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unconfirmed death

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:36 am
by forresthickman
a postcard was sent to a Sister in our Ward who has alzheimer's (who lives at a care facility). the card came back from the post office with the words written "deceased" across it. that is the first time i have seen this.

the problem is, i have searched and searched to find an obituary etc, and come up empty.

the facility she lived in won't give any information out at all (HIPPA laws), so i don't know what to do. i used to Home Teach her up until about 9-10 months ago, so i don't know when she died, or how to get a hold of any family to find out. the current Home Teachers have never gone to see her, so getting any information from them won't be helpful.

thanks for any help

Re: unconfirmed death

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:47 am
by lajackson
forresthickman wrote:the facility she lived in won't give any information out at all (HIPPA laws), so i don't know what to do.
If she truly is deceased, the care facility should not have any HIPPA problem with giving you a date of death.

The morgue will have public records if the body went there. The funeral homes in the area will have a record if one of them processed the deceased.

She may still be alive and the care facility mismarked the mail, which the Postal Service then returned to you.

Re: unconfirmed death

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:37 pm
by forresthickman
update..... i went to the care facility myself today. the person at the front desk said they would never write "deceased" on the envelope. she also talked to the people who work in the area where she lived and no one knows her. these are all new employees who have been there for 9 months. so she either moved, or she is deceased.

Re: unconfirmed death

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:49 pm
by russellhltn
forresthickman wrote:so she either moved, or she is deceased.
So, you're back where you started. Care facilities are not cheap and generally have a limit as to the level of care they can provide. She may have been forced to relocate to cheaper care, or perhaps became too sick to remain with them. You just don't know.