By NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Features Editor

nnicolls@tribunemedia.net

WHEN bush medicine was in widespread use, a common remedy for a maggot-filled wound on a pet dog might be: douse it with kerosene, pick out the maggots and then wrap it with susumba leaf.

Perhaps if a modern Bahamian with old-time knowledge used that method for the family’s potcake it would still be considered acceptable. But what if a variation of that method was used by a funeral home on a human corpse to cut costs, would that be acceptable?

The improper use of kerosene by an embalmer would be “undignified, unprofessional, and unethical”, said Wendell Dean II, president of the United Funeral Directors Association of the Bahamas and managing funeral director at Emerald Ridge Mortuary and Monument Company.

However, in the Bahamas, it would not be illegal, because there are virtually no laws or regulations that set standards in the funeral services industry.

This means the Bahamian public which employs the services of funeral homes at a time of great vulnerability, has little protection and limited options for recourse if complaint-worthy practices were to occur, such as if a body were improperly embalmed. The public is also exposed to potential health risks.

Grieving relatives put a sacred trust in the professional services they use when a loved one dies. Industry workers have told The Tribune that all too often the public’s trust is abused.

Now they are calling for an overhaul of standards in the funeral services industry, and the implementation of government regulation - and The Tribune is backing their pleas.

One industry insider told us that at one particular funeral home they had witnessed kerosene being used as a matter of course.

The worker described an instance from personal experience, where they had witnessed kerosene being used to treat a maggot infested body shortly before the start of an open casket funeral.

The kerosene was used to pour down a dead body before its orifices were stuffed.

“Do what you have to do. We don't care,” is the attitude of some bosses, claimed the source, who has worked in the industry for more than ten years.

Mr Dean said kerosene may be used by some professionals to neutralise the odour if a body is in the very advanced stages of decomposition, but even in such an instance, there are other standard chemicals used in the industry. If kerosene were used in a careless way, it might suggest the body was not sanitised, disinfected or embalmed properly, he said.

Referring to untrained practitioners, Mr Dean said: “Because these fellows cannot afford the chemicals, they use kerosene and throw kerosene on people’s loved ones. Kerosene will kill the odour, but if someone strikes a match, the body burns.”

Kirsch Ferguson, director of Ferguson’s Funeral Directors, said he was trained to understand that kerosene was one of the best chemicals for maggots in a body that was severely decomposed. However, in such an instance, he said the body would be bagged and taken straight to burial. Considering the odour and the flammability of the substance, he said it would be improper if an embalmer used kerosene on a body before a public viewing. Basic exposure to heat from an object like a heat lamp could pose a fire hazard, said Mr Ferguson.

The Tribune spoke to embalmers, owners, funeral directors, attorneys and government officials. Concern was expressed about the conduct of some practitioners in the industry and a general lack of regulation.

Mr Ferguson said the public has a certain blind faith in the industry, when it should be pushing aggressively for regulation.

“I think we have been long past that stage,” said Mr Ferguson, speaking about the need for public pressure.

One funeral services worker said that some of the inner workers of the industry that they had experienced would in their view “be fit for a soap opera,” saying that an overhaul of the system was needed.

Many Bahamians would describe elements of the industry as having a slack culture.

Some of what he termed “unethical services” are carried out by qualified persons, said Mr Dean, adding: “So they left the door open for those who are not qualified to be our competitors.”

Mr Dean also believes some employees in the industry who are trained on the job have more credibility than workers with certificates hanging on their walls.

“The industry has not been left to govern itself. The industry is not governed at all,” said Mr Dean.

In the Bahamas, funeral homes are required to obtain a standard business licence, which empowers them to operate any number of services, including embalming, burials, cremations, funeral services, and removals. There are 21 organisations listed in the 2012 telephone directory under funeral services. The directory listing is not exhaustive.

There are dozens of practitioners, whether they are funeral directors, embalmers, removers, funeral attendants or administrative officers.

According to one employee at the Business Licence Office, individuals are required to produce proof of qualification, such as a college degree, when applying to obtain a business licence. There are no further instances where proof of qualification is required to operate, and the business licence does not mandate continuing education or renewal of certification. The standard process does not account for individuals who offer freelance or contract services.

