Death During the Pandemic (Video)

Everything that we were used to before the pandemic has changed. 

Before:

•  A patient dies
• Their body is cleaned and sent to the morgue - or -
• Their body is washed and prepared for the funeral home to come and pick up the body
• The unit staff continues to work. 
• The family makes funeral arrangement and the friends and family comes and pays their final respects to the deceased.  

After:

• A patient dies from the Coronavirus.
• There is minimum contact with the body.
• The staff calls the family to let them know that the patient is deceased and asks for the name of a funeral home.
• The patient's body is moved to the morgue.
• The family quickly makes modified funeral arrangments, whether it's a church funeral, a graveside funeral, or cremation. 
• There are very few friends and family to pay their respects for many reasons: health issues, afraid to travel by air, or other reasons. 

When a Patient is No Longer in the Hospital, What Do I Tell the Visitors as a Health Unit Coordinator? (Video)

Sometimes, a patient has been discharged from the hospital, and friends and family are unaware of it.

They'll go to the room where the patient was and either find another patient in that bed or find the room empty. Perplexed, they'll approach you and ask you about the patient in room 58. Your answer depends on where the patient was discharged. 

Watch the video below to find out how you should answer.  

Death and the Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

There are some Health Unit Coordinators who see death daily, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis, or every now and then. 

Whatever the case, death is something that all HUCs need to get used to. Death is a part of life for the Health Unit Coordinator. 

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to connect with me and to stay up-to-date with the latest information for HUCs.