FUNERAL HOMES ADJUST
Funeral homes are crafting their own measures to protect staff against COVID-19 and to prepare for rising deaths that have the potential to overwhelm the system.
Demand has already grown. Teresa Jones, owner and funeral director at Choice Memorial Cremation and Funeral Services, said she is operating three crematoriums compared with the usual one.
Jones has also split her staff into two groups who alternate between seven straight days of work and seven days off, to ensure they will be able to operate even if one group had members who contracted COVID-19.
Her biggest fear is someone on her staff getting sick.
“My people go into the hospitals, they go into those nursing homes where there are outbreaks, and they're using their PPE but they're right on that front line transferring that person who has passed from that disease,” said Jones.
“We don't know well enough if the virus dies with the body or if it's still there while we're handling that person. Then you have the family who have been around their loved one. Whether they have tested (positive) or not, you're taking their word that they are safe and can come in.”
COVID-19 deaths have overwhelmed funeral homes and morgues in places such as New York City, where refrigerator trucks were deployed to store bodies. In one instance, a funeral home placed dozens of body bags inside metal U-haul trucks.
It's unlikely Calgary will face such grim circumstances, but David Root, general manger at Pierson's Funeral Service, said “it's in the back of our minds.”
“I don't think we're at that point yet — definitely not — and it feels like we won't get to that point but you never know what's around the corner,” said Root.
He added many people in the funeral industry are closely connected and could lean on each other if demand grows out of control, related to issues such as cremation and refrigeration of bodies.
When the pandemic began, Jones said she reached out to other facilities about extra refrigeration as part of their contingency planning. She even had refrigeration companies reach out to her.
If COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise, she said those discussions could come up again.
Baljinder Bhullar, owner of Country Hills Crematorium and Funeral Services, said he does fear that deaths could overwhelm his funeral home, but is confident they could meet an increased demand.
Staff safety is a significant concern for him and, as such, the COVID-19 vaccine is top of mind.
Bhullar said funeral service workers are on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic but have been overlooked when it comes to vaccinations.
“Funeral home staff, funeral directors and director's assistants should have priority,” he said.
“We are dealing with the community and people every day.”
Root, who also serves on the Alberta Funeral Service Association board of directors, said the association reached out to the province requesting funeral workers be considered among the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines because they are essential service providers.
Alberta Health indicated mortuary workers will not be included in the initial phase of vaccine distribution between January and March.
However, they will be considered in Phase 2 between April and June, in which the government plans to vaccinate about 30 per cent of the population but has yet to determine “priority groups.”
Jones said she, too, would like to see funeral staff at the top of the list, following long-term care and health-care workers.
On Friday, Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said many Albertans are performing critical services, but the province is prioritizing those most at risk for severe outcomes and death first.
Residents of long-term and supportive-living facilities, alongside people who work among those individuals, will be first in line for the vaccine, in addition to health-care workers.
Funeral home workers and law enforcement, for example, play a crucial role in Alberta and will be considered in “subsequent prioritization of the vaccine,” said Hinshaw.
Root said Pierson's Funeral Home is seeing upwards of a 10 per cent increase in calls compared to last year. He clarified that the death rate, in general, is up not just because of COVID-19 but other causes as well.
Jeff Hagel, owner of Mcinnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, said the most challenging aspect of their job is helping families grieve while adhering to COVID-19 measures.
“We're finding ourselves in a position where we have to tell people they can't have a receiving line and shake hands or hug,” said Hagel.
“We're having to set up chapels in our building differently to ensure people keep their distance and discourage people from socializing after a funeral.”
The ability for loved ones to come together after a loss has been stripped amid the pandemic at a time when they need it most. Most funeral homes have incorporated digital elements for funeral services, such as livestreaming.
Others are hosting multiple services for the same person each day, to allow more people to attend in accordance with the 10-person limit mandated by the province.
“Deaths are not just a statistic or a number,” Hagel said.
“There's a family behind it. There's a human side of it and that human side has continued to get even more challenging.”