June 16, 2025

Ep. 505 How Death Doulas Fill the Gaps in End-of-Life Care with Kacie Gikonyo RN

53 minutes

Learn how death doulas are improving end-of-life care in our medical system by tending to things that often get ignored.

In this episode, I’m joined by Kacie Gikonyo, founder of The Death Doula Collective and Death Doula School. Drawing on more than a decade of nursing experience, Kacie shares how death doulas are helping to transform end-of-life care by addressing the emotional, spiritual, and relational needs that often go unmet by the medical system. We discuss the gaps in Western medical care, the shifts needed in how we approach dying, and how death doulas are bridging the divide with presence, advocacy, and compassion. Learn more at her website:

deathdoulakacie.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

The limitations of Western medical care at the end of life

What death doulas provide that hospitals and hospice often cannot

How cultural mindset shifts could improve death care for everyone

Why presence and non-medical support are essential for a good death

Training and certification insights from the Death Doula School

Stories of transformation from Kacie’s doula practice

Links mentioned in this episode:

Register for free workshop on Sacred Activism for Soulcare Providers OR go to: tinyurl.com/sacredactivismworkshop

Download Novena for Humanity on my Substack page

NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving

Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death

Get EOLU Podcast Merch here

Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here

Leave me a message by email: [email protected], Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

Buy me a coffee

Donate on Paypal

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to everyone who bought me a coffee or donated on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

...more