Wis. Admin. Code Department of Health Services § DHS 135.04 - Removal from a hospital or nursing home
(1) HOLDING,
PENDING DECISION OF RELATIVE, FRIEND OR PUBLIC AUTHORITIES. Hospital or nursing
home authorities shall make provision for holding a human corpse until a
relative, friend or the public authorities determine what disposition shall be
made of the remains. The hospital or nursing home may cause a body to be
removed that is unclaimed after 12 hours from the time of death and following
due notice to the local health officer, unless a longer period of time is
required to complete an autopsy.
Note: See s. 157.02, Stats., for disposition of the corpses of persons who have died at state, county or municipal institutions.
(2) DELAY FOR AUTOPSY. Except for cases which
involve a coroner or medical examiner because a death has occurred under
circumstances specified in s.
979.01,
Stats., whenever the immediate family has requested or approved an autopsy, the
funeral director or member of the immediate family or other person authorized
to remove the body from the hospital shall delay making the removal for up to
10 hours after death, or for a longer period of time if the pathologist and
funeral director mutually agree on a longer period of time, to permit
completion of the autopsy.
(3)
PRESENTATION OF REMOVAL NOTICE. The hospital or nursing home may not release a
corpse to a funeral director, member of the immediate family or other person
authorized to remove the body until the funeral director or other person making
the removal presents a notice of removal, in duplicate, to the administrator of
the hospital or nursing home or to his or her representative. The hospital or
nursing home administrator or that person's representative shall complete, to
the best of his or her knowledge, the portion of the notice which specifies if
isolation techniques should be used in the embalming process and shall indicate
whether the death is reportable to the coroner or medical examiner under s.
979.01,
Stats. One copy of the removal notice shall be retained on file by the hospital
or nursing home for a minimum of 30 days and the other shall be forwarded
immediately by the hospital or nursing home to the local registrar in the
registration district where death was pronounced. No presentation of a notice
of removal is necessary for removal of a stillbirth unless a hospital requires
that notice for internal recordkeeping purposes, in which case no copy of the
notice is forwarded to the local registrar.
Notes
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