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NOVEMBER 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
John A. Chew is a Funeral Service Education Specialist, Consul-
tant, Tutor, Thanatogeneticist, and a Licensed Funeral Director and
Embalmer. He is a retired former Associate Professor and Director of
Funeral Service Education at Miami Dade Community College as well
as the Institute for Funeral Service Education and Anatomy at Lynn
University (1967-1997). He is presently Director of Education at Em-
balmers Supply Company, Recinto De Ciecias, Medicic, UPR, ESCO/
OMEGA, and the Academy of Restoration and Embalming.
By John A. Chew
Sterilization of embalming instruments is one as-
pect of aseptic technic that is not practiced as a reg-
ular part of the embalming process. This does not
mean that such technics are not essential, it’s just that
some individuals do not recognize or understand the
potential dangers associated with the handling and
care of a dead human body. Disinfection of the body
and the preparation room/equipment is an important
part of the pre-embalming process. Primary disinfec-
tion begins with the removal of the body (first con-
tact).
Antisepsis of the hands and arms begins prior to
handling any body and before dressing with personal
protective clothing.
At the foot end of the table, there is a custom de-
signed biochem filtration system to neutralize waste
prior to entry into the sewage system. Biological waste
seems to equate with daily household body waste and
needs to be identified. Potential hazards begin with
the actual embalming process centered on the meth-
odology practiced. A sluice with a holding capacity of
one gallon should be fitted with a flusher and a chem-
ical injector.
Ventilation fans should be no higher than 36 inch-
es above the floor at the foot of the preparation ta-
ble. The ventilation system and/or air conditioning
should be separate from all other areas of the funer-
al home. Floors should be seamless material and ex-
tended halfway up the walls with a central drain.
Extra-large four-foot doors or double doors would
make for easy access. The prep room should be off
limits to everyone except authorized individuals. Pro-
tective attire should be required of all occupants.
Mobile equipment allows for the practitioner to
maintain a clean and safe working area which is ar-
chitecturally void of recesses, corners or places for po-
tentially hazardous microorganisms to hide. Once the
Understanding
Basic
Sanitation and
Embalming
Practices
(Part 2)
2
equipment is removed, the area should be thoroughly
cleaned with a hose and disinfectant.
The use of specialized steaming and fogging equip-
ment is becoming common among health paraprofes-
sional establishments to reach normally non-accessible
areas. Steaming and fogging of removal cars and prep
areas could be taken as an extra precaution on a regular
basis to protect service and licensed personnel.
The preparation room contains the funeral establish-
ment’s work area necessary for licensed/trained person-
nel to carry out the embalming activities. The area allo-
cated is dependent on the size and type of establishment
and the type of services performed. There are establish-
ments that provide only sanitary treatment and those
that provide sanitation and embalming. Bodies may
only be sanitized or disinfected and placed under refrig-
eration for legal or religious reasons.
A dressing room, including showers, lavatory, toilets,
mirrors and locker space adequate for each employee’s
street attire, should be part or adjacent to the prepara-
tion room. This room should be equipped with a scrub
sink which has automatic electronic, foot, or elbow
controls. Optional equipment is a washer and dryer.
A supply, storage, and sterilizing room should be eas-
ily accessible from the preparation room for operational
convenience. Numerous miscellaneous supplies need to
be stored and inventory stock levels need to be estab-
lished and maintained.
Adequate supply of personal protective equipment
(PPE) should be available to all employees. Two loose
leaf 8½ x 11 notebooks for Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS) should be maintained. There should be one in
the preparation room and one in the office.
Properly fitted respirators should be available adjacent
to the preparation room for quick retrieval in the event
of excessive fumes or an emergency spill.
Part 3 will deal with the essentials of thanotechnologi-
cal sanitation.
cremation services. The concept was so successful that
Nelsen formed a new business with
MKJ Marketing
to
create a national network of leading funeral homes.
