FAYETTEVILLE -- Funeral homes and cemeteries in Arkansas and nationwide are limiting in-person services and offering video and live-streaming alternatives in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Funeral homes have had to adapt, given limitations on gatherings being imposed by federal, state and local governments along with recommendations that people observe social distancing.
Scott Berna is owner of Moore's Chapel Funeral Home and Nelson-Berna Funeral Home, both in Fayetteville. He said the limitations on public gatherings apply to funerals, memorial services and even graveside services.
"What we have done, because of the recommendations from federal, state and local governments, is to recommend strongly to our families that they do private services with the immediate family only," Berna said. "We do offer recording services that can be sent to people unable to attend, and we can do live-streaming or Facebook Live for people who want to view the service but can't be there in person."
Berna said the families are advised memorial services can be held at a later time, once the restrictions in place for the coronavirus have been lifted.
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Randy Backstrom, general manager with Rollins Funeral Home in Rogers, said the funeral home is following the guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding funerals and the coronavirus. He echoed Berna's observations on how limits on the size of gatherings has affected the services offered.
The families he has dealt with were aware of the problems and were willing to accept the changes.
"To my knowledge, we haven't had anybody who has had a serious problem with what we're doing," he said. "It seems like the families are pretty self-governing."
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder's father-in-law, J.B. Curtsinger, died March 18. Curtsinger was a veteran, and while his ashes will be placed in the National Cemetery, the family has had to postpone a memorial at the cemetery and a private gathering as well because of the virus.
"We've put that off indefinitely, until this is over," Helder said. "It's just a weird feeling to put something off that is so personal and so emotional. It's like time is standing still and you really can't move on until you do that."
Skip Solomon, cemetery director at the Fayetteville National Cemetery, said the Department of Veterans Affairs sent out a directive March 20 that prohibits committal services and the rendering of military honors. Immediate family members -- limited to no more than 10 individuals -- may witness the interment.
Solomon said the cemetery will continue with interments and inurnments as normal, but the memorial services will be delayed.
The cemetery typically does about 30 services in a normal month, and once the ban on memorials is lifted, those can be held as often as three or four times a day for as long as needed, he said.
Solomon also said families can still visit the cemetery as normal, while observing the guidelines for social distancing and limited size of gatherings.
Randy Culpepper with Griffin-Culpepper Funeral Service in McGehee, president of the Arkansas Funeral Director's Association, said funeral homes have historically dealt with concerns about infectious diseases in individual cases or in limited numbers, but not on this scale and not with the current concerns about possible public transmission of the disease.
"It's typically been with infectious diseases coming in through the back door. With this, it's coming in through the back door and through the front door," he said.
Culpepper said the state association has been making funeral directors aware of the federal, state and local guidelines. He said he has been distributing the guidelines and referring people to the CDC information online.
Individuals who die of covid-19 can be either buried or cremated, according to the family's preferences, as long as that is in keeping with any state or local requirements, according to the National Funeral Director's Association website.
The recommendations from the national association cover many smaller details as well. The group recommends limiting the number of family members who attend planning meetings and following social distancing policies, including explaining why handshakes are not being offered.
The group even suggests a sign for use at services where people are signing a guest book, asking them to use hand sanitizer that is provided before signing, or to have one person designated to record the names of individuals as they come in.
Metro on 03/30/2020