It is perfectly legal for anyone to die at home. You will have to call 911 and the police and medical examiner will come to the home to determine if a crime has been committed If you think he is approaching the end of life and believe in hospice care, having him enrolled will simplify the process. All you have to do then is notify the hospice nurse who will come and confirm the death and call the funeral home of your choice. There is no cost for hospice to come to the home for an evaluation.. Your Dad's Dr will have to make the order for hospice but you are free to talk to them prior to that.
My sister and I had decided to follow Mom's wish of wanting to die at home. But after she had a stroke it wouldn't have mattered. But we fully intended to follow her wishes anyway. When the time came and we knew death was close, we panicked, told Daddy to get in the car and the two of us carried her to the car and rushed to the hospital. I was a nurse and still when it came time I couldn't do it. With the help of hospice I could have but we didn't have them. I hope you get hospice to come in and help you.
Is it that a hospital is saying he can't go home? No hospital can keep a person there. Just make sure he is discharged by a doctor. If he is dying then you may want to involve hospice. It will make it easier on you and him comfortable.
Renee, I am curious if someone told you that your Dad couldn't die at home being that you were questioning this. Or would you prefer that Dad be in the hospital or a nursing home, instead... which is understandable?
If your Dad is at home and he is dying is he on Hospice or under a Doctors care? If he is on Hospice they will tell you that when he dies you should call hospice, they will send some one to your home, if someone is not there already, and they will make all the notifications necessary. They will call the doctor with the time of death and they will make the call to the funeral home that you will have to make arrangements with. If he is under a doctors care you will probably have to call 911. Please make sure if he has not died that you do have a DNR or POLST in place and present it to the paramedics when they arrive. Hospice will make this process much easier for you and for him. If he is in pain they can either transfer him to an inpatient unit where they can control pain. If he is comfortable now they can make sure you have medications that will help keep him pain free and comfortable. Please look at a pamphlet that you can read on line called "Crossing the Creek" very informative and may answer a lot of questions you may have. Please call a Hospice if you have not. they will help you
Thank you for sharing your experience Sondra. It worries me sometimes that people will feel guilty just - really, when it comes down to it - for wanting the best for their loved one and not being able to keep to the script. A script that was written long beforehand, and not under stress.
There's no reason why it should not be legal. People have been dying at home for about as long as creation has been around. Whether they die under hospice or just lay down and fall asleep for the last time, there's really no way to stop people from dying at home. This kind of thing will never be stopped because there will still be people dying in their sleep, so there's really no way to outlaw this kind of thing anyway. Even my former doctor came home one day and died in his chair sometime after a workout. He just sat down in his favorite chair and fell asleep and never awoke
If you have hospice for a loved one then the death is expected and no police or medical examiner need come to the home. The hospice nurse and doctor follow the patient throughout this process and call the funeral home and everything needed when the time comes. I had my Mom in my home because she wanted this, and I just didn't like the indifference and intrusion, lack of privacy and dignity if felt like in the nursing homes. I sometimes felt the doctors and hospitals wanted to keep the business and send her to nursing homes for rehab while my Mom, 92 was clearing not progressing and telling everyone she was ready to pass on. Finally we said enough of this torture and a wonderful nurse at the rehab facility helped guide us to a hospice that was a tremendous help. Everyone is different in what they want...but hospice was a Godsend to us in fulfilling my Mom's wishes. People have been dying at home for thousands of years and hospice was a tremendous help with everything. And Medicare paid all of it.
I believe I can understand why Renee is asking this question although I haven't gone through this experience myself. It has gotten to the point (at least in the US and probably several other countries) that there are so many laws and regulations for everything that it has become difficult to believe that any natural process can take place without some "authority" sanctioning it or playing an active role in it. One wonders if a permission slip (or "potty pass" as a friend likes to call it) is somehow required before a person is allowed to die, and then there is always the fear that some authority (or nosy busybody!) will accuse you of either criminal intent, intentional or unintentional negligence, or at least breaking some arcane law dating back to 1810 (or perhaps more likely 2010) and you'll spend half your life savings trying to prove everything was aboveboard. Perhaps it makes sense to have someone from hospice present (even if the patient is completely comfortable and you have no psychological issues with the impending death) simply to serve as a witness to help maintain your innocence (i.e., to "protect your assets" both figuratively and literally!).
Sorry to seem so cynical, but the media are full of strange legal issues and accusations in where the innocent are harassed and the criminals are protected, so almost nothing would surprise me.
If you think he is approaching the end of life and believe in hospice care, having him enrolled will simplify the process. All you have to do then is notify the hospice nurse who will come and confirm the death and call the funeral home of your choice. There is no cost for hospice to come to the home for an evaluation.. Your Dad's Dr will have to make the order for hospice but you are free to talk to them prior to that.
But after she had a stroke it wouldn't have mattered. But we fully intended to follow her wishes anyway. When the time came and we knew death was close, we panicked, told Daddy to get in the car and the two of us carried her to the car and rushed to the hospital. I was a nurse and still when it came time I couldn't do it. With the help of hospice I could have but we didn't have them. I hope you get hospice to come in and help you.
Next question: is this something you believe you will be able to deal with? That's important too.
If he is on Hospice they will tell you that when he dies you should call hospice, they will send some one to your home, if someone is not there already, and they will make all the notifications necessary. They will call the doctor with the time of death and they will make the call to the funeral home that you will have to make arrangements with.
If he is under a doctors care you will probably have to call 911. Please make sure if he has not died that you do have a DNR or POLST in place and present it to the paramedics when they arrive.
Hospice will make this process much easier for you and for him. If he is in pain they can either transfer him to an inpatient unit where they can control pain. If he is comfortable now they can make sure you have medications that will help keep him pain free and comfortable.
Please look at a pamphlet that you can read on line called "Crossing the Creek" very informative and may answer a lot of questions you may have.
Please call a Hospice if you have not. they will help you
Sorry to seem so cynical, but the media are full of strange legal issues and accusations in where the innocent are harassed and the criminals are protected, so almost nothing would surprise me.
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