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OCTOBER 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Funeral Directors Research,Inc.
AMRA INSTRUMENT,
LLC
623 N. Tower (P.O. Box 359)
Centralia, WA 98531
“the shorter the supply line the better off you are”
WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING
TM
®
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
operations and risk management, combined with his involve-
ment with funeral homes of all sizes and geographies, to be-
come an authority at controlling risk and loss in the death care
industry, providing lectures and presentations to private firms,
as well as regional, state and national associations. He also con-
ducts private audits and risk assessments to independent funeral
homes and crematories in the US and Canada, often identifying
ways to save or generate thousands of dollars of profit.
Jim is a Michigan and Indiana Licensed Funeral Director and
Embalmer and ICCFA- and CANA-certified crematory opera-
tor, 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
in the death care
indu
Jim at (813) 765-
9844
Many Businesses Fail to
Establish Safeguards Mitigating
Cremation Risks (Part 2)
This topic has been continued from last month’s column.
Risk Doesn’t Pause DuringTransportation
Some firms depend on the crematory to transport the deceased
to the crematory. But having the crematory perform the trans-
portation means the firms loses custody during a critical time.
Several factors can affect this loss of custody, including the cre-
matory’s van breaking down, whether the crematory adheres to
the same standards of dignity and respect, and that the authoriz-
ing agent has authorized the firm with the care of the deceased.
Several factors also influence which crematory was selected.
Sometimes they include personal or business relationships, con-
venience and cost.
But the most important factor in choosing a crematory is find-
ing the one that returns the largest amount of cremated human
remains that can be achieved and keeps comingling to the lowest
possible level.
If that last factor isn’t considered, or the crematory chosen
doesn’t do well on that factor, it could create issues in time. Due
diligence is imperative when selecting a crematory. Many associa-
tions provide crematory inspection forms and those can be valu-
able if one knows what to look for. The problem is that many
people do not and do not know what is acceptable on the form.
One last consideration is whether the crematory will add the
firm as an additional insured and have their insurance company
issue an Accord Certificate annually.
Your Firm is Still Responsible for Remains at the Crematory
Once a crematory is chosen and used, what happens at the cre-
matory may have great effects on the firms using it.
For example, if a crematory is not secure, if the facility is not
Protecting
Your Families
and Business
whom the cremated human remains were released.
But cremated human remains are not always picked up
promptly, creating another opportunity for loss. When the
cremated human remains arrive back at the funeral home,
they should be logged and retained in a secured location
with limited access.
Again, the biggest risk with cremation is that cremated
human remains are irreplaceable. If they are lost or released
to the wrong person and disposed of, they can never be re-
placed.
Lastly, every firm should establish and periodically review
cremation policies and procedures. In fact, most death care
businesses that deal with cremation do not have written
policies and procedures. Most of these businesses are sim-
ply doing what they have done for years without realizing
the amount of risk involved when a consumer requests cre-
mation.
Every firm should establish and review current proce-
dures and attempt to lower the possibility of loss. Even the
minimum standards are not protective enough when deal-
ing with cremation.
When I write an article on cremation, I attempt to upgrade
the cremation procedures that many of the death care provid-
ers 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 digni-
ty and respect that everyone needs when dealing with the con-
sumers that chose cremation.
locked when the operator is not present, then anyone could
access the equipment, human remains and cremated human
remains. This would also give people access to take photos
and post them on public digital sites.
Storage of human remains and cremated human remains
must be respectful and secure at the crematory. When the
human remains arrive to be cremated, if they are not placed
immediately into the cremation chamber, they should be
placed in a locked refrigeration unit rather than a container
in the open area.
When the cremation chamber is cleaned, all measures
should be taken to remove as much of the cremated human
remains as possible. If there is visible residue remaining, the
crematorium is not doing their job correctly, plus they are
increasing the amount of co-mingling on each case they per-
form.
Firms should also know what happens to implanted medi-
cal metal that remains after cremation. There are three main
ways to handle it after it has been cleaned of all removable
cremated human remains: trash, recycle or bury in a ceme-
tery. Whatever one used must be noted on the cremation au-
thorization. The firms that recycle and receive money must
inform the consumer that they will be receiving money.
Further, only one cremated human remains should be pro-
cessed at a time. When the crematory processes more than
one at a time, it creates an opportunity for the paperwork
and labeling to be mixed.
Another issue of security at the crematory is where cremat-
ed human remains are stored. Often, they are left sitting on
a desk or shelf. But these are not secure locations. To com-
pound the situation, if the crematory itself isn’t secure then
the cremated human remains are at an even higher risk of be-
ing lost or misplaced.
The Final Return of CHR is One Last Opportunity for Loss
When cremated human remains are released from the cre-
matory to the funeral home or to the authorized agent, doc-
umentation should be retained. If the cremated human re-
mains are released to the incorrect person, the damage could
affect all parties.
The importance of documenting to whom the cremated
human remains may be released has already been established,
but it follows to make sure that the person is actually the
correct person and to document that. A way to accomplish
that is to retain a copy of the person’s identification and a
signed release. Without asking for and attaching a copy of
their identification to a signed release, a firm cannot prove to
Ballard Takes Delivery of Two Dodge Grand Caravans
SCI Declares Dividend
KAHULUI,HI—
Mark Ballard,
owner and opera-
tor of
Ballard Family Mortuary
in Kahului, HI has
announced that the firm recently took delivery of 2
Dodge Grand Caravans. Both vehicles were purchased
from
Muster Coaches
in Calhoun, IN.
Established in 1987, Ballard Family Mortuary serves
the multi-cultural community of Maui in Hawaii and
was the first new mortuary built in the state in 50
years. Ballard currently owns five facilities throughout
the state of Hawaii: the aforementioned Ballard Fam-
ily Mortuary,
Borthwick Norman’s Mortuary, Val-
ley Isle Memorial Park, Borthwick Hawaii Funeral
Home
and
Borthwick Kona Funeral Services.
Bal-
lard Family Mortuary is a proud recipient of the dis-
tinguished
National Funeral Director Association’s
Pur-
suit of Excellence Award.
HOUSTON,TX—
Service
Corporation Internation-
al
(NYSE: SCI) has an-
nounced that its board of
directors has approved a
quarterly cash dividend
of nine cents per share of
common stock. The quar-
terly cash dividend declared
represents a 12.5 percent
increase from previously
declared dividends of eight
cents per share of com-
mon stock per quarter. This
quarterly cash dividend is
payable on September 30,
2014 to shareholders of re-
cord at the close of business
on September 15, 2014.
SCI is North America’s
leading provider of death-
care products and services.
As of June 30, 2014, they
owned and operated 1,614
funeral homes and 489
cemeteries (of which 272
are combination locations)
in 44 states, eight Canadi-
an provinces, the District
of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico. For more informa-
tion and to view complete