(337) 463-6211
What To Do When Death Occurs
Losing a loved one can be one of the most traumatic events in one's life and therefore it is important to understand what to do when death occurs.
When death occurs, it is likely to occur at one of the five following places:
1. Hospital
Should death occur at a hospital, you may be asked to call us or the hospital may offer to call us. In any case, we will arrive at the hospital after all clearances have been given by hospital officials and bring the deceased back to our funeral home, no matter what the hour.
2. Nursing Home
When death occurs at a nursing home, personal care facility, or acute care center, their staff will notify family and typically will also notify the funeral home as to when we can go come to the facility in order to bring your loved one into our care.
3. Residence
When death occurs at a residence and the deceased individual is under hospice and/or doctor's care, they will often the call to our funeral home on your behalf. If no hospice member is present the family may need to call and notify the funeral home.
Should an individual die suddenly at or around home, it is best to call us immediately and we can help you determine if we need to notify the county coroner. Typically, the coroner will investigate all deaths that were unexpected or where the person was not under a doctor's care. It will be at the discretion of the coroner if an autopsy will be ordered.
4. Non-Facility or Resident Death
If death occurs away from home or a nursing facility, it is important to call the local police who would investigate the death along with the county coroner. The police and coroner would then inform the funeral home as to where and when we would be able to bring the deceased into our care.
5. Death Away From Home
When death occurs unexpectedly away from home, call DeRidder Funeral Home immediately and we will assist you in any way we can in order to bring your loved one back to Louisiana.
Typically, it is not necessary to contact an out of state or out of country funeral director. By contacting us first we will contact one of our many agents throughout the United States/ World to assist us in transporting your loved one back to the DeRidder area. This method saves your family money as we have negotiated prices with firms in our funeral director network versus calling a funeral home on your own. You will then be asked to provide us with basic information for the loved one so that the funeral home out of town can properly prepare death certificates and burial permits. Upon arrival in our area, we will go over the final details as they relate to the funeral services for the deceased.
Should you ever have any questions about how a death should be handled, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year at the DeRidder Funeral Home by calling (337) 463-6211.