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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2019)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ❚ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 ❚ 3B Funeral homes Continued from Page 1A funeral homes fare on in- spections. The board’s website says: “With the exception of egregious or continu- ing violations, deficien- cies noted during routine inspections rarely lead to formal disciplinary ac- tion.” State regulators short-handed The sun sets over City View Cemetery. KELLY JORDAN / STATESMAN JOURNAL Chad Dresselhaus, ex- ecutive director of the state agency, acknowl- edged Oregon’s the in- spection rate is low. When fully staffed, it will have seven state em- ployees including two in- spectors. But for several months in late 2018 and early 2019, the agency did not have an inspector. An inspector resigned in September 2018 and the agency was unable to hire a replacement until recently, Dresselhaus said. A second inspector po- sition was approved by the 2019 Legislature for the board’s biennial bud- get. With two inspectors, he expects Oregon’s in- spection rate to climb. “We are hopeful that we will be able to satisfy the statutory require- ment of inspecting all li- censed facilities within a two-year period,” Dres- selhaus said. The inspections are supposed to encompass looking at the premises and records of funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries. Another reason the agency’s inspection rate is low is due to a “fairly high profile situation” in- volving revoking the li- cense of Eternal Hills fu- neral home and cemetery in Klamath Falls, said Dresselhaus, who de- clined being interviewed and answered questions in writing. Regulators also spent time fielding questions from consumers and creditors because the cemetery is going through an involuntary bankruptcy, Dresselhaus said. In addition to revoking the licenses of Eternal Hills, the funeral home and cemetery were fined more than $100,000 in 2017 for a series of viola- tions. Complaints from small to large Mortuaries, crema- tories and cemeteries can face sanctions ranging from reprimands to fines to losing their license, de- pending on the severity of the offense. Some violations — cremating a person with- out the proper authoriza- tion and mixing up cre- mated remains — did show up in a Statesman Journal review of two years’ worth of board ac- tions from 2017 to 2019 against funeral home and crematory operators. In one case, the board reprimanded Canby Fu- neral Chapel after allow- ing a friend of an individ- ual to arrange their cre- mation. The funeral home had tried to contact a surviv- ing family member. When not successful, they did not try to locate another contact and allowed an unauthorized person to sign the form allowing cremation, records show. The dead person’s daughter found out about her mother’s death 10 days after the cremation. In another case, Cas- cade Cremation Center in Tualatin was reprimand- ed after switching the cremains of two people in 2016 due to a labeling er- ror. Records show the company voluntarily dis- closed the mistake to the board. Managers for Canby Funeral Home and Cas- cade Cremation Center could not be reached for comment. A variety of violations were found during a 2013 inspection at Eternal Hills in Klamath Falls in- cluding unsanitary con- ditions, shoddy record- keeping and misleading business practices. In a 2016 summary of viola- tions at Eternal Hills that went back for years, in- spectors noted that bod- ies were embalmed with- out proper authorization and the operator could not provide required pa- perwork when state regu- lators requested it. An in- spector also discovered cremated remains, in- cluding bone fragments, in a vacuum cleaner. Consumer advice The state board has a 12-page checklist for in- spections. It includes whether advertising is accurate, if pricing is clear and available, the effectiveness of refrigera- tion equipment and whether remains are properly identified. Although consumers can’t view the inspection reports, they can request from the state mortuary board a list of funeral homes and professionals that have faced disciplin- ary action dating back to 2007. The list, however, doesn’t provide details on what the board alleged the funeral home did. The information is not currently online because the mortuary board is up- dating its website. But you can submit a public records request and get a copy of the disciplinary document free of charge because the information usually is available on- line. Consumers also can look up a facility or indi- vidual practitioner by name or city and make sure they are licensed. And consumers may find information by searching the Justice De- partment’s consumer complaint database to see if complaints have been filed. Keep in mind, however, that those com- plaints may be referred to the mortuary board, or be resolved in favor of the funeral home. Mike Nicodemus, vice president of cremation services for the National Funeral Directors Association, said there are pitfalls to avoid, and things to look out for when selecting a funeral home. Because rules for mor- tuaries and crematories vary from state to state, Nicodemus said he en- courages owners to be proactive and do their own checks instead of waiting for state inspec- tors to show up. Thirty-seven states re- quire crematory inspec- tions while 13 have no in- spections. “I always tell as many crematory and funeral homeowners that are lis- tening. ‘Don’t leave in- spections up to the state,’” said Nicodemus, a funeral home director in Salem. “You do them on your own. You be your own consumer advocate. You go in as the owner. Check the paperwork.” Openness is crucial when working with cli- ents, he said. Operators of a well-run facility will be comfortable showing people around. A funeral home that isn’t upfront about its practices, services and prices may be one to avoid, Nicodemus said. A Federal Trade Com- mission rule requires fu- neral providers to show clients a price list identi- fying all the goods and services offered and their costs. “I tell them ... answer all questions openly and honestly,’ Nicodemus said. “Show them your fa- cility. Show them how you do things.” Funeral director’s perspective Miles Johnson, owner and director of Johnson Funeral Home in Salem, said he focuses on flexi- ble pricing options for families. This includes listing all options so peo- ple can pick and choose what they need for a fu- neral service. Elsewhere in the in- dustry, Johnson said it’s common to offer a pack- age of services. He said a package approach can be helpful for some consum- ers, but it’s not for every- body because some peo- ple may end up paying for items they don’t need. Johnson originally trained for a career in construction. But after realizing he wanted to fo- cus on serving people, he went back to school and became a funeral home owner and director, open- ing the Salem business with his wife in 2015. “It’s my dream job,” he said. “I love serving peo- ple in their darkest time and helping them navi- gate treacherous waters.” Funeral homes differ on how much they charge. Some homes are more high-end than oth- ers. But as long as the prices are transparent for consumers, that’s fine, Johnson said. He encourages people to check with several places before making a fi- nal decision. “Call around and don’t go on price alone,” John- son said. “Get a feel for the person you’re going to be dealing with.” He also recommends dealing directly with a fu- neral home rather than using online brokers sell- ing funeral services that act as a middleman. Families also can save money and stress with pre-planning, which in- volves paying in advance to lock in the price and putting wishes in writing. This can help families avoid being taken advan- tage of while grieving, Johnson said. As for state inspectors, Johnson’s funeral home hasn’t had a visit yet. During the licensing process, he sent the agency photographs and had a teleconference with mortuary board staff be- fore opening. But he didn’t have an in-person visit. “It’s not a knock against them,” he said. “They’re busy. If they called me today and said they wanted to see me, I’d say I can’t wait.” Ben Botkin covers Ore- gon state government. You can reach him at bbotkin@Statesman- Journal.com, 503-399- 6687 or follow him on Twitter @BenBotkin1 PUBLIC POLICY NOTICES Public Notices are published by the Statesman Journal and available online at w w w .S ta te s m a n J o u r n a l.c o m . 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