Post-Mortem Care

[Zee_RN]

Quick question. Do you send the shrouded deceased in a hospital gown?

I have always put a clean hospital gown on the body before wrapping the deceased in that heavy plastic shroud. Never occurred to me not to. At my new job, I was helping a co-worker with post-mortem care and she stripped off the gown and started to wrap the naked, still warm body in the plastic shroud. I was aghast. She said "it's policy -- you send them naked."

Now, I know it's just a body and that the spirit has left, etc. etc. etc. But I just thought it was appalling! Those plastic shrouds are awful enough but I understand the need for them. I just kept thinking, what if this was my mother's body? It seems so disrepectful.

What do you do?

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Forgot to add that we only wash the body in water, except in the case of an autopsy, we only wash the perineal area only.

[kimmicoobug]

We pull lines, unless there is to be an autopsy, then we wash the body, and put on a fresh gown. I never even thought to not dress them.

[Kim44]

Gompers wrote

with the overhead warmer on high, so that we can give the parents a warm, sweet smelling child to hold.

That is very thoughtful, I had tears in my eyes reading that.

[Audreyfay]

Both my mother and I used to work in a nursing home. Yes, we saw death. One thing we learned was that we tried hard to make sure the dentures were in the mouth, along with the jaw closed. Have you ever gone to the viewing and their face looked "funny?" Kind of elongated? It was undoubtedly because their mouth was open and/or their dentures were not in. Hmmm? Kind of morbid thoughts, but it makes a world of difference to the families who are with the body at the viewing.

Or maybe our mortician poster can tell us otherwise?

[rpbear]

I was told to wash the body and dress them, in both CNA training and nursing school. I didn't even realize that each facility had a different policy on post mortem care. No matter what the policy says I will continue to wash and dress them before they are "discharged".

We bathe the babies with baby soap and warm water, with the overhead warmer on high, so that we can give the parents a warm, sweet smelling child to hold.

I too had tears in my eyes:sniff: That is the nicest thing you could ever do for someone! You are truely an angel!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

After the family has left, we send them to the morgue naked. Funny, I never thought to put a gown on a patient.

I don't think it's disrespectful not to dress them. They are dead in a shroud with a tag on their toe, how disrespectul is that? The funeral home is going to throw away the gown anyway. I look at it like they came into this world naked, I'll send them away at death naked.

[BarbPick]

I didn't bring this up before cuz I was surprised the thread has gone this far. Now speaking from a Forensic point of view. If you even suspect the patient to be an M E case do not even consider a giving the patient a bath while alive. (Barbara, that is sick!)

Well, maybe but they have developed a DNA process in Great Briton that you can obtain transfer DNA for up to 48 hours from the potential subject, That is Florida eze for "the purp." Not only that but you can get skin finger prints with the use of a tank and Super glue. (Really brand name super glue.) My husband thought he was a big deal when 10 years ago when he put a soda can in a fish tank and released an open tube of super glue and it adhered to the fat print from the skin oil left on the can, they have come a long way.

Body fluids like urine is important on a rape victim that dies. The sperm lives in her for up to 72 hours. Anyway, that is enough sick stuff for now, tune in next week when I talk about post mortem rape exams.

[Sis123]

When my Grandmother was in the hospital, she was so sick, we expected her to die soon. As the dutiful granddaughter, I went to pay a visit to the funeral director at the cemetary where she owned plots.

My mother and I really didn't want her to be embalmed, or really handled by the funeral director. He suggested that quite a few families these days want to do post-mortem care of their own, and that if they want to do it, to bring clothing, makeup and whatever to the hospital and they could do it there.

A couple of days later, as my mother and other family members were getting ready to go visit her, we got the dreaded call. Grandma had died that morning right after her bath, and was sleeping at the time. So, we gathered up hose, slippers, underwear, a new dress, makeup and brush and comb and hairspray. Everything we thought we might need, and went to the hospital. One sister brought a tape player and soothing music. My mother and some of my sisters and I went to the hospital, and went to Grama's private room.

I cleaned her private areas that had become slightly soiled, and started dressing her. Everyone helped. She looked beautiful once again in a new dress, with makeup like she liked, and her hair done nicely. She looked very nice, like she was sleeping.

Mother and all us girls were sitting there, talking about her, not ready to leave her just yet.

When we were done, we asked her nurses to come and see her. They also thought she looked beautiful, and would call the funeral home when we wanted. We said to go ahead and call, since Grama was ready to go, and that we would wait till the funeral home man came to take her away.

While we were waiting, a dietary aide came in with the menu for tomorrow, and asked if one of us could help Grama fill out her selection for tomorrow. We laughed a little and said that she had passed away that morning, and that we were waiting for the man from the funeral home.

The man came, put her carefully in a zipped bag, and took her away. The simply kept her in the cooler until her funeral a few days later.

The morning after the day she died, she appeared at my kitchen table, sitting there like she liked to when she lived with us, and I was taking care of her here. She was smiling.

I guess she liked us taking care of her, instead of the funeral folks.

So, there is another option that not many people know about - about post mortem care.

[BarbPick]

The moment her mother died in the hospital, she appeared in her bedroom and gestured like everything was ok, Who am I to question?

[Mimi2RN, ASN, RN]

I take care of newborns, not stillbirths. I always bathe the baby before taking it to the family.When we have attempted resuscitation, and still lost the baby, I feel that it is therapeutic for me. I diaper the baby, wrap it in a blanket and a hat, and take it to the parents. They can keep it as long as they want, before sending it to the morgue. We also carry the blanket wrapped baby down to the morgue. Usually two nurses will go together as no-one wants to be in there alone!