Month: March 2024

Licensed funeral directors oversee the arrangement, preparation and burial or cremation of a deceased person. This may be done at the home or place of death, by telephone or over the internet.

The Bureau licenses, regulates and investigates complaints against California funeral establishments, funeral directors, embalmers, apprentice embalmers, cemetery brokers and salespersons, cremated remains disposers and approximately 200 cemeteries in the state.

New York State

New York State Funeral Directors Association is a trade organization dedicated to supporting & elevating professionals in the industry. Members benefit from a range of products & services that enhance their business. They also receive updated industry information & compliance materials. The organization also advocates for legislative reforms to ensure that federal & state laws are fair to funeral professionals.

If you’re a licensed funeral director in New York, you have a position of trust with the public and must honor their wishes in the most sensitive manner possible. Any allegations of misconduct, from mishandling remains to taking advantage of emotionally-vulnerable customers, could put your license in jeopardy. The Bureau of Funeral Directing takes all reports seriously & has the power to revoke your license.

All “funeral providers” must comply with the Funeral Rule. This includes funeral homes and independent funeral directors. The rule requires all providers to give a General Price List (GPL) to any person who inquires in person about funeral goods or services. However, this requirement does not apply when discussing prices over the phone or in writing.

Georgia

In Georgia, funeral service providers must be licensed. This includes funeral directors and embalmers, and the licenses are issued by the Board of Funeral Service Practitioners. The licensing process involves an exam, training and education requirements. The Board also imposes other restrictions and rules.

The Board has six licensed funeral directors and embalmers on its board, along with one consumer protection advocate representative. Its members are appointed by the governor. Its staff consists of an executive director, administrative assistants and field representatives.

The professional licensing board regulates funeral directors, embalmers, apprentices and mortuary students. It also enforces the laws regarding preneed funeral contracts and cemeteries. The Board of Funeral Service Practitioners also provides examination information and materials, continuing education opportunities, licensure applications and renewals, disciplinary information and more. The board’s list of active funeral establishments and funeral directors is available online and is searchable by license number, name, county, zip code or address. The list is updated regularly.

Nevada

The funeral services industry is a sensitive and emotional one, and consumers should be cautious when selecting a provider. The Nevada Funeral Consumers Alliance provides help and support for families in the area, serving Reno, Sparks, Carson City and more. The organization also advocates for consumer rights in the funeral industry.

The organization warns against funeral homes that charge for caskets when they don’t have to, and those that push you to buy their caskets when you prefer cremation. It also reminds consumers that funeral homes don’t have to sell you a casket for cremation, and that federal law allows you to choose an alternative container made of unfinished wood, pressed wood or fiberboard.

The organization recently took on Hites Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Henderson after a state funeral board director found bodies improperly stacked, sheeting soaked in blood, and a severed torso in a neighborhood trash can. The state funeral board suspended the license of the firm and its manager, Eric Lee, but didn’t revoke it.

California

The Bureau advocates consumer protection and licensee compliance through proactive education and consistent interpretation and application of laws governing the funeral industry. The Bureau regulates funeral establishments, funeral directors, embalmers and apprentice embalmers; cremated remains disposers, and crematories and hydrolysis facilities; and nearly 200 licensed cemeteries in California.

For more information, visit our website.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) is a non-profit organization that promotes advance planning for funeral needs and the consumer’s right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral. We have provided a list of important questions that consumers should ask when comparing prices and services.

Licensing requirements for embalmers and funeral directors differ by state. The CCFB has compiled a listing of licensing requirements by state, including the number of hours required for continuing education. Applicants must also pass the state law exam and the National Board examination. Licensure applications take, on average, forty days from the date of submission to the CCFB to be approved.

Often times, a standalone mortuary will only offer a quick viewing for immediate family members and on-site cremation without full-service offerings. This is an important distinction, especially for those with religious preferences and rites to be observed.

Any refrigerated space spacious enough to hold a body can act as a mortuary during an emergency.

Preparation

A mortuary is a place where people can be held after death. It is commonly attached to a funeral home and may focus on preparing the body for burial or cremation, or both. It can also assist with arranging services and ceremonies.

The preparation of the body starts soon after death in order to prevent complications from rigor mortis – a stiffening of the muscles and joints that usually sets in within two to seven hours of passing. This process includes washing the body, dressing and positioning it and making arrangements to transport it.

For bodies that will be buried, embalming is done in the morgue to improve the appearance of the corpse before the wake or ceremony. The body can then be dressed, fixed with makeup and prepared for display in the casket or urn. It can also be frozen for body donation or green burial purposes, or prepared for air or ground travel to another state for an autopsy or organ donation.

Embalming

The embalmer replaces the blood in the body with chemicals. Often this is done by forcing fluid into the major blood vessels via an incision made on either the carotid or jugular vein. The embalmer then pumps a mixture of formaldehyde, methanol, isopropanol, detergents and dyes through the vessels into the body.

This process does not prevent deterioration, but it slows it down greatly. The body can be preserved for up to 3 weeks with this technique.

During this time signs of ageing like bruises can be smoothed out and signs of illness, like sunken eyes, closed with a fine coating of mortuary makeup. Many people are surprised to see how much their loved one looks the same after they’ve been embalmed.

Burial

Depending on culture and religion, a burial may or may not be part of the end-of-life ritual. A number of cultures bury their dead; these include:

The dead are dressed in clothing of choice and placed in a casket or other container, which is then placed in the ground. Some burials are heavily ritualized, and embalming or mummification is often used to delay decomposition. For example, the ancient Egyptians buried their dead in tombs and crypts.

Some mortuaries also have chapels where a funeral service is held before the body is buried. They can also provide a space for family members to receive friends and loved ones after the death, before the final viewing. Some have a full range of services, including on-site cremation, while others are less focused on the mortuary science and more about helping grieving families through their mourning process. The term mortuary is sometimes used interchangeably with the term morgue, though morgues are typically attached to hospitals and departments of forensic medicine.

Disposition

A mortuary will typically handle the body until it’s ready to be transferred to a funeral home. This may include arranging for caskets or urns, and preparing the body for viewing. Some mortuaries will also arrange for burial or cremation services as well.

Cremation has increasingly become the method of choice for many families. The process involves placing the body into a machine which heats it with natural gas and then uses a scrubber to filter out any remaining ash. The ashes are then usually spread over a memorial site or turned into jewelry, but some families choose to bury the remains instead.

There is always a chance that a morgue worker could contract an infectious disease while working with a corpse, but if proper precautions are taken the risk should be low. Generally, only highly trained professionals work at a mortuary. Sharps such as scalpels, scissors and lancets should be placed in a sharps container after use and disposed of by a medical waste contractor.