Patrick Kearns, a fourth-generation funeral director in Queens, said the industry has never experienced anything like this. In the second half of the month, they had Like Marmo, Kearns has converted a small chapel into a makeshift refrigerator with an air conditioner. Other funeral directors told The Associated Press this week they were prepared to take similar measures.
The surge in deaths is coming at a time when there are tight restrictions on gatherings, making saying goodbye a lonely process. A family at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn this week leaned over a yellow chain serving as a cordon and tossed roses at the casket of a loved one. Another in Queens offered final goodbyes through the windows of their cars. At one cemetery in the Bronx, where visitors were barred entirely, a funeral director stood over the grave and took photos to send to mourners.
Jackie McQuade, a funeral director at Schuyler Hill funeral home in the Bronx, has struggled to tell families no. But she has no choice, given rules limiting services to immediate family only, if that. One cemetery she worked with has locked its gates to family and friends. Only she and a priest were allowed at the site of a burial. Other Settings. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Last Updated Nov. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
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Cancel Continue. Any high-touch surfaces should be cleaned daily. For families that request items placed in a casket to be returned to them, funeral homes should clean and disinfect all materials before giving them back. Funeral Director Caleb Wilde believes postponing funerals, for now, is the best option.
During the NFDA webinar, many funeral professionals expressed fear over the availability of PPE equipment for their funeral home staff. Many have concerns about where funeral directors fall on the list for priority distribution. If a funeral home is concerned about a shortage of PPE, CDC recommends alerting the state health department and local healthcare coalition as they are best positioned to help with temporary shortages.
Perhaps the biggest concern is the availability of respirators. The CDC representatives provided information about possible alternatives to N95 respirators which can be reviewed by clicking the links below.
Since this coronavirus first began spreading its deadly tentacles across the world, a multitude of headlines have been published about how death care workers in other countries, such as China and Italy, struggled to respond to the pandemic.
Stories about Chinese funeral staff working 24 hours a day and Italian funeral workers unable to removal bodies from homes have circulated the news for weeks now.
Therefore, many funeral home workers should brace for the peak of this pandemic which could bring about staff shortages. Like health care workers, funeral home employees cannot do their jobs entirely from home. Instead, they are in the very tough position of interacting with others and must take every precaution to limit exposure to the virus. Still, concerns are growing that the death care workforce in America may be stretched too thin as time goes on.
The challenges in the days ahead for funeral directors are likely to multiple if staff shortages become the norm and many funeral home employees contract the virus. One of the most tragic fallouts of this coronavirus outbreak is the impact this pandemic has had on grieving family members.
For families that have lost a loved one to the virus, it is hard to even fathom the heartbreak and helplessness they have endured. In most cases, family members were unable to spend time with their loved ones before their deaths due to quarantine restrictions. This is truly grief on another level. For families who have recently lost a loved one, whether it be from COVID or another cause, the ability to find comfort through the support of others has now been taken away. Denying families the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved one in the manner they choose is one of the cruelest after-effects of this virus.
It is difficult to even measure how much this situation will complicate the grief experienced by families in the years to come. In addition to facing an incalculable number of logistical challenges, funeral professionals are also struggling to provide the support and compassion these bereaved families need. In some cases, directors are forced to make arrangements with relatives solely over the phone or through online channels. This is not ideal in anyway, but funeral directors have no choice and are being forced to limit their contact with families despite their desire to provide emotional support.
There is no doubt that relatives will have a rough road ahead in mourning their lost loved ones. In the weeks and months that follow, funeral professionals will be instrumental in helping these families face their compounded grief.
With all of the extra tasks and precautions funeral professionals are handling right now, an increased number of phone calls and emails from the public only adds to the load.
Between inquiries about cancelled or rescheduled funerals, questions about accessing live streamed funerals and newspapers calling to request interviews, funeral home phone lines have never been busier.
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