When a death occurs in a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff at the health care facility will take the necessary steps to ensure that all legal requirements are met. The initial call to the funeral home will be made by the health care facility.

If a sudden death occurs outside of a health care facility, the best advice is to call 911 to dispatch local police to the scene. Do not disturb the body. The police will then determine the appropriate steps to take depending upon the particular situation. The police will call the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's office and await instructions.

When a death occurs out of state, Lanman Funeral Home should be contacted first and all arrangements will be made to ensure that your loved one is returned to one of our facilities.

If death is anticipated, the patient may be under Hospice care. When death occurs, you should contact Hospice. Hospice will facilitate many of the procedures necessary, including contact with the funeral home of your choice. When death is anticipated, it is wise to begin thinking about the final arrangements in advance. We frequently meet with the family prior to the death to begin the process of gathering the needed information and discussing the services. In this way, the family is not overwhelmed with making numerous important decisions at the time of death. For more information about pre-planning a service, please click here.