There is sometimes a reckoning point when an issue in an industry becomes so clear that everybody recognizes it and a high profile newspaper investigates it to make the public aware.  That happened this weekend when the Denver Post published this article on what has been going on in Colorado in the last year.

We have written about it here and the “it” we refer to is the operation of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, by purported funeral director Megan Hess.  If you are not aware of the circumstances, Ms. Hess is alleged to have operated another business out of the same building called Donor Services.

The allegations go, as investigated by the FBI, that Ms. Hess would receive bodies and, among other things sell body parts for profits all the while letting the family think that their loved one was being cremated in the building.  It is now known that many families received cement mix back while all the while thinking it was their loved ones remains.

The Denver Post article referenced above mentions, as a contributory source to what was happening, the fact that Colorado is the only state in the United States that does not license funeral workers.  It also states that the Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration has no employees dedicated solely to it and an annual budget of less than $85,000.

The article alleges that a review of state disciplinary records and license registrations found multiple instances of misconduct and reason for concern in the funeral home industry.  An argument exists that the Colorado State Funeral Directors Association has tried to institute Best Practices — however, only about 65 of Colorado’s 265 funeral homes are members of the association and their attempts at state legislation to toughen the laws always fall short.

Funeral Director Daily take:  While I cannot remember the year, I can remember quite some time ago when the Colorado legislature had set up a “sunset” of funeral home regulations.  If I remember right, it was not only done because there were few complaints in the industry, but also to spur “competition” in the industry.  That thought process was led by the idea that being “licensed” was an obstacle to funeral home ownership and employment.

I remember those days and my thought process was it would sure be nice to be like  Colorado and not have to worry about the Department of Health doing random check-ins on our mortuary.  While what happened at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose could have theoretically have happened in any community in America, you have to wonder if the lax rules in Colorado set the stage.

According to the Denver Post article, Colorado regulators do not conduct inspections of funeral homes and do not conduct background checks on new applications for funeral homes or crematories.  It was under those circumstances that Sunset Mesa Funeral Home – and its body broker business – flourished.

So, while the end result of this case may be more regulation in Colorado – which we believe to be good, the fall out right now is to the damage to the image of all good funeral homes and funeral directors.  There has been a tremendous amount of trust lost by the consumer for the death care industry.  It will take good funeral directors and funeral home employees years of hard work to regain the trust of those who lost it because of this situation.  Let’s consider this when we pay our annual state licensing fees and host our inspectors.  Remind yourself that our lives would probably be a lot worse without them.

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