The first 24 hours after a death: a gentle place to start

First, contact the appropriate care team

If someone may still be alive, is in immediate medical danger, or a death at home is unexpected, call 911 and follow the dispatcher’s instructions. For an expected death under hospice care, follow the hospice plan and call the hospice team first. In a hospital or care facility, ask the staff to guide the next steps. Bastet provides funeral assistance, not emergency medical response.

You can call before you have every answer

Once the appropriate professionals are involved, call Bastet at (516) 610-0963 for funeral guidance, day or night. Share where your loved one is, the name of a contact at the facility or hospice, and how to reach you. Ask what must happen before a transfer can be arranged. You do not need to decide on every detail during the first conversation.

Keep a small, practical list

Choose one notebook or shared family note for names, questions, and arrangements. Gather what is readily available, rather than searching through everything at once. Explain if a document is missing. Sensitive records and identification numbers should be shared only through a method agreed with the funeral director, not posted in an obituary or sent in a general website message.

• Full name and basic biographical details
• Any written funeral wishes or existing arrangements
• A family contact and a list of questions

Let someone help with everyday needs

A trusted person might make a meal, care for pets, collect children, or update relatives. Give them one specific task and tell them how you would like information shared. Before announcing a service publicly, confirm its date and location with the funeral director. It is fine to tell friends that arrangements are still being discussed and that you will share details when they are settled.

Take the next decision, not every decision

Ask which choices need attention now and which can be discussed later. Keep any written estimate and ask for an explanation of unfamiliar terms before agreeing to arrangements. Consider having a trusted person beside you for the conversation. A first call can simply establish what happens next; it does not need to contain the entire plan for saying goodbye.