LifeCenter Northwest

LifeCenter Northwest’s Family Services staff is available to help families through the sudden and traumatic loss of a loved one. We offer many resources and referrals, and we’re always available by phone to call and check in. We follow up with families for at least a year and a half, with letters and phone calls, and we provide other support depending on the specific needs of donor families.

The time immediately following the death of a loved one is filled with a sense of numbness and anxiety. Still, many decisions must be made at this most stressful time. We’ve worked with others who have experienced the challenge of making crucial decisions during extreme grief, and we hope the following information will be helpful:

While you are at the hospital

• Have someone call other family members to notify them of the death and let them know if you want them to come to the hospital.  If you are a member of a church or synagogue, have someone notify your minister, priest, or rabbi of the death and tell them whether or not you would like them to come to the hospital.
• Decide which funeral home to use and sign the necessary forms to allow the hospital to release the body to the funeral home.
• If the death is under the coroner or medical examiner’s jurisdiction, they will take the body and belongings, contact the family about all arrangements and decisions, and complete the death certificate.
• Decide if you would like an autopsy to be performed.  If so, sign the permission form.  (Usually, this will not delay the funeral.  The coroner or medical examiner sometimes requires an autopsy.)
• Gather your loved one’s personal belongings from the hospital.

When you go home

• Ask someone to spend the first night with you so you will not be alone.
• Ask someone to keep a record of calls, food, gifts and visitors, in case you want to thank people later.