April 2019

Page A4 APRI L 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A By Nancy Weil What the Health? Amanda is one of the most caring funeral directors you will ever meet. She went out of her way for the families she served. She ran our crematory and made sure every person she cremated was treated with dignity and respect. Her restoration skills in the embalming room were out- standing and every person she worked on looked beau- tiful for their family’s final farewell. Amanda is young, dedicated and now, possi- bly, dying. She was diag- nosed with Stage 4 Lym- phoma and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments that at times makes her wonder if dying wouldn’t be easier than trying to survive the day. She has been told by her doctors that she can nev- er go back to work as a funeral director again. They do not want her around an environment that is filled with chemical exposure. While I cannot state that Amanda’s cancer is due to her work as an embalmer and crematory operator, I can look at what the research is finding and what articles on workplace safety have written. I can wonder if Amanda is just one of many in the death care industry who was exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, despite using ev- ery precaution and meeting all safety standards. I can Random Musings worry about where we are headed in funeral practice as we find a balance between our work and our health. Here are a few of the things I read: • Research from the National Cancer Institute found that the “duration of embalming practice and related formaldehyde expo- sures in the funeral industry were associated with statistically signifi- cantly increased risk for mortality from myeloid leukemia.” • The American Journal of Industrial Medicine published a study that concluded, “Formaldehyde exposed-workers ex- perienced decreased counts of NK cells, regulatory T cells, and CD8+effector memory T cells.” Reading these two research studies the best I could left me wondering if we are killing ourselves in order for the family to be able to spend a few final hours with their loved one. Is it worth the risk? Is there enough conclusive evidence to ne- cessitate making changes in how we con- duct business? Are any of the associations or OSHA looking into this? A few articles were recently pub- lished that also showcase this workplace hazard. The most well-known is about ra- diation exposure in the crematory. With more cancer treatments involving radia- tion pellets and other types of radiation therapy, what happens when you cremate that body? According to the article you have measurable radiation exposure on a Geiger counter, although not enough to be of concern. Yet, I’m still concerned. How do you know if the person you are cremat- ing has had radiation treatments? Does the Medical Examiner make note of it? No. How about the doctor who signs the death certificate, and would he likely be aware of this? No. It is up to the family to let the funeral director know. However, some may not be asked this question. Others may not know the answer. There may even be a few who don’t want to an- swer in the affirmative fearing that this would mean that their loved one could not be cremated. A United Nations study found that workers die from ex- posures to workplace toxins every 15 seconds. Cancer is re- sponsible for 70% of these deaths. The UN report goes on to state, “More than 200 different known factors, includ- ing toxic chemicals and radiation, have been identified to date as known or probable human carcinogens, and workers are exposed to many of these in the course of their jobs.” All of this leads me to ask the question, “What the health is going on?” Is Amanda the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” who alerts us to a hazard we need to ad- dress? What else do we need to know in order to ensure that going to work is not harmful to our health? Do we need to get Erin Brockovich to look into this? I don’t have the answers, but I do have lots of questions. Most of all, I want to make sure that there won’t be another “Aman- da” finding out that they have cancer, especially if there is something that can be done to prevent it. Sources cited: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19933446 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493854 https://qz.com/1564995/toxic- exposure-at-work-kills-one- worker-every-15-seconds https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/health/radioactive- crematory-study/index.html www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Serving as Member Resources Director at the International Or- der of the Golden Rule, Nancy Weil brings her years of experi- ence working in the funeral industry to funeral directors across the globe. Her professional experience includes serving as Director of Grief Support and Community Outreach at Veterans Funeral Care in Clearwater, FL and at eleven cemeteries in Western New York. Nancy travels throughout the country offering presentations on how to reduce stress, combat compassion fatigue and offer sup- port for those who are grieving through her company, The Laugh Academy. With certifications as a Grief Services Provider and Grief Man- agement Specialist, Funeral Celebrant, Soul Injury Ambassador and Laughter Leader, Nancy is uniquely qualified to bring new perspectives into how to best meet the needs of the families you serve. For more information on how Nancy can help you and your company grow, visit her website: www.TheLaughAcademy.com or e-mail Nancy@TheLaughAcademy.com. Trinity Funeral Services, Lumberton Trinity founders (L to R) Bro. Wayne Flurry, Bro. Tim Monroe and Bro. Tommy Jones So, the concept of providing professional, dignified ser- vices, at reasonable, affordable prices was born. Through diligent research and market analysis, a business plan was developed and Trinity Funeral Services became a reality. Bro. Wayne Flurry spent 20 years in EMS before enter- ing the gospel ministry. He previously worked part time for a funeral home and has served as Stone County Coroner since 2011. A licensed funeral director, Bro. Tommy Jones serves as the licensee-in-charge assisting with day-to-day op- erations. He is currently the pastor at Hickory Grove Baptist Church. Bro. TimMonroe has pastored NewWelcome Hill Baptist Church for over 20 years. He plans to join the team Trinity Funeral Services Born in the Hearts of Three Pastors profits, rather than on the families being served. “We realize that businesses have to make money, otherwise they aren’t going to survive. Expenses must be covered, bills have to be paid, and so on, we get that. What we saw happening in our area was that prices were inflated well beyond what anyone would consider a “normal profit margin” in many instances. Griev- ing families were paying far more than they should to have their loved ones cared for, and many times because there was only 1 service, maybe 2, from which to choose,” says Flurry . In a basically rural area with a great deal of seniors, most of which depend entirely on social security to survive, final ex- penses were surpassing their annual income in many cases. That is a huge burden on them, if they were trying to pre-ar- at Trinity in the near future. Opening in March of 2016,Trinity Funeral Servic- es has grown steadily, open- ing a branch office in the neighboring town of Lum- berton. According to Flur- ry, “We live by three words here, and they are not sales, profits, and bonuses. They are Compassion. Comfort. and Care., which is our ap- proach to every family we serve. Through that, we have seen families save significant amounts. Do we do any- thing better than other fu- neral service providers? We don’t claim to, but we cer- tainly do it differently. That is Trinity Funeral Services.” Continued from Front Page range, or on their families if they have none, and most do not! There had to be another way...a better way! Send Us Your News! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 Email info@nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your firm today!