If you are reading this in the first hours after losing someone, take a moment to breathe, because you do not have to do everything at once. Almost nothing that matters in the days ahead has to be decided right now, and there is no test that you can fail here. This page will walk you through the few steps that truly come first, calmly and in plain language.

If your loved one was receiving hospice care

Call the hospice number first, which is staffed 24 hours a day. A nurse will come to the home, confirm the death, and guide you through everything that happens next. In this situation you do not need to call 911, and the hospice team will help you decide when you are ready to call the funeral home. There is no hurry in that moment, so sit with your family and say what you need to say.

If death was sudden or unexpected

Call 911, and the police, EMS, and the county coroner will respond. When a death is sudden or unexpected, New York law asks the coroner to review it before the person can be released to a funeral home. This can feel frightening in the moment, but it is a normal and required step that happens to many families, and no one is being accused of anything. Once the coroner releases your loved one, we can bring them into our care.

If death happened in a hospital or nursing home

The staff will confirm the death and care for your loved one for a short time, and at some point they will ask which funeral home you have chosen. You can tell them Heidrick Funeral Home, or you can tell them that you need a little time to decide, because you are never required to choose a funeral home on the spot and you should never feel pressured to. Most local deaths happen at home, at the University of Vermont Health Network’s Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, at Elizabethtown Community Hospital, or in area nursing homes and hospice settings, and the staff at each are used to giving families the time they need.

When you are ready, call us

Whenever that moment comes, at any hour of the day or night, you can call your funeral home. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, and we will come to bring your loved one into our care no matter the hour or the weather. From there we will set a time to sit down with you, unhurried, and talk through the choices ahead, because nothing has to be settled on that first call.

A few things that are true here in the North Country

It helps to know what can wait, because almost everything can.

•               You do not have to choose burial or cremation right now.

•               You do not have to know what kind of service you want, or whether you want one at all yet.

•               You do not have to have money ready this minute, because when we meet we will go through the options and the costs with you                     plainly and honestly, so you can make choices that fit your family and your budget.

The only step that is genuinely time-sensitive is bringing your loved one into professional care, and everything else can wait until you have rested and your family is together.

Where to go from here

When you are ready to read a little more, these guides walk through the next steps.

•               Death Certificates in New York: how many copies you will need and what they are for.

•               Burial or Cremation: a plain-language way to think it through.

•               Veterans: burial benefits and military honors available to North Country families.

•               Understanding Funeral Costs: what shapes the price and the questions worth asking any funeral home.

We are here whenever you are ready

You can call Heidrick Funeral Home at any hour of the day or night at (518) 561-5111, with no obligation and no pressure. If you only have a question, please ask it, because helping families find their footing in these first hours is the reason this page exists and the reason we do this work.

This guide was written by Jerod Heidrick, a New York State licensed funeral director and co-owner of Heidrick Funeral Home in Plattsburgh and Heidrick-Zaumetzer Funeral Home in Au Sable Forks. It reflects New York State Department of Health guidance and local practice as of August 2026. Laws and procedures can change, so when in doubt, call us and we will help you find the right answer.