find hospices that serve an area and compare them on the quality of care they provide.
www.medicare.gov/care-compare/?providerType=Hospice · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Find a Provider
A search the Alliance describes as covering more than 10,000 home care and hospice agencies, including hospice, home health and palliative care. It is a trade association's list, not a quality rating.
allianceforcareathome.org/find-a-provider · opened and checked 2026-09-29
GetPalliativeCare.org
Plain-language information about palliative care for people living with serious illness, with a provider directory.
getpalliativecare.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Plan ahead and talk about wishes
For the person and family, in their own time. A doula can point here; the documents are theirs to complete.
The Conversation Project
Conversation starter guides, guides to choosing and being a health care proxy, and a "what matters to me" workbook.
theconversationproject.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
CaringInfo
Guides on advance directives, hospice, palliative care and caregiving, meant to help people decide before a crisis.
www.caringinfo.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Advance care planning: advance directives
A clear federal explainer of living wills, health care proxies, DNR and POLST orders, and what happens without an advance directive.
www.nia.nih.gov/health/advance-care-planning/advance-care-planning-advance-directives-health-care · opened and checked 2026-09-29
National POLST
Explains POLST, the portable medical order for seriously ill people that is completed with a health care professional, with state information.
polst.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Learn about dying and end-of-life care
Background reading for families and doulas alike.
End of life
Short articles on care settings, making decisions for someone, and providing comfort at the end of life.
www.nia.nih.gov/health/end-life · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Hospice Foundation of America
Grief and end-of-life information for families, and courses for hospice and grief professionals.
hospicefoundation.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
NCP Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th edition
The professional guidelines for quality palliative care. Written for clinicians and programs; useful for understanding what good care is expected to include.
www.nationalcoalitionhpc.org/ncp-guidelines · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Serious Illness Care
A care program and conversation guide for clinicians. Read it to understand how clinicians are taught to hold these conversations, not as a script for doulas.
www.ariadnelabs.org/serious-illness-care · opened and checked 2026-09-29
We Honor Veterans
Part of the Alliance's Caring for Veterans initiative: resources for hospices and care providers serving veterans and their families.
www.wehonorveterans.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
End-of-life doula training and directories
The field has no single credentialing body. These organizations run their own programs or directories; ask each what its training covers and what, if anything, it certifies. Listed in no order of preference.
INELDA
A nonprofit founded in 2015 that offers end-of-life doula trainings, including one for hospices, its own certification, and a Find a Doula directory.
inelda.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
NEDA
A national alliance of end-of-life doulas and advocates with a Find a Doula directory and information on proficiency and training.
nedalliance.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
EOL Doula Directory
A directory of end-of-life doulas in Colorado. The page does not say whether listings are vetted.
coeolcollaborative.org/eol-doula-directory · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Support for caregivers
For the family members doing the day-to-day care.
Eldercare Locator
A public service that connects older adults and families to local services, online or by phone at 1-800-677-1116.
eldercare.acl.gov · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Caregiving and Direct Care Workforce
Federal information on programs that support family caregivers and the direct care workforce.
acl.gov/programs/caregiving-and-direct-care-workforce · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Family Caregiving
Articles and guides for family caregivers, including state caregiving resource guides and a caregiving resource line.
www.aarp.org/caregiving · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Family Caregiver Alliance
Fact sheets, a personalised planning tool called CareNav, and a state-by-state list of services for caregivers.
www.caregiver.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
After a death
Practical and grief support once someone has died.
Home Funeral Alliance
Education and advocacy for family-led and community-centered care of the dead. Rules differ by state.
www.homefuneralalliance.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Shopping for Funeral Services
Explains the federal right to buy funeral goods and services separately, and to get written price lists.
consumer.ftc.gov/articles/shopping-funeral-services · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Dougy Center
Grief resources for children, teens, young adults and the adults supporting them, and a worldwide directory of grief programs.
www.dougy.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Crisis and safety
When someone may be at risk. In an emergency, call 911 first.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call, text or chat with a counselor, any time, day or night. For anyone, including caregivers and doulas.
988lifeline.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
Find Help or Report Abuse
What to do if an older adult may be abused or neglected: 911 in an emergency, and how to reach Adult Protective Services.
www.justice.gov/elderjustice/find-help-or-report-abuse · opened and checked 2026-09-29
National Adult Protective Services Association
Helps you find the Adult Protective Services office for the place where an older or vulnerable adult lives.
www.napsa-now.org · opened and checked 2026-09-29
On this site
Quality Death's own pages that the training links to.
Medical aid in dying: your state
Whether medical aid in dying is legal in a given state and what that state's law requires. Education only; the clinician handles every clinical question.
qualitydeath.com/maid-state-check · on this site
Advance directives
Living wills, health care proxies and POLST, explained.
qualitydeath.com/advance-directives · on this site
After a death: grief
What is usually true about grief, when to ask for more help, and where to find a group or a clinician.
qualitydeath.com/grief · on this site
How end-of-life doulas actually get paid
Why Medicare pays end-of-life doulas nothing, and what the advance care planning codes really require.
qualitydeath.com/getting-paid · on this site