ABOUT
“We can be of service by bringing some kindness, care, groundedness, and balance to those around us.”
– Sebene Selassie
Who We Are
As death doulas we weave together our knowledge and skills to provide guidance and support in navigating this end of life journey.
We are based in Bellingham, WA and serve the Whatcom County area.
Andrea Fenwick
When at age 15 my mother died of ovarian cancer, I experienced her passing with a profound lack of guidance, support, or opportunities for myself or my family members to connect more deeply with the significance of what was transpiring. I felt the loss not only of my mother’s passing, but of the opportunity for healing and love. Since her death, I’ve experienced another way through death and dying, one that was supported and normalized, working with the hospice team during my grandmother’s death. I witnessed how having solid support and speaking about the journey created a more peaceful and meaningful pathway for living and dying. Not long after this, I was drawn to hospice work first as a volunteer and later as a hospice social worker.
Working in end of life care, I have been exploring the mysterious journey of death and dying, having the honor to companion others through their dying while simultaneously contemplating my own mortality. I keep death awareness in my daily living through my spiritual practices of yoga, meditation, being in nature, and connecting with other souls along the way. I have witnessed death and dying to be a profound and unique personal, inner journey as well as one that is shared with others.
My passion is to expand the dialogue about death and dying, and to explore and create end of life plans that reflect individual wishes and values. I believe that when we have the capacity to speak openly and vulnerably, we experience greater possibilities to transcend the current fear and stigma surrounding death and the dying process. My deep desire is to not only normalize the death and dying process but to see, experience, and honor it as the precious sacred time that it truly is.
I have a Master’s in Social Work with an emphasis in Health and Aging. I earned my death doula certificate from the Going with Grace Program and am a member of National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), I have been a Whatcom Hospice volunteer for many years. I am a Volunteer Client Advisor with End-of-Life Washington. I am also a founding volunteer member of VSED Resources Northwest.
I have been privileged to serve many individuals and families through my work with End-of-Life Washington, VSED Resources Northwest, and Hospice and it would be my upmost honor to serve you and your loved ones during this most sacred and precious time.
Nancy Simmers
I am a Registered Nurse and Death Doula. My 40-year nursing career included work as a delivery nurse, a public health nurse for high-risk mothers and babies, and as a birth doula. It was while helping care for my own dying parents that I first saw the similarities between birth and death and recognized that both are life-thresholds involving courage, uncertainty, fear, release, transformation, and love.
My passionate wish now is for society to prepare for, practice, and anticipate death as much as we do pregnancy and birth.
I knew I had found my calling when I attended the first International Death Doula Conference. Shortly afterwards, I met Phyllis Shacter, author of Choosing to Die, and attended the VSED conference she organized, the first National VSED Conference on VSED, October 2016, at UW. These experiences focused my total attention on VSED. My first death doula client chose VSED and I’ve continued to increase my knowledge and certainty with each individual and family with whom I’ve worked.
VSED and Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) have become my primary focus. I currently am a volunteer for End-of-Life Washington as well as the coordinator of the new non-profit, VSED Resources Northwest, www.VSEDresources.com. This group was formed to provide education and information to our community, and over the past three years has become a recognized and valuable resources throughout the country.
I learn from every person who asks my assistance at their end-of-life; so, I look forward to a future of sharing and learning with individuals, their families, and the caregivers who support them.
Mission
We provide compassionate and supportive end of life services for individuals, families and support networks, serving all within Whatcom County. We specialize in supporting individuals who choose to hasten their death with Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) and Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD).
Vision
Our vision is that everyone has the support needed to think about their own personal preferences at end of life, that they be empowered to discuss these preferences with the people who mean the most to them, and that their wishes be honored by their physicians and families.
Values
We believe in compassionate end of life care for people of all communities, care that respects individual autonomy, honours personal choices, and advocates for the fulfillment of those choices.