Moving the BodyFamilies or the designated agent may bring a body home after a death in a hospital or other institution, including from the Medical Examiner’s office. It is wise to check hospital or care facility body release policies well in advance if possible to ensure a smooth transition. A burial-transit permit is required to dispose of remains through any means (e.g. burial, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, natural organic reduction) RCW70.58A.210. After you complete the report of death and get a signature from a medical certifier within two (2) days of death or discovery, you will file the death report with the local registrar who will issue the burial-transit permit. RCW70.58A.200. (See How to Transport the Dead.)
For examples of family-directed after-death care following a hospital death, see Mikaela’s Story and Rich’s Story. |
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Body Care Made Easy
Bathing, Dressing, and Casketing
A body, after death, may be washed in bed or on a table with clear water, or with lavender or other essential oils added, or by using a cleaning product the person or family is used to using. Modesty can be preserved by covering with a sheet. Participants may choose to practice universal precautions if there is any concern about disease transmission. After the washing, dressing can be accomplished by cutting garments up the back and tucking them in underneath. Whether the person remains on a bed or table and later transferred to a casket, or is placed there after bathing, it may take four or five people to help move them.
For examples of bathing, dressing, and shrouding, see Mikaela’s Story, Alicia’s Story, Karen’s Story and Lashanna’s Story.
Cooling
A body may be kept at home until the family is ready to cremate or bury. There is no time limit in Washington law for a body to lie in honor; one to three days is common. Refrigeration is not necessary: a body will keep for that period without odors or significant changes in a 55 to 65-degree room if properly cleaned and prepared under normal circumstances. Reduce the room’s temperature by opening the windows or with air conditioning if possible. Placing and periodically replacing dry ice or Techni Ice™ under and over the body will help cool the body. (Learn more about dry ice and Techni Ice™.)
Other than in rare cases deemed necessary by the Department of Health, embalming is not required by law. For decades, it was utilized as a means of preserving deceased individuals between the time of death and disposition, but now that funeral homes in Washington are required to have access to refrigeration facilities, embalming is only infrequently performed.
Autopsy and Organ Donation
Neither autopsy nor organ donation are automatic disqualifications for bringing a body home for vigil. Many autopsied and harvested bodies have still been appropriate for a home vigil. Medical Examiners and other medical personnel, when informed prior to the procedure, will do their best to assist the family or designated agent in repairing affected sites and incisions to make a body fit for viewing. Ask for a clear, detailed description of what procedures are being done and for advice on body care once the body is released. Knowing what you are about to experience will guide your decisions about what and how much to do, and how you will manage.
A body, after death, may be washed in bed or on a table with clear water, or with lavender or other essential oils added, or by using a cleaning product the person or family is used to using. Modesty can be preserved by covering with a sheet. Participants may choose to practice universal precautions if there is any concern about disease transmission. After the washing, dressing can be accomplished by cutting garments up the back and tucking them in underneath. Whether the person remains on a bed or table and later transferred to a casket, or is placed there after bathing, it may take four or five people to help move them.
For examples of bathing, dressing, and shrouding, see Mikaela’s Story, Alicia’s Story, Karen’s Story and Lashanna’s Story.
Cooling
A body may be kept at home until the family is ready to cremate or bury. There is no time limit in Washington law for a body to lie in honor; one to three days is common. Refrigeration is not necessary: a body will keep for that period without odors or significant changes in a 55 to 65-degree room if properly cleaned and prepared under normal circumstances. Reduce the room’s temperature by opening the windows or with air conditioning if possible. Placing and periodically replacing dry ice or Techni Ice™ under and over the body will help cool the body. (Learn more about dry ice and Techni Ice™.)
Other than in rare cases deemed necessary by the Department of Health, embalming is not required by law. For decades, it was utilized as a means of preserving deceased individuals between the time of death and disposition, but now that funeral homes in Washington are required to have access to refrigeration facilities, embalming is only infrequently performed.
Autopsy and Organ Donation
Neither autopsy nor organ donation are automatic disqualifications for bringing a body home for vigil. Many autopsied and harvested bodies have still been appropriate for a home vigil. Medical Examiners and other medical personnel, when informed prior to the procedure, will do their best to assist the family or designated agent in repairing affected sites and incisions to make a body fit for viewing. Ask for a clear, detailed description of what procedures are being done and for advice on body care once the body is released. Knowing what you are about to experience will guide your decisions about what and how much to do, and how you will manage.
Resources for Conducting Home Body Care
Complete body care instructions included
Undertaken With Love: A Home Funeral Guide for Congregations and Families by Holly Stevens and Donna Belk is included in the newly republished After-Death Care Educator Handbook available through Amazon.
One Washcloth Project
One Washcloth facilitates healing by supporting individuals, communities, and institutions to engage family and community members directly after death through the simple gift of a washcloth.
For more information leading to other How To pages, go to:
Complete Paperwork
Arrange Disposition
Transport the Dead
Create Ceremony
Go Out Greener
One Washcloth Project
One Washcloth facilitates healing by supporting individuals, communities, and institutions to engage family and community members directly after death through the simple gift of a washcloth.
For more information leading to other How To pages, go to:
Complete Paperwork
Arrange Disposition
Transport the Dead
Create Ceremony
Go Out Greener
Resources and Online Links
FCA = Funeral Consumer Alliance
GBC = Green Burial Council
NEDA = National End-of-Life Doula Alliance
GBC = Green Burial Council
NEDA = National End-of-Life Doula Alliance
Learn How To: |
Learn About: |
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Washington Funeral Resources
and Education WAstatefuneral@gmail.com Contact Landscape photos courtesy of Sean Proll Justin Craig All Rights Reserved 
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Washington Funeral Resources and Education is a non-commercial public interest site dedicated to helping Washington consumers care for their own dead with or without the assistance of a funeral director. See FuneralPartnership.org for more state funeral information. This site is maintained as a project of White Eagle Memorial Preserve and Sacred Earth Foundation, which coordinates responses to inquiries with other Washington-based organizations and practitioners that support the mission of the Funeral Partnership.
Disclaimer:
This website has been created by volunteers making reasonable efforts to provide resources and materials for informational purposes only. Any information you obtain from this website is not legal advice and should not be relied upon without confirmation of current law. No warranties, expressed or implied, are made with respect to the information herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained here is complete or up-to-date as of the date that you view this site. The agencies linked via hyperlinks are responsible for the content of those sites. Their information is subject to change and should be consulted directly to ensure accurate and up-to-date information. Please report any inaccuracies to us in the form on the CONTACT page. Thank you!
This website has been created by volunteers making reasonable efforts to provide resources and materials for informational purposes only. Any information you obtain from this website is not legal advice and should not be relied upon without confirmation of current law. No warranties, expressed or implied, are made with respect to the information herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained here is complete or up-to-date as of the date that you view this site. The agencies linked via hyperlinks are responsible for the content of those sites. Their information is subject to change and should be consulted directly to ensure accurate and up-to-date information. Please report any inaccuracies to us in the form on the CONTACT page. Thank you!