End of Life Care

An Innovative Approach to Death and Dying: The Office of Decedent Affairs

Connie Moody, MSW, LISW and Megan Merrick,. MSW, LSW

The University Hospital

ML #0743, 234 Goodman St.

Cincinnati, OH 45219

(513) 594-4514

THE CRISIS

You have just been called by the hospital emergency room staff. Your loved one has just been brought into the hospital. You call family members and rush to the hospital. You are greeted at the door by the Office of Decedent Affairs (ODA) Social Worker, who leads you int a conference room. "I will get the Doctor" she/he tells you and brings in other family members who have just arrived.

Your family sits and waits for the Doctor, you are afraid, shaking and fearing the worst.. The Doctor comes in and explains "there was a terrible accident. We did everything we could, but he didn't make it." You are confused, you can't think, you are angry, feel guilty and have a big hole in your heart. The Social Worker sits with your family, holds your hand, brings you coffee and offers to call the Chaplain. When the Chaplain arrives, the Social Worker and Chaplain take you to view the body of your loved one. They bring you tissue, give you time alone, and are in and out the entire time. They escort other family members into the viewing room and the Chaplain offers prayer. The family, Chaplain and Social Worker holds hands while prayers are said.

After you and year family have dealt with the initial shock, the Social Worker provides you with a brochure, a checklist of things that need to be done and talks to you about options. She/He explains what an autopsy is, the role of the Coroner, and brings up the topic of donation, which yon want to discuss with your family. After awhile you and your family come to a decision about donating, and the Social Worker comes in with the paperwork for you to sign. She/He also asks about funeral homes, which you haven't decided about, but she/he gives you a card for you to call her when you have made the decision.

She/He help you to gather your loved one's belongings end given you parking passes. When you are ready, she walks you to the door, and hugs you while you cry on her shoulder..

Once your family leaves she/he goes back to the unit, has the Doctor fill out the death certificate and arranges for your loved one to be taken to the morgue. She/He notifies the Life Center of your desire to "donate" tissue, and gets the chart from the unit for the Life Center to review.. Once the Life Center has finished obtaining tissue, the Social Worker calls the family, obtains the name of the funeral home, she/he arranges for your family member to be picked up. Once your loved one is released to the funeral home, she/he takes the chart to medical records. She/He then arranges for a letter to be sent to your family about a memorial service for your loved one at the hospital.

The above is an example of how a typical death might be handled by the Office of Decedent Affairs Social Worker at The University Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. The role of the Decedent Affairs Social Worker is a very sensitive one. The main role is to provide support and guidance to families of the deceased patient, whether that patient is an adult or an infant. In addition, the ODA Social Worker works as a part of a team with other hospital staff, from many different disciplines, in order to assure that all operations run smoothly. ODA makes sure that the Doctor fills out of the Death Certificates or that the Coroner is called. ODA also approaches the family regarding autopsy and donation and knows the timing of that approach is critical. Likewise, it is important that arrangements with Pathology for autopsy, or with Life Center for Donation is coordinated in a timely manner, with the proper paperwork completed and delivered to the proper departments for final disposition.