What do I do if Mom Passes Away at Home?
If your parent is receiving hospice care, then one must simply call hospice (they are available 24/7) and they will send a hospice nurse over to confirm the death. The nurse will also call the preferred funeral home you indicated when you signed up for hospice. Provided you have completed the requisite paperwork with the funeral home and paid your deposit, the undertaker will come to pick up the body, usually within a few hours of your call.
In the event that a resident of Independent Living or someone living at home and not on hospice dies, then the standard procedure is to call 911. Make sure you have a DNR (short for Do Not Resuscitate) form, if possible. (In a previous article, I discuss the documents like these that should be kept on your fridge for events like this.) Paramedics would arrive within a few minutes to confirm the death. They would then notify the police department. It is the police who must officially pronounce the resident’s passing.
Most Independent Living communities have some sort of check-in process each morning with each resident. For example, some might ask residents to press a button or turn over a sign in their apartment when they first get up. If this hasn’t been done by a set time, then someone comes to check on the resident. If the administrator discovers that the resident has passed away, they would immediately call 911 and family members to report the death.
Ideally, the family has already selected a funeral home. If not, then there may be a scramble to do so. (To read how much it costs to die in Wake County, visit my earlier column). Once the family has chosen a mortuary and filled out the authorization forms, then the funeral home will pick up the body and walk the family through any additional steps, such as getting official death certificates.
