When Death Occurs

What to do When Death Occurs

If the death occurs outside of a facility (hospital, nursing home, hospice facility) and outside the care of hospice, emergency services (911) should be notified. They will pronounce the death and contact any authorities necessary. Either the emergency service provider will transfer the deceased to another location for further investigation or they will notify our funeral home to come to the place of death and make the transfer. 

If the death occurs in a facility (hospital, nursing home, hospice facility) or under the care of hospice in a residence, a representative from the facility or hospice will notify our funeral home to come to the place of death and make the transfer.

 

Some families prefer to have some private time with the deceased between the death and the funeral homes arrival. We are able to accommodate this, however, we always recommend this time frame not exceed for than 4 hours. Once our funeral home is notified, we will go to the place of death at any time (day or night) and bring the deceased into our care, usually within 1 - 1.5 hours. While we are there, we will also talk with the family briefly about any special wishes the deceased may have for services, if embalming is wanted, and also to set a date and time for the family to make final arrangements.