In today’s Afternoon Edition we will provide you with some articles that came out over the weekend.  There is probably something for everybody’s interest in these articles as we always find that it is interesting to catch up with what is going on in other parts of the United States or in other parts of the world.

Here’s what we have today:

North Carolina among the last states to make death records electronic.  North Carolina has, according to this article been issuing paper death certificates since 1914.  They now, however, are establishing a pilot program to deal with electronic death records.

Propel Funeral Partners.  This publicly traded Australian death care company reports on its first quarter of its new fiscal year.  The good news is that the average revenue per case has increased over the last quarter as Australia is starting to relax its rules on social distancing.  This is potentially good news for North American and Great Britain funeral homes as those areas work their way into a post-COVID environment in the next 12 months.   Management reports a 2.9% increase in revenues per case and has reported an approximate 18% increase in operating earnings.

On the down side is the idea that social distancing and better personal hygiene learned from the COVID experience is showing a trend that has lowered the cases of influenza.  That has caused a reduction in deaths in Tasmania, for instance, of 12.6% and a unbelievable 99% reduction in flu cases thus far.

End-of-life-Planning.  This advertorial from Burnaby, British Columbia and Dignity Memorial gives great reasons why one should plan for the end of life.  There is a lot of good information in this article that you can use in a sales presentation for your own funeral home.  The article also shows how well financed, metropolitan cemeteries can create more memorialization opportunities for their client families than small town or rural cemeteries have a chance to do.  And, it is these opportunities that metropolitan cemeteries can use to build better bottom lines for themselves.

Mourning in a Mask:  We bring you this article about how the COVID experience has hindered the grief process for families in one Texas town.  The article also deals with how the community’s funeral homes are dealing with that reality.

Finally, we bring you the latest in the National Funeral Directors Association podcast series, “A Brush with Death”.  Today’s podcast, which you can access here, brings you a preview from a couple of the keynote speakers for the upcoming National Funeral Directors Association convention.