January 2022

Page A16 JANUARY 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A The Fan Man, Inc. Fans Calendars Urns Register Books Dresses Advertising Specialties John Mannion “WhatEver You Need” 1-800-671-8280 Cell: 803-417-2940 Thefanman@comporium.net bankersadvertising.com/thefanman Call 651-450-7727 to request a wholesale catalog, Our Extra-Large Cremains Bags (13”x 15”) are perfectly sized for the Standard Plastic Human Service Urn. or visit UrnBags.com to order some bags. Just $2.90 each*. * Bags sold in multiples of 10 Choose from Black, Blue, or Burgundy J t $3.10 each* Choose fr m Black, Blue, rgundy, Green or Gray ICCFA Educational Foundation’s Final Responders PSA Campaign Reaches 90 Million Viewers STERLING,VA— The ICCFA Educational Founda- tion has announced their Final Responders Public Ser- vice Announcement (PSA) campaign has reached several impressive milestones. According to Nielsen TV research, since they first began airing in March, the Final Respond- ers TV PSAs have been broadcast 7955 times and gener- ated $5,109,982 in media value. The PSAs have aired on local TV stations and cable networks in all 50 states and the spots have been viewed by 90,825,513 people. “The ICCFA Educational Foundation created this Final Responders public service campaign as a simple way to thank all Final Responders,” stated Jim Price, senior vice president of industry relations at Park Lawn Corporation and IC- CFA Educational Foundation president. “In the face of the pandemic, funeral directors and cemeterians have become creative in finding ways for families to find comfort fol- lowing a loved one’s death; this campaign recognizes the efforts of all those associated with the funeral profession.” At the close of the Final Responders PSAs, viewers are directed to visit a web- site created by the ICCFA Educational Foundation. At this site, www.finalresponders.org , consumers can learn more about final responders as well as discover several grief resources. “Funeral professionals can leverage the Final Responders campaign in their local communities by placing the tele- vision PSAs on their company’s website as well as posting them on their Facebook pages,” commented Joe Weigel, founder of Weigel Strategic Marketing, who organized the campaign for the ICCFA Educational Foundation. “Also, we suggest funeral professionals provide the PSA spots to their local TV and cable companies and request that they run these PSAs. The entire pool of PSAs can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/final-responders. ” “For an organization to achieve these kinds of results with a PSA campaign, typically a celebrity spokesper- son must be associated with the effort,” stated Kyle Car- mone, president of Megaphone Media, the company that coordinated the distribution and placement of the PSAs. “In the 20 years I have been in this business, Final Responders is one of the most successful PSA campaigns with which I have ever been associated.” The ICCFA Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) en- tity, and part of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA). The foundation’s sole purpose is to make education accessible to future leaders in the death care profession and thereby raise the stan- dards of professionalism within the industry. Digital Directory Now Available Download instantly at www.NomisPublications.com Save on Shipping! As we wrap up this final installment on donor/recovered bodies, we will deal with probably the most troublesome or problematic type of recovery, requiring our attention: full thickness (outer skin through the fatty layer) recovery from the chest/abdomen and back/shoulders. This procedure vir- tually exposes the ribcage, front and back, scapulas, and the connective tissue from the lower rib cage to the pubis. There are virtually as many OPOs as there are states, so to write a column offering advice or addressing these issues may not always hit the mark for all. I have found the recov- ery procedures certainly vary from each organization, so I am only offering advice from my own experiences. I like to think ahead and do what I can to make my work easier as I move ahead, as I often work alone on these difficult cas- es. Because of the invasive and messy nature of these cases, I routinely embalm donor cases on top of the opened body pouch. (Fig. 1) I simply remove all the padding, soiled sheets, etc. cut the top of the body pouch away, tape the bottom of the pouch to the un- derside of the em- balming table (Fig. 2) , create a hole in the bottom to drain fluids (Fig. 3) dur- ing embalming and treatment. The ta- ble remains clean beneath the pouch during the embalm- ing, making it easi- er to dress the de- ceased in unsoiled plastic garments. I think a good approach for arterial treatment would be a 2.5% solution, including using an edema fluid co-injec- tion, at the rate of 16 ounces/gallon of solution as you in- ject down from the carotid artery. Any help we can get to slow leakage is certainly worth the effort. If organs have also By Wally Hooker, CFSP, MBIE been recovered, you will need to open the recovery