Page A18 MAY 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A www.vischerfuneralsupplies.com 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 ® www.amrainstruments.com www.preproomdirect.com As we are coming out of the pandemic COVID-19, I’m reminded of another killer that was far worse. It is estimated that the deadly smallpox disease killed between 300 million and 500 million people in history. It wasn’t quite a death sentence if you caught smallpox, but it was pretty close. In 1763, Edward Jenner was a young apprentice to a doctor in England as he prepared for a medical career himself. One day, as the doctor was examining a young milkmaid, Jenner overheard the milkmaid contradict the doctor. The doctor told the milkmaid that she may have smallpox. The milkmaid expressed that it was impossible for her to have smallpox because she had had cowpox. She then told the doctor that everyone knows that once you have had cowpox that you never catch smallpox. Before we go on, let me make clear a couple of terms that contemporary readers may not be familiar with. First of all, what was a milkmaid? Milkmaids were young girls who were hired by dairy farmers to milk their cows. Another term you may be unfamiliar with is cowpox. Cowpox was a mild version of smallpox that the cows could contract and then pass it on to people in the form of sores, usually on their hands. Edward Jenner never forgot that conversation he overheard between the doctor and the milkmaid. For the next 30 years he pondered it in his mind and in his heart. In his spare time, he would go to the dairy farms and just watch the milkmaids do their work. Was there any truth in the milkmaid’s claim? What the Milkmaids Knew On May 14, 1796, Sarah Nelmes who was a milkmaid came to Dr. Jenner complaining of a cowpox sore. Dr. Jenner had an idea and he decided to take a great risk. He took a tissue sample from the sore on Sarah’s hand and inoculated a healthy eight-year-old boy James Phelps with it. As expected, James became ill with the disease but it was very mild. That is when Dr. Jenner took his greatest risk. After James recovered from the cowpox, Dr. Jenner inoculated him with straight smallpox. What was the result? James never caught smallpox. Because of the wisdom of the milkmaid and the courage of Dr. Edward Jenner, today we have vaccines for all sorts of diseases and viruses. Even though we may not agree with the risk that Dr. Jenner took, aren’t we glad that we have the vaccines that his risk made possible? F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at Mark Bowser grew up in the funeral industry and knows the challenges and rewards of running a small business. Mark has been a Professional Speaker since 1993 and is one of America’s premier Sales and Success speakers today. He is the author of several books including Sales Success with Zig Ziglar. He is the host of the popular podcast “Let Me Tell You a Story with Mark Bowser.” To book him to speak at your next event then contact him at www.MarkBowser.com or email info@MarkBowser.com. ern New York. I was a patient being handled during a ‘zero lift’ study about the use of lifting assistance devices and training to reducing injuries and costs. The results were incredible! • 60-95% reduction of lifting injuries, • 95% reduction in workman’s comp costs, • 92% reduction in medical costs, • up to 100% reduction in loss of time, • 98% reduction in absenteeism. While paralyzed in the hospital, I had to be rolled every few hours by more than one person, ‘lift teams.’ One person would be in charge and they would make a plan and act together, as they were ‘trained’. I felt like I was being casketed, but in a sitting position. I was mechanically hoisted from bed to wheelchair, that hoist was a ‘lifting assistance device’. Before the study, research found that the lowest paid workers had more injuries. They had less training. By investing less in employees, it became much more expensive. (As of July 2021, lifting injuries became the 2nd most costly to workman’s comp. Total cost of a lifting injury was $41,000 in 2019.) The financials from the reductions in lifting injuries are even more impressive. The hospital study spent $2 million dollars on lifting assistance devices and training. The money was fully recovered in 2 years. Over the next 3 years they had saved $7 million dollars in workman’s comp claims alone. Short Term Costs Yields Long Term Results! I, David Murphy, the Lorax of the funeral industry, have been saying for years “Save your back! Save your money!” My father is 85, my brother is getting his second hernia fixed and I am a walking paraplegic. Between 3 funeral homes and my trade service, we move over 150 bodies with minimal lifting or straining. We became the world’s first “Zero Lift” or “Lift Free” funeral home. Beside house removals, we are each able to safely load and unload, by ourselves, using the remote-control mortuary winching device I created and patented, named and trademarked, LoadAlone™. I knew as soon as I made it and I say aloud every single time I use it, “Everybody should be using this every time.” Save your body for retirement. We sacrifice enough for this occupation. Putting others before ourselves and our families, running at all hours, hurry up and wait. A couple lifters at most, get the job done in private, while 6-8 pall bearers do in public. Society cares about medical and ambulance workers’ physical health, but mortuary workers can cripple themselves doing similar work? Many of us are college educated, well dressed, we hope the public views us as professionals. Then we treat ourselves and employees as workers not valuable enough to invest some quickly recoverable money to reduce the 80% lifting injury rate of our profession. By investing in ourselves and our employees we are saving the cost of lifting injury (the $41,000 mentioned above). Cremation rates continue to rise. The consumers have been heard. Customers elect not to pay for a hearse. Efficiency is the answer to increasing profits. There are too many ways LoadAlone™ pays for itself and puts money, health and morale “back” into your business to list here. Go to our website to see all the ways LoadAlone™ can help. LoadAlone™ is made with the highest quality, beautiful, and durable parts making any removal vehicle look as dignified as a hearse while protecting it for higher resale value. We do not sacrifice quality because material costs increase. Our marble countertop material, Formica, withstands and hides scratches. Our stainless steel cot cups, pin plates and ramps have a brush finish that clean up like new for years, with an included sanding sponge. What I like about being a funeral director is helping people. Why I make LoadAlone™ so well and affordable is because I love helping fellow funeral workers as well. You can trust me as I am one of you. I stand behind every single sale and I will for you also. There is a 30-day money back guarantee if you are unhappy with LoadAlone™. There is a 1-year warranty on parts. I will travel anywhere in this country as a consultant and assess your business, leaving you with a program with procedures to reduce your liability and turn all those losses above, into reductions of costs. I have created LoadAlone™ to make your lives better and your businesses safer and more profitable. Call 585-330-5772 or email David@LoadAlone. com for more information. Short Term Costs Yield Long Term Results By David Murphy David Murphy David Murphy explains ‘Lifting Limits’ and the recent results of a ‘Safe Patient Handling’ study. In a recently published interview, my answer about OSHA lifting limits as a certified OSHA consultant was generalized and shortened to a less confusing, but not literally correct answer. Allow me to elaborate. We all know about OSHA, who enforces regulations and standards. These rules come from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Hazards, NIOSH, established as the research agency for OSHA in 1970. Simply NIOSH advises and OSHA enforces. As OSHA does not have a lifting limit, they use the NIOSH equation of 2016: a mathematical model based on medical research and comprehensive forces needed to cause damage to bones and ligaments of the back. This calculation sums up – • how it is lifted? • whether they bend? • how high it goes? • how high the lift starts? (Specifically knuckle height) • how far away is it? • how long one holds it? • how much does it weigh? NIOSH published a general lifting limit of 51 pounds. When the model is applied to lifting a human body, the NIOSH limit is 35 pounds. Next time you must put a 350-pound body into your vehicle, be sure to send 10 people. Instead of trying to figure out how 20 people can reach the stretcher on a 700-pound corpse- LoadAlone™ will pull them in and help you safely get them out via remote control. (I’m sorry that one slipped.) Let me continue with this interesting topic. July 6, 2013, I was in an MVA, paralyzed and spent 2 months in a hospital in westDIGITAL DIRECTORY Available Download instantly at www.NomisPublications.com Save on Shipping! Bright Ideas for Funeral Directors with Mark Bowser
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