FUNERAL CONTINUING EDUCATION
of life and socioeconomic backgrounds were dying. Funeral directors had all faced the same circumstances. For instance, many people who died were young and left behind small children (Allen, 2017). More significant was the fact that the opioid issues were not being addressed anywhere in the mortuary field. Some people in the field thought these issues were significant enough but did not see them being addressed anywhere, so they set up a webinar to give members a heads-up about how the opioid epidemic might affect them (Allen, 2017). Additionally, an expert panel spoke at the National Funeral Directors Association International Convention and Expo in Boston on October 31, 2017, to address the escalating epidemic. The discussions were about the consequential issues relating to substance abuse deaths and the opioid issues facing the U.S., which are becoming a serious global problem (a pandemic). a kit so that they may be prepared to save a life when the time comes. Each kit comes with an intranasal spray or a syringe with a vial of naloxone (Illinois Department of Public Health, 2019). If someone is uncomfortable using a syringe, then an intranasal spray is provided. Many county health departments have information about naloxone training. Once trained, a person can administer naloxone and will receive the kit to take back to the funeral home so that it is readily available when it is needed.
It is important to educate all funeral directors and personnel about the dangers and risks of handling the remains of an overdose victim and how the funeral home staff can become more aware of what they are dealing with. From national to state conventions to web-based continuing education courses, it is all about raising awareness. Being proactive in its approach, the International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR), an association for independently owned funeral homes across the United States, has stepped up to the plate. It has created two webinars and published two booklets: Opioid Epidemic: How Funeral Directors Can Respond and Opioid Epidemic: How Communities Can Respond . At first, OGR printed 1,000 copies of the booklets, but because of the remarkable number of requests, there was another mass distribution of 23,000 copies. It all started through study groups with OGR members and the considerable impact opioids has on families and funeral directors. They found that individuals from all walks Naloxone training There is a great need to raise opioid awareness in all funeral directors and coroners across the United States and see that every prep room in funeral homes and morgues at coroners’ offices has a naloxone kit on standby. Illinois county health departments have established a two-hour PowerPoint presentation on the history and dangers of opioids, what to look for in an overdose, opioid exposure, and how to administer naloxone. Upon completion of the course, participants are certified to administer naloxone and receive
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