About Me
Karen Hunt
My journey into providing emotional, physical, and spiritual support for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses began in the 1980s, when I worked as a research nurse at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. My role required frequent visits to intensive care units across multiple hospitals, where I often found myself not only gathering clinical data, but also holding hands, listening, and quietly supporting the families of critically ill patients.
These profound moments-shared in hushed hospital rooms amidst uncertainty and grief-sparked a deep passion in me to be present with others during what I came to understand as the miraculous and sacred process of dying.
A few years later, this calling led me to become a hospice nurse, a role I embraced for many years with great dedication and compassion. While I found immense meaning and fulfillment in this work, I carried one lasting regret: the limited time I had with each patient and their loved ones due to the demands of a full caseload. Even so, the connections I made, however brief, reaffirmed my belief in the profound importance of presence, comfort, and care at the end of life. When I learned about the end-of-life doula program through the Doulagivers organization, I knew this was an answer to a prayer. I love being a doula and believe the final journey need not be alone.
About
Doulagivers
Institue
International Doulagivers Institute is a globally recognized institute that provides the highest level of education and certification for professional Death Doulas.
Suzanne B. O’Brien is a registered nurse who has worked most of her career in either Hospice (end-of-life care) and/or Oncology (cancer care).
She has had the honor and privilege to have personally worked at the bedside with over one thousand end-of-life patients and their families, from all different cultures, backgrounds, and nationalities.
In addition to being the creator and founder of Doulagivers Institute, she is also a founding member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) End of Life Doula Council and a founding member and former Vice President of the National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA).
For over a decade now, she has been training End-of-Life Doulas to help support and serve our vulnerable elder population.
She helps incredibly passionate people become the best possible non-medical, holistic practitioner you can be, so that you can help the people that need you most.
“Death can be the natural, sacred experience it was meant to be with the right kindness, education and support.”
—Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN