About Me
Karen Midlo
Karen Midlo is a certified Doulagiver and a David Kessler Grief Educator. She is the founder of End-of-Life Doulas of Idaho, a free resource directory connecting Idahoans with end-of-life support and services.
Karen holds a B.S. in Education from Ashland University and brings over 20 years of experience in elder care, including work in dementia care, hospice, senior living communities, mental health, and aging-related issues. She is a passionate advocate for seniors and their families.
After the death of her husband in 1998, Karen credits the support of the senior community she worked in as a vital part of her healing. This life-changing experience inspired her mission to walk alongside others during life’s most vulnerable moments. She is especially grateful for her training through the Doulagiver Institute, which allowed her to provide compassionate care for her own father during his passing in January 2025.
Karen is the Community Educator for Ancora Health Hospice and Palliative Care. She actively participates in Boise’s Death Café, Life Café, and “Growin’ Old Ain’t for Sissies”—gatherings that provide real conversations about aging, caregiving, grief, and death. She really enjoys volunteering with Daughterhood.org, where she provides Grief Circles and helps support caregivers and Learn Idaho.
Karen believes deeply in the power of honest, early conversations around the kitchen table—before a crisis hits. Her favorite motto is: “Hope is not a plan.
Karen offers a complimentary consultation so she can better learn about you and how she can be of service to you and your family.
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