Unlike traditional burial services, pricing for crema-
tion can vary greatly within a community, particularly
where there are minimal service cremation providers with
prices thousands of dollars lower than traditional funeral
homes. Advertising from these lower priced alternatives
confuse consumers, and can make funeral home crema-
tion fees seem unreasonably high which can cause con-
sumers to question the firm’s pricing integrity, not just
with cremation but for all funeral home services.
A major challenge for many funeral firms is that their
own staff does not understand why funeral home crema-
tion prices are higher than the minimum service provid-
ers. Cremation with Confidence™ trains staff to deliver
the quality message while educating the public. Crema-
tion with Confidence™ provides the materials staff mem-
bers needs to substantiate cremation pricing by creating
a 10-step cremation procedure and committing to fol-
low that procedure with each and every cremation family
served. Cremation with Confidence™ does not mandate
cremation procedures, but assist each firm to verbalize
their own, existing procedures into wording consumers
can appreciate.
The 10-step procedure communicates that: Cremation
with Confidence
™
funeral firms will treat their loved one
with respect and dignity; they will abide to a system of
checks and balances to assure professional services; and
each Cremation with Confidence™ firm offers each fam-
ily the opportunity to celebrate their loved ones life with
funeral or memorial services.
What’s included in the Cremation with Confidence™
License? Exclusive rights to the trade mark protected
Cremation with Confidence™ within a designated geo-
graphic area, such as a county or trade area; listing on
the Find a Provider page; custom brochure that presents
the firm’s 10-step procedure; newspaper advertisement;
arrangement room poster; press release announcing the
firm’s affiliation with Cremation with Confidence
™;
Cre-
mation with Confidence™
banner for the funeral home
web site; Cremation with Confidence™
guarantee certifi-
cate; Cremation with Confidence™ window decals; DVD
based staff training program that demonstrates how to
use “Cremation With Confidence™,” and custom pow-
er point slide program for use at public presentations.
Also available is the “Walk Away With Confidence,” thir-
ty second high def television advertisement, newspaper
insert and direct mail program.
There are presently 200 funeral facilities nationally iden-
tified on th
ral home
locator. Th
f crema-
tion scandal headlines as published on the internet. Dou-
ble clicking on the banner connects with an on-line news
story. As the consumer learns that all cremation providers
are not the same, they will come to appreciate the impor-
tance of the Cremation with Confidence™ guarantee.
To determine availability of Cremation with Confi-
dence™ in your county or for additional information,
contact MKJ Marketing at 888-655-1566.
Creating A Cremation Strategy
LARGO,FL—
Most funeral businesses have come to grips
with the growing preference for cremation, but what they
have not done is to create a strategy for dealing with fam-
ilies that believe selecting a cremation provider is just
about the lowest price.
Families are delegating their baby boomers children to
collect death care information and even select funeral
homes because of greater longevity. Whether for them-
selves or their parents, baby boomers are the target audi-
ence of all funeral home marketing.
Since baby boomers have not attended a great number
of funerals due to mobility and longer life spans, they
make inquiries typically using the internet and phone
calls, which partially explain the increase in the number
of “price shoppers.”
The greatest challenge for many traditional funeral
firms is explaining the difference between their cremation
fees and the advertised cremation price for minimal ser-
vice cremation providers, such as discount funeral firms
and cremation societies. The price difference can be so
great that many firms have simply stopped competing for
the minimal disposal business, which is understandable.
However, there is another aspect to this challenge that
many firms don’t consider.
Can staff members deliver an intelligent response when
consumers ask why a funeral firm’s price for minimal cre-
mation is so much higher than the advertised price from
competitors? When consumers think a funeral firm’s cre-
mation prices are too high, they are inclined to also as-
sume prices for traditional services, cremation memorial
services, urns and caskets are also too high. So, being able
to provide an explanation for cremation prices has greater
implications than simply competing for a single case, it is
a matter of maintaining credibility with the public.
Cremation with Confidence™ is a marketing concept
originated by
Blair Nelsen,
former owner of the
Nelsen
Funeral Homes & Crematory
in Richmond, VA. Blair
coined and trademarked the phrase, Cremation with
Confidence™ to educate Richmond families on dignified