Who to Call When Someone Dies at Home

In the United States, call 911 if someone is unexpectedly unresponsive and not breathing normally; if an enrolled hospice patient dies at home, call hospice's 24-hour number. For an expected death without hospice, follow the instructions arranged beforehand with the person's doctor or local authorities. The first call gets the appropriate professional involved to assess the person or confirm the death. Funeral-home collection comes later, after the required confirmation and any local requirements are addressed.

Table of Contents

• When to call 911
• When hospice is the first call
• An expected death without hospice
• Who confirms the death and arranges collection?

When to call 911

If you find someone unexpectedly unresponsive and not breathing normally, or only gasping, treat the situation as an emergency. The American Red Cross says to call 911 immediately, begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) according to your training in its emergency guidance.

You do not need to determine whether the person has died before making that call. An unexpected collapse requires emergency help, rather than a call to arrange funeral collection.

When hospice is the first call

For someone enrolled in hospice, the Hospice Foundation of America directs families to call the provider's 24-hour number when death occurs at home. Its home-death guidance says a hospice team member will come to confirm the death and help with final arrangements. Hospice can also help coordinate the next call.

You can contact the funeral home yourself or ask hospice staff to arrange collection. If you are preparing for an anticipated death, keep the hospice number with the person's care instructions. This gives everyone providing care a clear contact when the time comes.

An expected death without hospice

An expected death without hospice needs a plan tailored to the location. The National Institute on Aging recommends arranging instructions beforehand with the doctor, medical examiner or coroner, health department, or funeral home in its after-death guidance. Ask whom to call during the day, whom to call overnight, and who will come to pronounce the death. Do not assume that an expected death automatically means emergency services should be bypassed.

Texas Children's, for example, instructs families to call 911 for a home death without hospice. Discuss resuscitation wishes with the doctor before a crisis. The National Institute on Aging specifies a physician-signed out-of-hospital order for emergency medical technicians to honor those wishes. Texas Children's tells families to show responding personnel the out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate order if they want it used to prevent resuscitation.

Who confirms the death and arranges collection?

An authorized professional, such as a doctor or hospice nurse, must officially pronounce the death—formally confirm that it has occurred—as soon as possible. The National Institute on Aging explains that this enables preparation of the death certificate needed for insurance, financial, and property matters in its pronouncement guidance. The funeral home is the contact for arranging collection of the body.

The Hospice Foundation of America notes that state laws differ on required funeral-home involvement and how quickly collection must occur. Before agreeing on a collection time, ask the professional confirming the death or the funeral home what local requirements apply. If family members want time at home before collection, ask how much time those requirements allow.

You Might Also Like

• Who Pays for a Funeral? Family, Estate, and Next of Kin
• Who Has the Right to Make Funeral Decisions in Wyoming?
• Who Has the Right to Make Funeral Decisions in Wisconsin?

Browse more: Burial | Consumer Rights | Cremation | Death Certificates & Paperwork | Funeral Costs