site to ac- cess and clamp vessels during the embalming, very similar to prepping an autopsy case. We have discussed previously, it is my preference, if you have time, to allow gravity to remove retained moisture from the back recovery site prior to treatment or dressing the deceased in plastic garments. For this to work effectively, I suggest plac- ing the body on full-width plastic positioners, which allows air to circulate. To speed up the drying, you can place a small box fan beside the embalming table to circulate air even more quickly. If you choose this method, be sure to cover the face with massage cream and cover tightly with plastic to prevent dehydration. I would cover the chest and abdominal recovery sites with a thorough application of a hexaphene-based gel and cover with plastic. This gel will treat, dry and preserve the tis- sue in a matter of a few hours. If time is an issue, the same hexaphene-based gel can be ap- plied to the back and shoulders to treat the raw tissue. I find another set of hands helpful for this task. I prefer to roll the body on their side, thoroughly coat with embalming gel, then lay the body down on a piece of clean plastic. The fumes will be strong, but the chemical is an effective treatment. While the chemical is working, I cut an absorbent sheet to size, so it will cover the recovered area of the back and enough to wrap around to cover the chest/abdomen and meet. Most chemical companies carry these super absorbent sheets and their mois- ture retaining ability is remarkable. Many of you who have heard me lecture, know I am not a fan of the dreaded unionalls – too big, too small, too bulky, easy to tear! We all know donor cases are becoming larger and more difficult to handle. I am tired of ripping the unionalls with the final tug! I prefer plastic shirts and capri pants. If you have followed the proper recommendations during embalming and post embalming protocol, leakage should not be an issue. As we prepare to dress a donor body in plastics, let’s make sure we have everything we need close at hand. First remove the tape holding the body pouch to the table. With the help of an able assistant or two, carefully sit the body upright on the table. Remove the plastic covering the gel, then wrap the ab- sorbent sheet around the torso. Carefully roll the soiled body pouch to the buttocks, rolling the soiled side in, which reveals a clean dry embalming table. Fit the absorbent sheets together and secure, either by sutur- ing or taping. This won’t be a tight fit, and not bulky. Again, sit the body upright and dress in the plastic shirt and lay back Embalming 101 down on the clean table. Starting with the legs, which are held in place by a positioning device (Fig. 4) . Place the legs in the plastic capri pants, again begin rolling the soiled body pouch toward the buttocks, keeping the soiled side rolled up. When the capri pants meet the but- tocks, simply roll the body from one side to the other as you pull the pants completely up, then fold and remove the remnants of the body pouch. You should have clean, un- torn plastic garments in place! It sounds time consuming and cumbersome, but it is not. A final step before sealing and neaten- ing the plastics. I suggest using a little absorbent powder down the insides of the shirt and some into the capri pants just for good measure to mitigate any moisture issue that could appear. I am a fan of using 4.25-inch shrink-wrap (Fig. 5) to neaten up plastic garments. You are able to remove bulk and make it easier to do the final dressing of the body. (Fig. 6) Rememb e r, to wrap away from trouble, not toward it. On these dif- ficult donor cases, it’s perfectly fine to suggest the family, the appropri- ate clothing…nothing sheer or short-sleeved, no strappy T- shirts, no low-cut tops, they will understand. Again, they look to you as the expert and will trust your judgment. Dur- ing the screening phone call with OPOs, families may not hear everything that is said…and vice versa. It’s up to you to give these cases back to their families, whole. It takes effort, time and persistence to do it right. Families have only one opportunity to say goodbye, don’t be a Knucklehead by taking shortcuts and leaving a family unhappy with your efforts! Until next month, be safe out there. Wallace P. (Wally) Hooker CFSP, MBIE, is the owner, funeral direc - tor and embalmer of Family & Friends Funeral Home of Wingate, IN. He and his wife, Janet designed, established and built their funeral home in 2004. Wally is a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science, where he serves on the Advisory Board. He is Past President of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association and board member of North American Division of the British Institute of Embalmers. In ad - dition, he has served as chief deputy coroner/investigator of Fountain County, IN for the last 24 years. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columns online at Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 4 Fig. 3 Fig. 6 Fig. 5 Dealing with Donor Cases P art 5: P reparation of R ecovered /D onor B odies