ONLINE FUNERAL SERVICES
YouTube. You can make each video private and send the specific link to the families that you are serving. There is no charge to open a YouTube account, and the immediate family can share the video as they wish. Moreover, funeral homes have an online guest signing register book, which allows individuals to not only attend services through Zoom but also to sign the registry.
Many funeral homes have begun to utilize technologies like Zoom or FaceTime for individuals to attend services. Many funeral home website providers are now offering live streaming or webcasting to broadcast services for users. This allows families and friends the opportunity to attend the services while staying safe. This is especially beneficial for the elderly community. Other options are to record the services and download them to
CLEANING AFTER SERVICES
leave the front door open to keep the crowd flow moving and social distancing. Upon conclusion of every visitation, funeral, or memorial service, the funeral home should be cleaned and disinfected. Lysol, bleach wipes, or other similar products should be used to sterilize door handles, light switches, pens, faucet handles in the bathroom, chairs, and any other objects that can potentially be a fomite. When in doubt, clean it out.
It is currently undetermined how the virus is spread on inanimate objects. Evidence suggests the virus does live for quite some time on door knobs, keyboards, and other objects. As this is the case, it is recommended to frequently and continuously clean the high-touch areas: door knobs, countertops, push plates, and other hard surfaces. All cleaning should be done discreetly, and, if at all possible, gloves should be worn. If the weather permits,
THIRD-PARTY
funeral homes are no longer offering limousines to their families and have required that the families drive themselves. As far as your biohazard containers, inform the medical waste company beforehand that there is COVID material in the container. It allows the driver to take additional precautions. The funeral home should mark the container "COVID." As we have discussed previously, the airlines have been significantly decimated by the virus. Now funeral directors have to work around canceled flights, reduced cargo hours, and limited options of shipping human remains. Before you guarantee a family or funeral home that you can ship, confirm first with the airlines. Finally, there are the crematory operators. They have had to recognize the dangers of COVID positive bodies. Before you to take the deceased to your local crematory, be sure to call them in advance and inform them of the circumstances. We are all affected by this pandemic, but we have to continue with “business as usual.” Lyons, N., (2020). COVID-19 – Handling of bodies by funeral directors-Fact Sheets. NSW Health. https://health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/19-funeral-directors.aspx National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association. (2020). Coronavirus: funeral directors & embalmers protocols & best practices guide. https://files.constantcontact.com/ f4602ceb101/6f19009f-5d05-435f-9678-16466b319d2b.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1-_YlZ3WeI_ MYliq2xxXtOh_LY39U7AzA9-rMRREB4ne38HqFI-GNyGVI Wenzel, K. (2020, May 8). Webinar. ICCFA. https://iccfa.com/covid-19/covid-webinar1/
The funeral business, like any business, uses third parties for its supplies and day-to-day operations. These businesses and individuals have also been affected by these difficult times. As an example, many funeral homes will utilize removal services and trade embalmers. Of course, these individuals should already be familiar with the dangers because of their mortuary involvement. Nevertheless, they should adhere to your strict safety protocols. Caterers have also been impacted as it relates to funerals. Most churches no longer offer a repast for families and friends upon the conclusion of the funeral. It is too difficult for the church to enforce social distancing in such a restricted area, and the buffet-style meals and sharing of utensils would be too much of a liability. When scheduling a burial, inform the gravedigger or sexton that the deceased was COVID positive. They may have mandatory precautions and procedures set in place that they are required to do. The livery business has been affected because of the close quarters of passengers to the driver. To minimize liability, many Black, M., Buist, T., Hendrick, D., Belanger, S., & McMurrough, L. (2020). COVID-19 Suggested Safe Practices, Removal and Transfer. The Dodge Company. https:// shopdodgeco.com/content/filesPDFs/COVID19_Suggested_Safe_Practices_Removal_and_ Transfer.pdg Black, M., Buist, T., Hendrick, D., Belanger, S., & McMurrough, L. (2020). COVID-19 Suggested Safe Practices, Embalming Protocols. The Dodge Company. https:// shopdodgeco.com/content/filesPDFs/COVID19_Suggested_Safe_Practices_Embalming_ Protocals.pdf Ennis, J. S. (2020). Embalming COVID-19: Infection control and storage. Pierce Chemical. https://www.piercechemical.com/covid19/ References
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