A deceased patient is one who has no signs of life and will not be resuscitated (due to DNR status, obvious death, etc).

We will encounter deceased patients in one of two ways. They will expire during transport, or they will already be deceased when we encounter them. The below guidelines shall be followed for the respective situation.

Death during transport:

If a patient loses life signs during transport, and no advanced directive is in place, resuscitation efforts shall commence per protocol.

If a patient loses life signs during transport, and has an advanced directive in place, the directive shall be honored, and the patient shall be allowed to expire. Upon the death of the patient, the following shall occur:

• The transporting crew shall notify the destination facility and seek a pronouncement by a Physician and continue transport.

• Upon receipt of a pronouncement of death, the time and name of the Physician shall be documented.

• The transporting crew shall notify Comm Center who will then notify AOC.

Death upon arrival:

If a patient is found to have expired during flight, and an advanced directive is in place, the following shall occur:

• The patient shall not be transported.

• The ambulance crew shall notify Comm Center who shall do the following:

• Notify the local law enforcement agency and/or Coroner.

• Notify AOC

In these circumstances, the place of death is the location of the aircraft. Transporting a corpse across county lines has legal implications and will delay processing of the body.