Many people believe that mortuaries are bare-bones operations that focus only on the decedent. However, this is not always the case.
Morgues are found in hospitals and medical examiner offices, as well as some cemeteries and funeral homes. Morgues are essentially refrigerated death lockers that store bodies until an autopsy is performed.
The Difference Between a Mortuary and a Funeral Home
Some people use the terms morgue and funeral home interchangeably, but a mortuary is more than just a storage facility. Often, mortuaries offer a combination of services, including embalming and on-site cremation. They may also act as a transportation hub, where bodies are sent from hospitals, medical examiners’ offices, crime scenes, and private homes.
Compared to a funeral home, mortuaries are usually more clinical in their approach and may not place as much emphasis on customer comfort. Some may only offer basic services such as a brief viewing for immediate family members and direct cremation without full memorialization options.
Funeral homes, on the other hand, typically provide a full range of services in more opulent settings and can help families choose from a variety of memorialization options. They can also assist with coordinating funeral plans and burial arrangements, and they may offer visitation and memorial services at their own facilities or on the cemetery grounds.
The Difference Between a Mortuary and a Crematory
A mortuary and a crematory are similar in that they both handle human remains, but the similarities end there. A crematory is an alternative to a traditional burial and does not include embalming or a funeral service.
A crematory is a machine that reduces a body to essential elements using heat and agitation. The cremated remains are pulverized into small particles that look like ashes and then placed into an urn, which is usually selected by the family.
Generally, the bodies that are moved from a mortuary to a crematory are brought by ambulance or coroner, or they are taken from a hospital, home, crime scene, or other public location where the cause of death has been confirmed. The bodies are tagged and identified, either through an autopsy or the confirmation of next of kin.
During the course of our research for this article, we reached out to several service providers who use the term moruary in their name (such as Myers Mortuary and Hart’s Mortuary) and found that none of them viewed their locations as anything other than a mortuary. This suggests that this theory is largely false.
The Difference Between a Mortuary and a Cemetery
Many consumers are confused by the difference between a mortuary and a cemetery. They sound similar and it is easy to see why one could be mistaken for the other.
A mortuary is a place where the body is held temporarily. It is typically found in hospitals, medical examiners’ offices or some funeral homes. The purpose is to hold the body until arrangements for burial or cremation are made. A mortuary also handles embalming and other aspects of funeral preparations.
The difference between a cemetery and a mortuary is that a cemetery is an area of land that has been selected specifically for burial purposes. Cemeteries usually have a lot of rules and regulations regarding headstones and inscriptions.
As a result, a cemetery is more like a community than a mortuary. They operate on separate accounting systems and can’t offer the same pricing incentives as funeral homes do. It’s important for customers to understand this difference so that they are not misled when meeting with a cemetery representative.
The Difference Between a Mortuary and a Funeral Director
A funeral director is a person who has the experience and skills to arrange and direct the services that commemorate a dead individual. This includes preparing the body for burial, organizing wakes and funeral services and arranging memorial services. Funeral directors also manage the finances associated with a funeral, file important documents and ensure that they are compliant with state laws.
The job of a funeral director can be emotionally demanding, as they must show empathy and compassion while guiding families through the grieving process. They must also be able to work well under pressure and be on call at all hours of the day.
A good funeral director is a compassionate, empathetic individual who can guide families through the difficult process of mourning their loved ones. The most desirable traits in a funeral director include complex problem solving, service orientation and social perceptiveness. In addition to these skills, a funeral director must be highly organized and detail-oriented.