APPENDIX
Place this news release on your funeral home’s letterhead and customize the information for your funeral home.
The copy below can also be used as the basis for information you post on your funeral home’s website or social media sites to keep your community informed.
For Immediate Release: <<Date>> Contact : <<Your Name, Phone Number, Email>> <<NAME OF FUNERAL HOME>> IS PREPARED TO SAFELY CARE FOR FAMILIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC <<City, State>> – << Name of Funeral Home >> remains committed and prepared to safely care for the families it serves during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Whenever possible, << Name of Funeral Home >> will continue to enable families to participate in the rituals that are most important to them. And according to the CDC, at this time, there is no known risk associated with being in the same room at a funeral or visitation service with the body of someone who died of confirmed or suspected COVID-19; however, federal, state, and local public health guidance may impact the size of gathering a family is able to plan. Depending on a family’s preferences, their loved one can be safely embalmed. Families may choose either burial or cremation as usual. “At << Name of Funeral Home >>, we recognize our responsibility to protect the health of those we are privileged to serve,” said <<Name, Title>>. “We will continue to guide families, as we always have, in ways they can meaningfully commemorate the life of their loved one, while adhering to the guidance issued by federal, state and local public health officials.” <<Last name>> continued: “Our staff remains vigilant about cleaning our facilities and ensuring we’re all following recommended healthy habits, such as staying home when sick, washing our hands, and covering coughs and sneezes. The CDC and our state and local public health officials have offered a lot of helpful guidance for businesses on this topic, which we continue to follow.” <<Describe other options your funeral home is offering and measures you are taking>>. A member of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), << Name of Funeral Home >> regularly receives information via NFDA from the CDC, Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies about the evolution of COVID-19 in the United States. NFDA continues to lead the conversation with federal officials about the role of the funeral service as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the staff of <<Name of Funeral Home>> can be of assistance, please contact us at <<Phone, email, etc.>>. <<Insert Funeral Home Boilerplate Here.>> Although local direction varies from state to state, it is optimal to regularly communicate with mourners regarding changing policies as well as obituary information. References
Blakeney, R. (2002). Providing relief to families after a mass fatality: Roles of the medical examiner’s office and the family assistance center . U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime. Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2019). Fatality management disaster portable morgue unit . FEMA. https://rtlt.preptoolkit.fema.gov/Public/Resource/ViewFile/12-508- 1217?type=Pdf&p=7#:~:text=The%20Fatality%20Management%20(FM)%20Disaster,to%20 a%20mass%20fatality%20incident Gershon, R. R. M., Magda, L. A., Riley, H., & Merrill, J. A. (2011). Mass fatality preparedness in the death care sector. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 53 (10), 1179–1186. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e31822cfe76 Gomez Licon, A. (2022, May 30). Funeral visitations begin for children slain at Uvalde School . PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/funeral-visitations-begin-for-children- slain-at-uvalde-school Kolker, C. (2000). Galveston’s great storm: Glitz to horror in hours. Los Angeles Times . https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-09-mn-18089-story.html LaDue, L., and Herrmann, J. (2009). Fatalities management strategies . Workshop on medical surge capacity hosted by the Institute of Medicine Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events.
Merrill, J. A., Orr, M., Chen, D., Zhi, Q., and Gershon, R. (2015). Are we ready for mass fatality incidents? Preparedness of the US mass fatality infrastructure. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 10 (1), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.135 Page, D. (2005). Life in a disaster morgue. Forensic Magazine, 2 (6), 8–11. Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). (2004). Management of dead bodies in disaster situations . Disaster Manuals and Guidelines Series, No 5. Pan American Health Organization, Area on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief, World Health Organization, Department for Health Action in Crisis. https://www. paho.org/disasters/dmdocuments/DeadBodiesBook.pdf Public Health — Seattle & King County. (2015). Mass fatality and family assistance operations response plan . https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/emergency-preparedness/ preparedness-plans/~/media/depts/health/emergency-preparedness/documents/Mass- Fatality-and-Family-Assistance-Operations-Response-Plan.ashx Public Health Emergency. (2012). Emergency support function #8 . https://www.phe.gov/ Preparedness/planning/mscc/handbook/chapter7/Pages/emergency.aspx United States Government Accountability Office. (2022). COVID-19: Pandemic lessons highlight need for public health situational awareness network . https://www.gao.gov/assets/ gao-22-104600.pdf
MASS FATALITIES INCIDENTS Final Examination Questions Select the best answer for each question and mark your answers on the Final Examination Answer Sheet found on page 36, or complete your test online at EliteLearning.com/Book 35. The decision as to whether or not an incident should be considered a Mass Fatality is mostly made at: a. The federal level.
37. The first additional resources called upon by an MFI are: a. Neighboring funeral homes. b. The ad hoc group developed by the local Emergency Board. c. County and state offices of emergency management and departments of health. d. The Red Cross. 38. Families and loved ones of those effected by MFIs most commonly need: a. Accurate and timely information on the condition of their loved one. b. Counseling surrounding how to initially handle the shock resulting from the incident. c. Rest, nutrition and warmth. d. Love and support.
b. The state level. c. The local level. d. A news station. 36. A way to determine whether or not an incident is to be
considered a large-scale Mass Fatality is: a. There are wgreater than 50 deaths. b. There are hundreds of deaths. c. The cause is natural, chemical, or criminal. d. The incident is in one city.
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