Funeral homes modifying procedures to adapt to COVID-19 era

In some ways, the funeral industry has changed very little since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet in other ways, it has seen tremendous modifications.

“My dad is 77 and he isn’t allowed to come in,” said Michael Perotto, co-owner and funeral director of Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home Inc. “This is his child. This is his passion.”

Perotto, who runs the family business with his father and brother, said because of the risk factors associated with his dad’s age he is unable to come into the office every day. In fact, Perotto said, the Greece business — which also runs Walker Bros. Funeral Home Inc. in Churchville and Spencerport — has been operating under an A and B schedule, with rotating shifts so that if an employee is exposed to the virus it does not take down the entire staff.

“Somebody could be on isolation because they have a family member at home who is affected and potentially that could affect our entire team where they have to be put on mandatory quarantine,” Perotto said. “So none of us may have the virus but we as an entire team could be wiped out. We’re ensuring that we will have a team that will be able to respond to somebody who has experienced a loss.”

As of April 20, there have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the virus in Monroe County and more than 80 people here have died here. Each of those deaths must be handled properly by area funeral homes.

Months ago, when the virus was first reported in the U.S., Bartolomeo & Perotto took precautions to ensure the business would not have a shortage of necessary supplies.

“The very first thing we did was make sure we had sufficient quantities of personal protective equipment that would allow our team members to be safe. Understand that we always use PPE in our buildings and our care centers,” Perotto said of the one area that has not changed since the virus’ outbreak. “That falls under OSHA’s guideline for universal precautions.

“Somebody said, what are you doing to keep safe, and my answer is, the same stuff we do every day,” he added.

Mark Anthony, owner of Anthony Funeral & Cremation Chapel, agreed.

“In our profession we are trained to handle any infectious disease situation that might come to us. The uniqueness of this is that it’s more global, so it adds another level of concern,” Anthony said. “Our major concern is to protect our staff and the public and we have a manner in which we handle individuals who die from a disease such as this, and it’s a universal precaution that we apply across our profession to protect the staff and the community.”

And to do that, funeral directors have had to take extra precautions.

“There are several things that we’ve instituted when we’re picking up someone and bringing them into our care. We are going into nursing homes, we are going into people’s homes, we are going into hospitals. That’s just a requirement of what we do,” Perotto said. “In a nursing home before (COVID-19) I might have only had gloves. Now I’ve got gloves, a mask, a gown, a shield. These institutions are requiring of us — and for good reason and we support it — when we enter in most cases they’re taking our temperature to make sure that we don’t have a fever.

“The safety, for our team, starts at that point of transfer,” he added.

Added Marika McMeans, president of the Rochester Genesee Valley Funeral Directors Association: “For the first time ever we’re going into people’s homes or into nursing homes having to wear gloves and masks, and if it’s a home where someone passed from COVID we’re wearing hospital gowns as well, which is challenging for all of us because it definitely creates a barrier between us and the family.”

And that is uncharacteristic of an industry that prides itself on caring and compassion during difficult times.

“It’s strange to walk into a house all gowned up,” said McMeans, who is a licensed funeral director Miller Funeral and Cremation Services Inc. “Things as simple as not being able to shake hands or give hugs, which is a huge part of what we do.”

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