September 2021

Page A16 SEPTEMBER 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A XL industries inc. Call: 406-449-4100 • Visit: www.XLIndustries.com Available Through Quality Suppliers Ladder Racks with adjustable shelves Basket Stands Portable Folding Register Stands Made in USA Quali ty & Value - Built Just for Funeral Homes! Provid ing the Best-Designed Tools for Your Services Since 1926. Dozens of products that give you years of service and store compactly when not in use. Lightweight and easy to take to gravesides or churches. Nesting Stands “Quite Possibly America’s Finest Line of Professional Cosmetics” • Cover Cremes • Lip Color • Liquid Tints • Powder • Brushes • Wax www.derma-pro.net 1-800-531-9744 Fax 903-641-0383 E-Mail: sales@derma-pro.net By Wally Hooker, CFSP, MBIE This month and next, we are going to venture into to a rather touchy subject with many in funeral ser- vice. Regardless of your involvement as a practic- ing embalmer or as an owner/manager, you will undoubtedly have a strong opinion…we will be dis- cussing the need, the legitimacy and the preparation of donor bodies. Nearly every time I lecture, follow- ing the lecture, I am reprimanded for my vernacu- lar in discussing recovered/harvested bodies, donor bodies and OPOs. For the purpose of this article, as I use the terms “recovery” and “donor body,” it is in reference to a deceased, that has gifted or donated, organs, tis- sue, bone, skin, corneas, etc., to be recovered for use in the living to sustain life, enhance life, or for re- search. As I use the term “OPO” it is in reference to the organization participating in the recovery and processing. I fully understand and appreciate the challenges we face as we prepare these donors in our embalm- ing rooms for open casket services. I’m right there with you, folks! They are much more work and ef- fort than your typical autopsy case for sure. I hear horror stories routinely regarding delays, sloppy re- coveries and lack of supplies. But hey, that’s what we do! We pride ourselves on restoring traumatic facial injuries, so we need to take that same pride and put forth the effort with a donor body! First and foremost, we must never lose sight of a couple of facts. First, whether you like it or not, the deceased or their family made the decision for the donation. This is very similar to an autopsy in that it is something you have no say in and was ordered by someone else. Second, the deceased or the fam- ily placed their trust and confidence in your firm, expecting you to “perform your magic” and leave no obvious sign of recovery from the body. Yes, I know that is a tall order, but we are up to the chal- lenge! You have the experience, talent, knowledge and hopefully the proper supplies and chemicals to produce a successful outcome. When you take a donor body into your care and you are overwhelmed and disgusted by what you see…stop right there! Step back, analyze the situation. Yes, these cases require tedious, time-consuming work. If it is beyond the scope of your ability or time con- straints, call someone else in! I’ve heard of practitioners taking families back to the prep room to see what they consider mutilation, or even taking photos to show the family. What possible good can this accomplish? You will just cause the fam- ily you are serving further distress. Do you share with them photos of mutilated bodies from traumatic inju- ry deaths? Do you show them how we use a trocar? Be a professional! I know in many states OPOs offer compensation to funeral homes for the additional work required to embalm and restore donor cases. If you are an own- er/manager and you apply to your OPO for financial compensation, it would behoove you and create good- will to share part of that compensation with your em- balming room staff. After all, they are the ones who make the “magic” happen! In Indiana, the Indiana Donor Network listened to our association and funeral directors when we suggest- ed the supplies that would be beneficial to accompa- ny a recovered body from the recovery site. I am not a supporter of OPOs creating a preparation center – I feel that we can do a better job of preparing the bod- ies. I may not be popular with them, but they need to do what they do, and allow us to do what we do! Many funeral service practitioners question why hos- pitals must call an OPO on every death. In a nutshell as I understand, hospitals accept federal funding (such as Medicaid/Medicare) and must stay in compliance with federal mandates to continue to receive feder- al funding. One of those compliance requirements is contacting an OPO following death. The general public and even many in funeral service have little understanding or knowledge of the recovery process or the difference in requirements, timing and procedures for organ recovery, versus recovery of tis- sue, bone, ligaments, vessels, corneas, etc. An organ donor must be sustained on life support in a hospital setting for the organs to be viable for trans- plant. However, other types of recovery have a longer FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at 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. Embalming 101 time frame. This recovery too, can be shortened or extended based on last known time alive, environ- ment, refrigeration, and medical history. Along with obtaining medical information, the OPO screeners must interview the family to obtain pertinent infor- mation and consent. This often leads to consterna- tion as we wait for the call. As funeral directors, we know all too well, how dif- ficult it is to contact a family following a death. This gets even more complicated when an OPO becomes involved. Again, we must keep in mind that this is for the greater good and is a part of our professional life. If one of our own family members were to need recovered tissue because of injury, severe burns, ill- ness, or to need an organ transplant, I don’t believe any of us would turn down this gift of life, so to speak. Yes, I know communication may be lacking, but hopefully as we all row in the same direction we can find some common ground with OPOs. Next month we will discuss the physical prepa- ration of donor bodies. Until then, stay safe, wash your hands and be well! Dealing with Donor Cases (Part 1) Service Corporation International Announces Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results HOUSTON,TX— Service Corpo- ration International (NYSE: SCI) reported results for the second quarter of 2021. Tom Ryan , the Company’s President, Chairman, and Chief Ex- ecutive Officer, commented on CO- VID-19 and second quarter results: “Today we are pleased to report earnings per share of $0.92 and net cash provided by operating activities of $192 million for the quarter. The growth was primarily driven by con- tinued strength in comparable pr- eneed cemetery sales production, driven by higher sales velocity, sales averages, and large sales activity. “These results are all made possible by our greatest asset, our 24,000 associ- ates.Their health, safety, and well-being remains a top priority as our dedicated teams continue to provide essential ser- vices for our client families. I would like to thank all of the SCI family, particu- larly our frontline associates, for focus- ing on what we do best, which is help- ing our client families gain closure and healing through the process of grieving, remembrance, and celebration.” Service Corporation International is North America’s leading provid- er of funeral, cemetery and crema- tion services, as well as final-arrange- ment planning in advance. Our Dignity Memorial® brand serves ap- proximately 500,000 families each year with professionalism, compas- sion, and attention to detail. At June 30, 2021, we owned and operated 1,458 funeral service locations and 485 cemeteries (of which 297 are combination locations) in 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the Dis- trict of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information about Service Corporation International please vis- it www.sci- corp.com. For more in- formation about Dignity Memorial® visit www.dignitymemorial.com. We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your Firm, School, or Association today! info@Nomi sPubl i cat ions . com CALL 1-800-321-7479 FAx 1-800-321-9040 PO Box 5159 , Youngstown, OH 44514 v i s i t www.Nomi sPubl i cat ions . com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Send Us Your News!