GField 35 – Death
Sadly, as part of our job, we will experience the death of an individual we are working with. In the event of the death of an individual under guardianship, the personal and financial responsibilities of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services will cease. However, all efforts should be made to ensure that the transition occurs with dignity and respect. This includes contacting known family members and friends and seeking assistance as needed. For more information, you should also review DAIL-IOP-19 Dealing with the Death of a Client.
Let’s take a look at the following scenario.
Scenario:
Your phone rings; it’s Sunny Valley Nursing Home calling about Ima Client. Ms. Client, at the ripe age of 99, passed away this morning of natural causes. She had been on palliative care due to several comorbidities and dementia. You let the caller know that you need to gather information about the passing of Ms. Client. After you have gathered the required information, you end the call. You open KYGFIS to complete a class 3 incident report immediately since it’s due in 1 day, which includes:
- Name
- Age
- Date of Death
- Time of Death
- Place of Death
- First and last name of the medical professional that pronounced them as deceased
- Cause of death
- Death was expected or unexpected
- Last residence
- Statement of DNR (do not resuscitate) or approval of termination of life support, if applicable
- Name, address, and telephone of the funeral home
- Name of family members and/or friends contacted
You then go into her “status history,” and change the status to “expired,” and add the date of death. Since Ms. Client moved into the same nursing home as her younger sister several years ago and you have worked to ensure that Ms. Client’s family members’ contact information was in the system, you are easily able to reach out to the family to let them know of Ms. Client’s passing. You think about all the stress you avoided by not having to complete an emergency family search by being prepared. You contact Ms. Client’s son first; you ensure that they are in an OK place to speak and inform them that you are about to give him some upsetting information. You keep a calm tone and inform Ms. Client’s son that she passed away this morning, and offer your condolences. You let her son know that she had chosen to be buried at Heaven’s Door Funeral Home. The son has questions about her finances, and while you can see her account balances and benefits, you know that you are not allowed to disclose them. You explain to her son that you are unable to provide such information and provide him with the contact information for the designated Fiduciary Branch Personnel. You document your contacts with family and friends in KYGFIS. Sunny Valley Nursing Home calls you back again and asks you to release the body to the designated funeral home. You let them know that because guardianship ceases at death, you are unable to do so. The nursing home and Ms. Client’s sister coordinate to make the arrangements and to release the body.
How soon should you enter the class 3 incident report?
1 business day per section 1.
Can you authorize the release of a body?
No, you are not able to authorize the release of a body, an autopsy, or organ/tissue donations per section 6.
Download/ Save SOP
Download a copy of GField 35- Death to your desktop for future reference.