# Spouse dies. Natural causes. Who do you call? (Don't need ansswer fast) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693 "2013-08-20T04:12:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/41 "2013-08-21T14:31:18Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > (Hey, how is \*\*elfbabe \*\*doing?) Busy with her career and husband in exciting, cosmopolitan Montreal. [sub]I really regret forcing her to master spanish as a child[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/42 "2013-08-21T14:33:55Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > “Rarely.” > > I haven’t said it in too long, but I love you, man. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/43 "2013-08-21T23:20:25Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Canny paramedics will see the reality of the situation in many cases, and be able to adjust their actions accordingly to technically conform with laws _and_ do the right thing. But determining what’s really going on can be tough, at a moment’s notice. [/QUOTE] I realize this will vary from one jurisdiction to another, and even from one first responder to another, but if the dear departed is fairly obviously deceased, would it do any good to ask the paramedic or EMT to call a “slow code” and hope they’re a quick learner, so to speak? As far as DNR orders and powers of attorney go, if you’re in such a situation where you or a family member need one, please be sure to have the exact form that’s required for your state. So far, there is not a universal DNR. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/44 "2013-08-21T23:56:34Z")
Well, in New Jersey, you have to call the police (911 is sufficient) and the body has to be examined to rule out murder. I don’t know my state’s laws regarding what First Responders are required to do upon finding a dead body. Once the body is ‘released’, the funeral home can pick it up from the morgue. This is the case _unless_ the deceased was in hospice. A person in hospice already has a diagnosed terminal illness and a DNR order. When a person in hospice dies, a hospice nurse can ‘declare’ death and then the funeral home come to directly pick up the body. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/45 "2013-08-22T00:04:54Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > As far as DNR orders and powers of attorney go, if you’re in such a situation where you or a family member need one, please be sure to have the exact form that’s required for your state. So far, there is not a universal DNR. _Like_ In my state, up until very recently, it even had to be printed on a specific _color of paper_ (bright orange). :rolleyes: Now any brightly colored paper printed by the Illinois Department of Public Health is assumed valid, but health care facilities may choose not to honor a photocopy on white paper, or a form identical to the IDPH one printed by anyone else. > [@moriah](#): > > This is the case _unless_ the deceased was in hospice. A person in hospice already has a diagnosed terminal illness and a DNR order. When a person in hospice dies, a hospice nurse can ‘declare’ death and then the funeral home come to directly pick up the body. Not everyone in hospice care has a DNR. It is not required that you have a DNR to be in hospice care (although personally, I don’t quite grok why you wouldn’t), although many people believe it to be true, and are therefore reluctant to enter hospice care. Which is a damn shame, because your family gets a LOT more assistance from nurses and nurses aides in hospice, as opposed to home health care. [http://njhospice.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=22](http://njhospice.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=22) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/46 "2013-08-22T00:30:44Z")
Because Washington state has a death with dignity statute, anyone admitted to a hospital, or seen for a potentially life-threatening illness is encouraged to fill out and have end of life documents signed and notarized. I have the paperwork right here, it’s filled out but not yet notarized. It doesn’t mean that if I have an apendicitis no one will save me. It means I won’t be tortured when I have no chance of survival. Medics here are able to declare death. They have fairly extensive training for this. In the case of anticipated death, calling 911 here, doesn’t bring the same horror it might in other states. A death that is completely unexpected, say, a 30 year old who drops dead in the bathroom, is a medical examiner’s case. The procedure is to call 911, they will do what they do and they will call the medical examiner. If they are at all suspicious, the body must stay where it is with nothing around it moved. The police may or may not be involved. Even if the person dies in the hospital, if it’s unexpected and/or unexplained, it’s an ME case. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/47 "2013-08-22T16:21:34Z")
I know that these things can vary quite a bit between jurisdictions, but I’m still a little surprised by the number of people who say to call 911. Here in Colorado, when somebody dies a natural death at home, you call the county coroner. It’s that simple. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/48 "2013-08-22T16:47:40Z")
Here in Peru if it’s an older person or very sick dies in their sleep you call the family doctor, he certifies death and you can avoid autopsy. If you call an ambulance or the police autopsy is mandatory unless a very serious illness can be certified, and even then they can do it and you can’t fight against it, legally. This happened to my wife’s sister-in-law’s mum. Early 70s, dies in her sleep (she had some sort of heart disease). She goes there, checks she’s dead and they funeral guys are called. They bring the death certificate for her to sign and, voila, no autopsy. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693/49 "2013-08-23T05:26:57Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > My brother in law died of terminal cancer in hospice a year ago. > > The doctor said “it won’t be long, maybe a few hours, possibly less - do you know what funeral home you are using - it will be best to call and let them know so they can make sure a hearse is available or it might be hours before they get here” > > As the sister in law (this was my brother’s husband) I got all “arrangement” duties at the end. So I called the funeral home my mother in law had chosen to find out what they needed me to do and “alert” them that they would need to pick up in a few hours. Unfortunately, it was Sunday. The person who answered the phone had no clue what to do. She couldn’t tell me what to do. It was horrible. > > (What needed to be done was once the death happened, the hospice would fax the death certificate to her, and she’d dispatch a hearse. I knew this, what I was trying to get through to her was “I’m giving you a heads up because I don’t want my mother in law spending six hours waiting for you next to her son once he dies.” She also needed to pull all the pre-planned paperwork, and if there was additional paperwork to fill out, she needed to get that faxed over to me so I could fill it out. That I didn’t know - she didn’t either.) > > He passed a little over an hour later. I called the funeral home back once the death certificate had been faxed over to let her know “earliest possible” (some people do want to sit with the body for a while), and we got him out about four hours after his passing - seems she hadn’t arranged a hearse and had to call another branch and find a team. Which is why I was calling - find out who is off at planned funerals, and who you have waiting for pickup. Even out in the backwoods most all mortuarys use a answering service to handle pickup calls. They are going to operate on protocols and I just wonder how many times there are calls placed in anticipation?? When my daughter was a new EMT she transported a guy to the ED and after critiquing the run with me she said the ER Doc said the PT probably wouldn’t survive the night. Although I didn’t see this PT, I did tell her that I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if that person left the hospital and we see him back home tomorrow. Well she is a Paramedic now and that person is still alive the last time I checked the DOC offender locator site. My point here isn’t that the Doc didn’t know what he was talking about, but some people that live on the street, flop houses, can survive conditions where another presenting the same would be less that 3 rotations from the bottom of the sink. > [@](#): > > Flyer I know that these things can vary quite a bit between jurisdictions, but I’m still a little surprised by the number of people who say to call 911. > > Here in Colorado, when somebody dies a natural death at home, you call the county coroner. It’s that simple. When we call 911 here it is for access to the County Coroner. In this county it’s a one man show and it can take some time. If the coroner releases the body we depart and a mortuary pickup is placed. Up until about ten years ago our BLS service would transport to a funeral home. Today we still do all our Morgue transports. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-dies-natural-causes-who-do-you-call-dont-need-ansswer-fast/666693.md?page=2)