Often, the first contact with the family is at the place of death when the removal is made. In fact, with hospice growth throughout the country, the phone call to inform the funeral home of the death more and more often comes from a hospice employee rather than the family. This means the removal is the family’s first impression of your firm.
Ensuring each removal is completed professionally includes making sure each employee knows what they’re doing and how to operate all equipment. For example, everyone must know how to operate the stretcher, including using features such as lowering to different levels or dropping one end to make it shorter to make turns in a room. Making these maneuvers with practiced ease are small ways to show professionalism.
Importantly, firms must have proper equipment for every removal. Americans aren’t getting smaller. And while oversize stretchers are expensive they are a necessary business cost to ensure the safety of your staff and proper care of the deceased.
Additionally, firms should consider extra measures, such as leaving a rose or a card at the place of death. Many firms have a packet they leave with a family member. This packet gives them information that may be reviewed before the arrangement conference. Others will drape a pre-folded American flag over the stretcher when they remove a veteran. These small moments of care make all the difference to a family without adding much, if any, cost to the firm.
Even the government gets involved with the removal of a deceased, and along that line firms may be fined if OSHA and FTC requirements are not met. For example, the FTC Funeral Rule is triggered if the family asks about funeral costs and you do not have copies of a price list with your removal equipment. Your staff must know what triggers the FTC Funeral Rule on a removal.
Another government standard involved during removal of the deceased from the place of death is the OSHA Bloodborne standard. All death care professionals should be using disposable gloves for removals by now. But they should also have other personal protective equipment (PPE), including at least two complete sets of PPE for the staff, along with a red biohazard bag, removal pouch and hand disinfectant, in the removal auto. Obviously, this is to protect staff – but these individuals must know when and what to use.
Instilling and maintaining standards and procedures for the removal helps ensure your firm’s first impression to the family and caregivers is one of professionalism, dignity and respect. Of course, the only way to maintain this level of service is continuous training because many firms use part-time employees to make removals, staffing changes, and humans commonly forget things they should be doing. Training is sometimes a refresher but still necessary and can also bring about improved processes.