Question: When a terminally ill person dies at home, who does the family call? 911? And if 911, do they ask for police, fire or nonemergency? Or do we just call the mortuary?

Answer: Who to call on Oahu depends on whether the deceased had been receiving hospice care at home, which is the end-of-life care that eases the patient’s suffering and also provides caregiving and grief support to the person’s family.

Hospice care includes helping the family handle the notification process at the time of death. Rather than calling 911, the family would call hospice staff (if they were not already at the home), who generally would contact the patient’s doctor for a death pronouncement and alert the mortuary regarding transport of the patient’s remains.

However, “if a terminally ill patient dies at home and is not under the care of hospice, call 911 and Emergency Medical Services and the Honolulu Police Department will respond as if it was an emergency until determined otherwise,” said Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman for Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Services.

Paramedics will work with a physician to obtain a death pronouncement, she said, so it is important that the family has the name and contact information for the patient’s primary-care physician.

Ken Zeri, president of Hospice Hawaii, encourages you to seek hospice care for your loved one, even if he or she has only a few days to live — and not only to make reporting the death less traumatic.

“There’s so much we can do to help the patient and the family, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I do hope they will reach out and not think they have to go it alone,” he said.

Call Hospice Hawaii at 924-9255 or 791-8000, or check hospicehawaii.org.

For a list of other hospice service providers in Hawaii that accept Medicare, click here..

Q: Do police still visit the schools to give safety talks to the students? When I was growing up they came every year and made quite an impression, but I never hear my grandkids talking about it.

A: Yes, Honolulu Police Department officers speak to students about a variety of topics, at the request of schools and community groups. HPD’s Community Affairs Section processes the requests, which can by submitted online and should be made at least four weeks in advance of the preferred date. Talks oriented to young people cover issues such as bullying and cyberbullying, traffic safety, bicycle safety and substance awareness. Police also are available to talk to groups of adults, on topics such as workplace shootings, crime prevention, identity theft and pedestrian safety. You can find details on the speaker topics and a link to the request form.

Auwe

A distracted pedestrian encounters a distracted driver. Seen while stopped on Oneawa Street: On the other side of the street, a dog walker with earbuds plugged in approaches a crosswalk and without a glance begins a left turn into the crosswalk. The driver of an oncoming van looks up in time to hit the brakes but not stop for the pedestrian, who, hearing tires, has barely managed to haul in the dog’s leash, avoiding a collision. — A reader

Mahalo

Mahalo to the Hawaiian Humane Society, Capt. Bass and his crew at the Kaneohe Fire Station for rescuing our Labrador from the banks of Heeia Stream on Feb. 16, and to the caring neighbors who called the Humane Society. Sandy is almost 15 years old and not as limber as she once was. Thanks to all of you, she is home again. May your kindness come back to you. — K.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.