Death in the home

Factual Questions
21

Yes, depending on state laws and facility policy. In many states, a hospice nurse can determine death (what most consider “pronouncing death.”) of a hospice patient. In some states, she needs a doctor’s telephone order. In other states, any RN can determine death for any patient when death is not unexpected. But even in some states that allow it, some agencies won’t, so you have to know policy, as well as law.

What an RN cannot do is certify death. Sign the death certificate. That’s a different process from determining that death has occurred. Often, a nurse can make the determination of death and he can call the doctor to make sure she’s willing to certify death. If the patient is In hospice, it’s pretty much assumed the doctor will sign, but It’s still best to call her answering service and inform them of the change in patient status.

The patient has to have a determination of death before the funeral home will pick up the biddy. The certification of death can wait.

22

I just talked to my mother who said that when my grandmother died more recently, they were required to call the hospice to have the nurse come by. She wasn’t sure if the rules had changed or the other possibility is that my mother was a licensed RN when my father died so perhaps she could have determined death where she was retired when it was her mother’s turn.

23

:eek: Most inappropriate typo ever. Stupid phone prediction. :smack:

BODY. Not biddy. Jeesh!

24

Would that I had seen that before you corrected it.
If you go the 911 route, it may be worth waiting a bit for the pt to be good and dead so there’s no chance that EMS may be required to try and resuscitate.