While funeral owners and directors, as well as line staff in the industry are all concerned about the lack of regulation, individuals expressed different complaints to The Tribune.

Funeral owners and directors interviewed said they were concerned about the proper regulation of cemeteries and the death registration process.

They were also concerned about the lack of price controls, which they claimed, can lead to the undercutting of services, impacting families.

Speaking about price control in the sector, Kenneth Clarke Jr, funeral director/embalmer at Clarke’s Funeral Home, said: “We see husbands and wives, brothers and sisters go at blows. And funeral directors are causing families, who are in sorrow, to go at one another. It is unethical in my view, but it happens every day.”

Funeral directors are also concerned about the common use of ‘fluid pushers’, which is the industry term for people who are practising as embalmers without the proper training and no certification.

Mr Ferguson said one of his top concerns is having workers properly trained, carrying “the right credentials and paperwork to support the notion of opening up a mortuary.”

“Unethical” funeral professionals who are not “properly trained” present a public health risk, claimed Mr Dean, in part, he believes, because they do not uphold professional health standards.

Mr Dean said “black lights,” similar to the ones used in television crime shows, illuminate all manner of bacteria.

“If you took an ultra violet light, which exposes everything, you would not walk through the front door of some of these establishments. You want to see how much bacteria is running around. You will drop the light and break off running,” claimed Mr Dean.

“Public health standards are not practised in some of the funeral homes. Prove me wrong. I don’t care if they don’t like what I am saying,” he said.

Workers in the industry told The Tribune they were “concerned” about sanitary standards, which they said were lacking in some cases, improper waste disposal, the desecration of dead bodies and discrimination against women workers. They also witnessed practices they branded worker exploitation.

Mr Dean cautioned against employees who “exaggerate” out of spite for an employer.

Workers branded certain practices “deplorable”, claiming they had witnessed, participated in or were subjected to behaviour that made them uncomfortable.

Some of the practices they claim to have witnessed included: “unprofessional” embalming, families being “defrauded,” lack of hygiene standards, “mutilation” of dead bodies, “harassment” of families, and “disregard” for worker safety or public health.

“Funeral workers never get enough money. It is long hours and it takes a toll on you. That is the bulk of the complaint,” said a certified embalmer.

Work in the industry attracts minimum wages, because people can be taken off the street to be trained. To make ends meet, some unqualified workers are willing to do just about anything, said another source.

“Rats like fingers and toes,” said one employee, who currently works as an embalmer, while expressing concern about some of the sanitary standards. At one of their places of employment, the source said they had seen bodies sometimes mutilated by rats.

Another source, also an embalmer with over 10 years’ experience, said they had a similar experience at a funeral home.

“Rats coming in and out when you are trying to work. All of this waste lingering around there. They give you Bagon to spray. When since did Bagon kill rats?” asked the employer of their personal experience.

Without a serious overhaul, some professionals believe, the funeral services industry will fail to live up to its sacred calling.

“Funeral services is built on sentiment, upon a feeling of respect and reverence for the beloved deceased. Without this reverence, there would be no need for funeralisation as we know it in civilized society. A dead body which there is no respect or reverence becomes merely a bit of refuse to be disposed of as quickly, easily and economically as possible,” says an extract on Reverence for the Dead in a professional training manual, “The Principles and Practice of Embalming.”

“While one may become quite busy in the day-to-day operation of a funeral home, it must be remembered that each and every case handled is someone’s mother, father, or child. Each case is someone’s most beloved relation. A sacred trust is placed in the funeral director and embalmer when the family calls upon him to render professional services,” says the text.

Over the years, some funeral directors have lobbied the government to enact legislation. Mr Dean said the association met with members of government in the 1997 to 2002 Hubert Ingraham administration, the 2002 to 2007 Perry Christie administration, and under the last 2007 to 2012 Ingraham administration.

Despite the agitation, the government has so far taken no action.

Industry professionals want that to change.

IF you have any information or experiences to contribute to our series please call 502-2387 or email nnicolls@tribunemedia.net.