The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association’s 2021 Biennial Pricing Statistics Survey, in which funeral homes are asked for information regarding their pricing structures, has been mailed to all REG 1 members.

The data collected by the survey, providing a snapshot of industry finances, is used to help the NJSFDA advocate for its members with New Jersey’s executive and legislative branches of government.

Following a year in which death rates skyrocketed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of cremation as a form of disposition climbed past 50 percent, the survey results are important in 2021 . The increase in cremations affects the bottom line for funeral homes. Gauging the impact of cremations and the rise in prices for other services will provide insight into the state of the industry and provide points of reference for future NJSFDA initiatives.

In addition to being used to handle media and consumer inquiries, the data gathered will be used to present information to legislators considering bills that impact the funeral industry. The data provides accurate information during the NJSFDA’s advocacy to increase the allowance for funerals paid through the Work First New Jersey funds.

Robust participation in the survey helps the NJSFDA support its members.

How to Complete the Survey

Use the printed survey and business reply envelope to mail your completed survey back to the NJSFDA. Or fax back your completed survey to 732.974.8144. Additional copies of the survey may be downloaded from www.njsfda.org/survey, completed and faxed back. Please complete only one survey per firm. All submissions are anonymous.

It is essential that more member firms participate in the survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete.

All member firms are requested to submit their responses by Friday, April 23, 2021.

Any questions regarding the survey can be directed to the NJSFDA at 800.734.3712.

The information contained in this column is a report of the actions taken by the board members who were present during the open public session portion of the meeting only. It is not a transcript of the official board minutes or an official record of attendance. It does not address board member attendance or actions taken during the executive session that typically follows the open session and is closed to the public.

April 6, 2021

Members Present

James J. Marrocco, CFSP, president; Bruce Van Tassel, secretary; Rita T. Alvarez; Garrett C. Jones; Aladar G. Komjathy; Curtis S. Macysyn; Eleanor Jordan Rudolph, CFSP; and Kara L. Whigham.

Staff Present

Quin Archer, executive director; Wendy Faulk, deputy attorney general.

Public

George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association.

Executive Director’s Report

The Board received eight complaints in March for a total of 11 complaints received in 2021.

Jurisprudence Exam Held on March 18, 2021 and March 25, 2021

Executive Director Quin Archer reported that 30 candidates had registered for the Mortuary Jurisprudence Examination scheduled for March 18 and March 25, 2021.

Twenty-seven candidates sat for the exam, 3 candidates failed to show, 5 candidates failed.

Intern Registrations

• Richard Bonner, Higgins & Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home
• Jessica Brown, Inglesby & Sons
• Kim Gonzales, Anderson Funeral Service
• Joseph Stempinski, Mather-Hodge Funeral Home
• Robin Taylor, M.J. Murphy Funeral Home
• Annmaries Tubito, Frech-McKnight Funeral Home

New Licensees

Licensed by Application:

• Matthew Fiore
• David Gilliham
• Michael Rafferty
• Chelsey Rausch
• Janine Scozzari

The Board has licensed 11 individuals by application and three by credentials in 2021.

New Installations

• Beth David Funeral Service of Central Jersey, Oakhurst; Fred Fiore Jr., Manager
• Funeraria San Jose LLC, West Long Branch; Fred Fiore Jr., Manager

The Board has registered seven installations in 2021.

Extension of Temporary Registration

The Board voted to approve a six-month extension to the temporary registration of the James E. Churchman Jr. Funeral Home, Newark, that has been closed and under renovation since a fire occurred within the structure in 2020. Damage to the building was more widespread than originally determined, causing significant delays in the ongoing renovations.

Continuing Education

Courses approved for continuing education credits have been posted on the Board’s website under the licensee tab.

Upcoming Meetings

Executive Director Archer noted that the next virtual meeting of the Board will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

The African Burial Ground National Monument may become a museum. Two New York mortuary workers are charged with stealing decedents’ credit cards and going on a spending spree. And a writer explains why a delayed gathering to grieve a COVID death is important. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

CORONAVIRUS NEWS

COVID Delayed My Brother's Funeral, but We Finally Got to Grieve Together
By Bill Keveney (USA Today)
Last April, my brother Tom died but the coronavirus pandemic prevented my family from arranging a traditional funeral. Like so many families, we couldn’t say goodbye through the usual comforting rituals. The inability to mourn Tom properly added anger and frustration to the expected pain and sorrow that accompany a loved one’s death. Read more here.

Hundreds of Bodies Remain in NYC “Disaster Morgue” a Year after COVID Peak
By Dana Kennedy (New York Post)
One year after the peak of the coronavirus epidemic in New York City, at least 780 bodies of pandemic victims are still being warehoused in “long-term” storage facilities in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Read more here.

NEWS

Could New York’s African Burial Ground National Monument Become a Full Museum?
By Jonathan Hilburg (The Architect’s Newspaper)
Any visitor familiar with Lower Manhattan’s tangle of administrative, federal, and civic buildings at the boundary of Tribeca and Chinatown has certainly passed the African Burial Ground National Monument. The 6.6-acre National Register of Historic Places-listed site is thought to hold the remains of “15,000 free and enslaved Africans” buried between the 1690s and 1790s, according to the National Park Service. Read more here.

Police: Two NY Mortuary Workers Used Dead’s Credit Cards to Fund Florida Trip, Spending Spree
By Mark Sundstrom (WGN)
Police on Tuesday arrested two former employees of the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office on allegations they stole credit cards from multiple bodies in the city’s custody and charged thousands in unauthorized purchases, according to officials. Read more here.

Montana Governor More Than Doubles Comp Burial Benefits
By Louise Esola (Business Insurance)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Thursday signed into law bills that increase burial benefits for those who are killed in a workplace accident from $4,000 to $10,000. Read more here.

Forgery Arrests: Two Face Charges in Funeral Home Caper
By The Chronicle
Two people face multiple charges following their arrest in a Columbia County, OR, forgery investigation. In August 2019, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies were contacted by the owners of Groulx Family Mortuary in Rainier, concerning a possible theft of funds from the business. The reporting parties alleged that two employees, were keeping customer deposits and forging contracts. Read more here.

Our sincerest condolences to Glenn A. “Skip” DeBow, member of the Monmouth and Ocean County Funeral Directors Association, on the death of his wife, Dolores "Dee" A. Xiques DeBow.

Our sincerest condolences to Hawwah Karim-Smith, member of the Essex, Union and W. Hudson Funeral Directors Association, on the death of her sister, Andrea Cheatam.

Funeral directors who live or work in lower socio-economic areas of Essex County or areas underserved by healthcare services may be able to take advantage of a new vaccination center opening in Newark.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Vaccination Center, located at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, can vaccinate 6,000 people a day, according to a press release from the office of Governor Phil Murphy.

The center is the result of a partnership between the administrations of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Murphy. The federal government will provide the vaccines over and above the state’s normal allotment.

"The state's vaccination program has been guided throughout by equity, and we are working hard to make vaccines available in areas that have been impacted the hardest by the virus," said Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

The new vaccination center will target communities that are considered vulnerable based on the Centers for Diseases Control and Preventins’s Social Vulnerability Index. The index measures stressors such as poverty, lack of access to transportation and crowded housing.

Eligible individuals can call 855.568.0545 for an appointment.