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FEBRUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
The
Boston Prayer Card Company
Prayer Cards • Portrait Cards • Acknowledgments • Bookmarks
Cal l:
1-800-PRAY-FOR (800-772-9367)
S E R V I N G T H E F U N E R A L P R O F E S S I O N F O R O V E R 1 9 Y E A R S
& speak with Heidi, Karen, Mary Lou, Nancy or Jim.
You will never speak to a machine between 9-5 E.S.T...
no buttons to push!
Our impeccable customer service team will make your
ordering process as simple as possible!
The only information required for
professional, custom prayer cards
in time for calling hours is:
1. Name of Deceased 2. Date of Birth 3. Date of Death
4. Name of the Card and Prayer that you wish to use.
It’s as easy as that!
Be sure to check out our easy to use website for our extensive
selection of Prayers and Cards. You may fax your order to us
using our printable order form or email your order directly to:
bpcc@bostonprayercard.com
We will make sure that your order is
delivered in time for calling hours and
Shipping is Free!
We make ordering custom prayer cards as easy as possible!
Heidi Poor
2nd Generation
of our family owned business
By Jim Starks, CFuE, CCrE
Jim Starks, CFuE, CCrE, is President of J. Starks Consulting in
Lutz, FL, and a nationally-recognized trainer on funeral home and
crematory risk management.
He used his experience in both funeral home and crematory op-
erations and risk management, combined with his involvement
with funeral homes of all sizes and geographies, to become an au-
thority at controlling risk and loss in the death care industry, pro-
viding lectures and presentations to private firms, as well as region-
al, state and national associations. He also conducts private audits
and risk assessments to independent funeral homes and cremato-
ries in the US and Canada, often identifying ways to save or gener-
ate thousands of dollars of profit.
Jim is a Michigan and Indiana Licensed Funeral Director and
Embalmer and ICCFA- and CANA-certified crematory operator, as
well as Dean of ICCFA University’s College of Cremation Services.
He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming, the Mid-America
School of Mortuary Science, and the ICCFA University. For more
information on risk management in the death care industry, vis-
it
Contact Jim at (813) 765-9844 or jim@
jstarksconsulting.com.
Liability-Safe Cremation
Procedures are Necessary from
Receiving to Final Return (Part 2)
Generate documents authenticating the funeral
home’s timeline of control.
A systematic series of procedures designed to document ac-
tivity and certify accuracy is the most obvious way to ensure
liability-safe cremation.
First is to verify the name on the container or urn com-
pared to the funeral home’s paperwork at the crematorium.
The name on the urn must be the same name on the autho-
rization accompanying the deceased to the crematory.
The other critical area to verify is that the name on the Cer-
tificate of Cremation also corresponds to the name on the
authorization. And if a tracking number is used and listed on
the paperwork, it must be the same number on all identifica-
tion documentation.
When the funeral home takes possession of the cremated
human remains, they should request documentation or a re-
ceipt from the crematorium that states the cremated human
remains are in fact who they say they are. This documenta-
tion is different than the Certificate of Cremation given to
the authorized representative picking up the cremated hu-
man remains, and it should be retained in the funeral home’s
case file along with other paperwork and related case forms.
Another measure of prevention is maintaining a Cremated
Human Remains Log. This log allows for recordkeeping and
tracking cremated human remains when they arrive back at
the funeral home.
The following information should be listed on the log:
• Name of the deceased,
• Date of death,
• Director,
• Date of cremation,
• Date placed in temporary storage,
• Metal ID disk number,
• Name and signature of person placing cremated human
remains in storage,
• Type of container or memorialization,
it allows the funeral home to have everything in place before
the representative arrives to take custody of the cremated hu-
man remains.
To exchange custody of the cremated human remains in a
dignified and respectful manner, the return must be made in
an area that would also be appropriate to make funeral ar-
rangements.
A simple way to make the presentation to the authorized
representative is to use a sofa table with a cloth scarf running
down the center with battery-operated candles on each end
and the cremated human remains in the center. This setup
can be moved to different rooms depending on what is tak-
ing place at the funeral home.
When returning the cremated human remains in this
manner, it’s a caring gesture to allow the authorized repre-
sentative some time alone with their loved one before the fi-
nal paperwork is completed.
Additionally, when the authorized representative takes cus-
tody of the cremated human remains, complete a signed and
dated receipt stating that control was transferred.
In doing so, make a copy of the representative’s identifica-
tion and attach it to the receipt. This documentation can
protect the funeral home from future claims, such as releas-
ing the cremated human remains to the wrong person, from
the family should they arise.
