When a death occurs at home and your loved one is not under hospice care, you will have to call 911 and a police office will respond to the home.  The police officer will ask for the caller's name and contact info, the address where the death occurred, and for your loved one's doctor's contact info.  Once that is complete, have the officer or a family member call Robertaccio Funeral Home and we will respond to the home and receive your loved one into our care.

If your loved one is under hospice care, call the hospice and a nurse come to the home.  Once they have arrived, have the nurse or a family member call Robertaccio Funeral Home and we will respond to the home and receive your loved one into our care.  There will be no need for the police.

If in any case you are not sure of who to notify or what to do, you may call us in our Patchogue Office (631) 475-7000) or Center Moriches Office (631) 878-0007 and we'll assist you.

When a death occurs in a hospital, the professional staff will notify you.  It will be up to you to call the funeral home to notify us.  Once you have notified us, we will take care of everything with the hospital directly.  

Nursing Homes & Hospice Facilities

If a loved one was in the care of a nursing home or hospice facility, a representative will notify the family first to give them the opportunity to come and say goodbye.  Whether you choose to do that or not, have the facility staff call the funeral home and will will respond immediately.  We always recommend giving the facility the funeral home's contact information in advance in case they cannot reach you.

Medical Examiner's Office

Once your loved one is in the care of the medical examiner, please contact Robertaccio Funeral Home.  We will contact the medical examiner on your behalf and make all the necessary arrangements.

Out Of The Area

It is first important to determine if you desire any services in the current location of your loved one.  If you do not, you can contact Robertaccio Funeral Home first and we will coordinate a local funeral home and transportation for you. If you do want services in that area, you should contact a local funeral home and give them our contact information to coordinate the transportation to Long Island.

Our staff members are experienced professionals who can provide much of the information you need, emotional support and compassionate guidance.

While you may ask the director any questions at this time, you will be able to discuss the arrangements in detail later when you meet in person. During this initial call, the funeral director will gather information to be able to transport your loved one to the funeral home.

The funeral director may ask you several questions, including whether your loved one made any pre-arrangements. The director will also schedule a date and time for you to meet at the funeral home and will let you know what you should bring with you. 

One of the first things the funeral arranger will do is guide you through the entire arrangement process, explaining how you can create a memorable personal celebration of your loved one's life. This is not a one-way conversation; we want to hear your ideas and desires, and use them as the foundation for the arrangement process.

This process may include:

• Discussing what services you would like to have
• Collecting information needed for the death certificate
• Scheduling the location, date and time of services 
• Making selections such as memorial cards, casket, urn or other items
• Discussing other tributes such as videos, music, photos, etc.
  
• Assisting with an obituary, if desired

You may also sign necessary authorizations or make arrangements to have them signed by the appropriate family members.

We'd like you to bring any photos, a favorite song, or memorabilia so that you and your funeral arranger can better discuss how you would like your loved one to be remembered. Having these things, and knowing their favorite song or favorite gathering place – even their favorite activity – will help us create a truly fitting memorial service.

Our funeral arrangers will assist you in planning a loving tribute that captures the spirit of the person whose life you wish to honor. To learn more about personalizing the service, please read the Honoring Life section of this Web site. The funeral arranger will discuss personalization with you during your arrangement conference.

The following checklist will help you remember what information about the decedent and items will be needed when meeting with a funeral arranger.

• Full legal name
• Home address
• Date and Place of birth
• Father's name & Mother's maiden name
• Highest education
• Occupation
• Veteran's discharge papers (DD-214)
• Recent Photograph
• Clothing
• Cemetery Information (if applicable)
• Insurance policies (if applicable)