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Good Press From Reporters
With Georgia on Their Minds?
Pennsylvania Funeral Home Managed It
What do you do when a well publicized scandal at a faraway funeral home or cemetery brings the press to your door?
The Tri-State Crematory story in Georgia has led reporters all over the country to pursue local angle pieces of the "could it happen here?" variety, contacting funeral homes just because they are funeral homes, not because they ever did business with Tri-State.
When funeral director Todd Woodside got a call from a reporter, he invited her to bring her cameras down to R.R. Bringhurst Funeral Home and West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The combination operation also includes a crematory.
Woodside said the reporter, who worked for WKYW, a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, told him she had contacted several other funeral homes, but no one wanted to comment. The result was free television publicity for Bringhurst.
"When she contacted us," Woodside said "she didn't know we had a crematory on site." She just wanted a funeral director to answer some questions. Woodside invited her to tour the crematory.
"They filmed in the retort," he said. "She went around behind it, looked at the gas burners and the nozzles and the blender. We explained how when funeral directors drop off a body they have to provide the proper paperwork, including the authorization form, and showed how we track the body with tags and then a copy of the permit attached to the container the cremains are in.
"I also explained that we require a container for the dignity of the deceased -- it can just be a corrugated container -- and for the health and protection of our workers.
"She asked what questions a consumer should ask, what safeguards a family should take. My response was, first of all, ask for referrals and get a funeral director you trust. Second, ask if you can see the crematory where they're going to take your loved one. If the funeral home has any problem with that, well, go with your instincts.
"If you go to see the crematory, ask if the operator is CANA (Cremation Association of North America) certified. Ask if you can walk around the crematory. If that's a problem for them, again, use your instincts.
"In Pennsylvania, crematories are not regulated except for annual EPA inspections concerning emissions. Ultimately, you need to hold your funeral director responsible to make sure you receive the right cremains."
The television piece showed the funeral home as well as the crematory, and even a brief shot of the cemetery, Woodside said. There was also a brief interview with the company's president, who is on the Pennsylvania Cemetery Board.
Woodside said the station was welcome to return anytime. He invited them to cover the Easter egg hunt at the cemetery, "and they said they were interested."
Todd D. Woodside is a licensed funeral director and is vice president of sales and marketing for West Laurel Hill Cemetery and R.R. Bringhurst Funeral Home of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 1-877-668-9900 or tdw@forever-care.com.
Copyright ICFA 2002
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