Finally, the final act offered to all cremation families should
be to carry the cremated human remains to their car.
Many times, it is forgotten that this is the first time that
person has been with their loved one since they completed
the identification viewing before cremation. The simple ges-
ture of offering to carry the cremated human remains to the
car and asking where they would like the temporary con-
tainer or urn placed is a standard of service that can make
your firm stand out over other firms in your area.
Whenever I write an article on cremation, I attempt to up-
grade the cremation procedures that many of the death care pro-
viders are currently following. These procedures may take more
time or may add cost to your firm. If they do, you may want to
research what you are charging and adjust to reflect the dignity
and respect that everyone needs to have when dealing with the
consumers that chose cremation.
• Date checked out and released,
• Name and signature of person releasing cremated human re-
mains,
• Released to whom, and
• Special instructions.
Maintaining the key for the secured area with the Cremated
Human Remains Log is a good measure to make sure the log
is completed when entering and removing cremated human re-
mains from the storage area. Verifying this information a second
time at the funeral home is a valuable safeguard in case it was
overlooked when they were received at the crematory.
Before the cremated human remains are released to the autho-
rized representative, it is critical that the name on the temporary
container or urn and the Certificate of Cremation match the
name on all the other paperwork. If the crematory utilizes an
identification number on the temporary container or urn and
Certificate of Cremation, these numbers must also correspond.
Additional areas to verify before releasing the cremated human
remains include verifying that the correct urn is being used and
that the cremated human remains were placed in the urn. It is
not unheard of for a funeral director to give a family member an
empty urn.
This usually happens when an urn is personalized: When it
comes back from the manufacturer, it is placed on a shelf; and
when the authorized agent arrives to retrieve the cremated human
remains, they are given an empty urn. Before releasing a tempo-
rary container or urn, the container should be checked to make
sure it is not leaking and does not have any residue on the outside.
While some funeral directors insist on removing identification
labels from temporary containers to avoid advertising the crema-
tory, this act is wholly inappropriate. Never remove this label; it
is a critical part of the identification process of the cremated hu-
man remains.
When cremated human remains are returned
to the authorized representative, make an
appointment and offer extended services.
To provide the same level of dignity and respect to the deceased
and the deceased’s family as when the removal was made, make
an appointment to return the cremated human remains. The au-
thorized representative should have an appointment, and the re-
turn should take place in a private area – not in the hallway.
After the cremation and the cremated human remains are re-
turned to the funeral home, the authorized representative(s)
should be notified; and a date and time should be set when they
can come in to finish the required paperwork. The authorized
representative(s) is the person(s) identified at the time of ar-
rangements as the only one(s) authorized to take custody of the
cremated human remains.
By setting a time and date with the authorized representative,
Protecting
Your Families
and Business
Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home Holds
Third Annual Toys for Tots Drive
(L to R) Rachel Knott, Gale Robinson and Trey Knight
NASHVILLE,TN—
Phillips-
Robinson Funeral Home
is proud to have helped
serve the United States Ma-
rines Corps Reserves with
the Toys for Tots program.
This was the funeral homes
3
rd
annual toy drive. Phillips-
Robinson Funeral Home has
been a family owned busi-
ness for over 83 years.
Gale
Robinson
, who became the
sole owner of his family busi-
ness 3 years ago, has com-
mitted himself and the fu-
neral home staff to helping
and giving back to the com-
munity as much as possible.
Phillips-Robinson Funeral
Home has 2 locations and
is the only Nashville funer-
al home to participate with
this program. Being central-
ly located in historic East
Nashville and Old Hicko-
ry, allows the firm to be able
to help and serve the entire
city of Nashville and the sur-
rounding counties. In just
the 3
rd
year with the Toys for
Tots program, the generosity
of the community has been
over whelming. The funer-
al home collects toys all year
round for the program. The
families being served are very
caring and willing to help
those in need, especially the
children.
The Phillips-Robinson Fu-
neral Home Toys for Tots
programhas been such a suc-
cess due to the efforts of
Mr.
Robinson
,
Rachel Knott
,
general manager;
Trey
Knight
, funeral director and
embalmer and
Katherine
Robinson-Sloan
, business
office manager.
The US military is very
important and close to the
hearts of the funeral home
employees. Mr. Robinson’s
brother is a retired Navy,
Rachel’s brother is a chief
in the Navy and Trey’s
nephew is a Lance Corpo-
ral in the Marines.