Image of Patty and Rona. Our Story

"How lucky I am to have had something

so hard to say good-bye to"...

Winne the Pooh / A. A. Milne

What Carries Us...

Stories are Powerful

We each have one.

I'd like to know what yours is.

Most of us are drawn to this work by a story.

Perhaps you witnessed a messy death, and you KNOW it can be different.

Or maybe it was a beautiful ending, and you want to let the world KNOW that it can be this way.

Whatever your story, it is an important and significant one.

It matters...

"Your Story"

Here's Mine...

Compilation of photos of Patty and Rona

I was introduced to death and loss by my dear friend Rona. The picture at the top of this page was taken 3 months before she died. She was 45 years old, a mom to 3 young boys, and a fitness buff. Nothing about her death made sense. As I struggled to find ways to support her, it was hospice that helped me, help Rona face the end of her life.

For both of us, the journey was about learning to be fully present, exploring, and making peace with death. It transformed us both and turned into a humbling, fulfilling, devastating, and exhilarating path for me. It was doula work, but I didn't know that. All I knew was that I was “leaning in” to this experience as others were turning away.

Something bigger than the experience kept me connected.

"Sacred"..."Awe"..."Holy", just doesn't describe it.

Presence, perhaps.

Me present to It, and It present to me.

I knew it then, and feel it today.
I still commune with "It" at any deathbed.

I knew I just knew I wanted more...

More...

More training: to better understand the needs of the dying and their loved ones

More support: to have the confidence to interact and care in a meaningful and transformational way

More personal development: inherent in this work and infused into this training is a path rich for self-exploration and development

More experiential and heart-based experiences: to fully immerse into the experience of death, loss, life, and hope

More convenience: training in the comfort of my own personal space, 24/7, anytime anywhere

More connection: connection to a community of other beings who wanted to share their time, compassion, and love in this way

LifePath Learners was borne from these experiences

Spiral of transformation with symbolic birds, representing reframing grief and loss to find peace, meaning, and connection.

Our overarching goal is:

To reframe and transform the experience of death, dying, grief and loss from ONLY sadness, fear and overwhelm...TO peace, meaning, connection, and even...awe.

We believe in our hearts this is possible.

Meet Patty Burgess, Your Trainer & Facilitator

Patty is a well-known national trainer, speaker and educator in end-of-life matters and has trained over 25,000 hospice volunteers, staff, end-of-life doulas, caregivers and students. While spending every day from diagnosis to death with a dear friend, Patty was introduced to the beauty and benefits of hospice. She became a hospice volunteer, patient advocate, community educator and trainer with several hospices in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

As a result of her personal and professional experience, she founded Teaching Transitions and Doing Death Differently. Teaching Transitions, the hospice initiative, was recently acquired by a large healthcare training and data analytics company. LifePath Learners is the new re-branded company designed to bring more awareness to end-of-life matters as well as train end-of-life doulas, family caregivers, healthcare professionals, and individuals drawn to this work.

Patty was one of seven original founders of National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), a membership organization supporting EOL doulas, She was also chosen as a founding member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) End-of-Life Doula Council, which offers education to the NHPCO membership and the general public.

Patty is a frequent speaker at state and national organizations on the topic of integrating the end-of-life doula profession into healthcare organizations for greater patient satisfaction and quality outcomes.

Patty's healthcare/hospice and marketing background, along with a 30-year entrepreneurial career, where she built and sold a company for multiple six-figures, makes her the perfect trainer and coach to help those drawn to put their doula work into the world. Her training programs offer superior content, ongoing support, coaching and mentorship, paving the way for successful end-of-life doula businesses.

What Patty's been up to:

90's

  • Caregiver

  • Volunteer

  • Seeker

  • Always an Animal Lover

  • Passionate Possibility Promoter

  • Idea Enthusiast > Birthing ideas, whether they work out or not

2000's.

  • Hospice Volunteer

  • Hospice Volunteer Trainer

  • Hospice Community Educator

  • Hospice Contracting Specialist

  • Director, Hospice Patient Liaison

  • Grief Recovery Specialist, (GRM)

  • National end-of-Life Doula Trainer

  • End-of-life Course Developer (for hospice, doulas)

  • Founder, Teaching Transitions - Hospice Vol/Staff Training

  • Doing Death Differently - Death Doula/Caregiver Training

  • Offering End-of-Life Training to Colleges/Universities

  • Founding Member, National End-of-Life Doula Alliance

  • Charter Member, NHPCO End-of-Life Doula Council)

  • Travel - Speaking to State/National Organizations re: Integrating EOL Doulas into Healthcare Settings

  • YouTube Show Host -The Death Chicks

  • Author - When Death Comes

  • Author - Brain Rewired: Powerful Public Speaking

  • Author - Upcoming book- 10 Transformational Truths That Can Change the Way we Grieve and Die

2020's

  • LifePath Learners, LLC established as broader educational scope for doulas, colleges, caregivers

  • Advance Care Planning - MIDEO Approach

  • Teaching Transitions Acquired by HCP - (View Press Release)

  • Developing more end-of-life courses, training, coaching, products, services and support for end-of-life doulas, colleges/universities

  • Writing/Publishing

  • Experiencing and learning always... It is a LifePath!

  • Oh, I am not done yet! Stay tuned! :-)