INELDA Celebrates a Decade of Doulas Transforming End-of-Life Care

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA), a global nonprofit organization leading the end-of-life doula experience, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. This year marks a decade of advancing compassionate care for individuals, families, and communities navigating death and dying.

Since 2015, the organization has trained more than 9,000 end-of-life doulas across all U.S. states and territories, as well as in 56 countries. Their 2,300+ member base, while concentrated in the United States, has members in Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. INELDA has awarded over $350,000 in scholarships to expand training and doula resources in underserved communities, ensuring that care is delivered with cultural humility and equity to all who seek access to support.

To honor this milestone, INELDA recognizes two extraordinary contributors to the deathcare field with its inaugural awards:

• Empath Health, a U.S. leader in healthcare that upholds a longstanding commitment to end-of-life support through innovation, collaboration, and the integration of trained end-of-life doulas into its full-life care model, receives the INELDA Outstanding Community Partner Award. As one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the U.S. dedicated to hospice, palliative, and home health care, Empath Health is at the forefront of ensuring dignity, comfort, and connection for patients and families navigating life's final chapter. Empath Health is devoted to pioneering a holistic approach that provides for full life care.
   
• Wilka Roig, MA, MFA, PLC, is the recipient of the INELDA Pathmaker Award. A transpersonal psychotherapist, artist, educator, and leader, Wilka's work spans multiple countries, languages, and communities, serving thousands annually through her clinical practice, training, and programmatic leadership. Founder and president of Fundación Elisabeth Kübler-Ross México Centro, cofounder and academic director of Espacio Formativo para la Integración de la Muerte, and the cofounder and administrator of Red Latinoamericana de Acompañamiento en la Muerte y el Duelo, Wilka trained with INELDA in 2017 and continues to champion the growth of the end-of-life doula movement in Latin America and globally.

"These awards are a testament to how far the deathcare field has evolved in ten years. There were once just a handful of organizations. We were a small, founder-led team trying to address the way people were dying in our communities and the way we approach death. Today, we've expanded this vision through a vibrant global community and forged partnerships that are redefining care at the end of life," says Doug Simpson, executive director of INELDA. Looking ahead, Simpson added, "The next decade will require more growth and innovation in healthcare, and INELDA is committed to meeting this moment, expanding access to equitable, compassionate deathcare for all."

About INELDA:
INELDA, the International End-of-Life Doula Association, is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization formed in 2015 dedicated to supporting individuals and their circle of care in end-of-life planning and practices. INELDA provides education, resources, community, and advocacy to inspire social awareness and compassionate, accessible deathcare, with an emphasis on the roles of end-of-life doulas.

Media Contact: Loren Talbot | Communications + Partnerships
INELDA loren@inelda.org

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SOURCE International End of Life Doula Association