UNSPSC 85170000: Death and dying support services

Services that span all phases of end-of-life transition from hospice care to funeral services to burial and/or cremation.

UNSPSC 85170000 Death and dying support services is a Family code that encompasses nursing care for medically complex students, occupational health services, laboratory and specimen-collection services, emergency medical technician staffing in correctional facilities, medical review officer services for drug testing, and histology laboratory services for postmortem analysis. State and local governments solicit these services to support vulnerable populations in school settings, correctional facilities, occupational health programs, and public health operations. The issuing bodies span school districts, county health departments, state health agencies, county sheriff's offices, and special-purpose authorities. Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida awarded a sole-source contract to AB Staffing Solutions for comprehensive 1:1 nursing staffing supporting medically fragile students requiring ventilator management, tracheostomy care, medication administration, and other acute nursing interventions under a notice posted in November 2025. Inland Empire Health Plan in California issued an RFI in October 2026 seeking virtual urgent care capabilities but this opportunity sits at the margin of the code's actual scope. Boulder County Sheriff's Office in Colorado solicited EMT staffing for 24/7 jail operations with a response deadline of October 26, 2026, requiring Colorado EMT certification and jail-specific training. Escambia County Corrections in Florida requested proposals for onsite dialysis services at county jails with a November 3, 2026 deadline. The Illinois Department of Human Services and Texas Health and Human Services Commission have issued multiple laboratory-services RFPs and IFBs; Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services awarded a drug-screening contract to Phamatech Inc. for services across 83 counties. Kentucky's Department of Veteran Affairs solicited medical laboratory services for a skilled nursing facility with proposals due August 25, 2026.

Recent activity concentrates in Florida, Illinois, Texas, California, Colorado, and Michigan, with scattered opportunities in additional states including Georgia, New Jersey, Washington, and New York. The geographic spread reflects both high-population states and states with significant corrections, school-system, or state-agency medical infrastructure. Representative opportunities show steady demand for nursing services in educational settings (HCPS staffing, RFP), correctional healthcare (Escambia dialysis, Boulder EMT staffing), occupational health and pre-employment screening (Bernalillo County, Washington State Ferries, Illinois IVHM facilities), laboratory services (Illinois DHS, Michigan on-site lab, Texas lead analysis), and specialized clinical support (medical review officer services, phlebotomy). Most solicitations appear as RFPs or IFBs with response windows spanning four to eight weeks. Set-asides and preferences vary by jurisdiction but include minority-business enterprise participation goals, local-business preferences, and disability-owned business enterprise recognition in California and other states.