Tim Patterson, owner of Patterson-Forest Grove Funeral Home and Crematory, has been in the funeral business for 30 years and for the first time he is having to add extra shifts.
The number of deaths from COVID-19 and other causes since November has put enormous strain on his business. The crematory and five cremationists now work almost 24 hours a day.
“We’ve been in this for 30 years and we’ve never seen anything like this before,” Patterson said.
Deaths from COVID-19 are reported on a delay, at times months after the fact, so there is no precise count yet on how many people in Alabama died from the virus this month. But hospitalizations have set new highs throughout the month. And Alabama in January watched the total deaths from the pandemic cross 5,000 and then keep climbing to pass 6,000.
Charles Perine is the executive director of the Alabama Board of Funeral Service. He said businesses across the state have been reaching out for advice on how to handle the large volume of recent deaths. Many have added extra cremation shifts to handle the extra load.
Deaths from COVID have been increasing since November, but the virus isn’t the only cause of increased business. Homicides and drug overdoses also surged last year, adding to the unprecedented death toll.
“Funeral homes don’t always operate on regular business hours,” Perine said. “However, to the point that you are having to run the crematorium around the clock, that is unique.”
Glennis Points is a manager at the Patterson-Forest Grove Funeral Home, which cremates remains for other funeral homes around Pleasant Grove. Points said the crematory usually ran from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. prior to the pandemic.
“Now we are working until 3 a.m. most nights and starting back up again around 8 in the morning,” Points said.
Patterson said the funeral home has struggled to obtain burial vaults, the concrete receptacles that hold and protect buried caskets. He has had to call out-of-state recently because his local suppliers are out.
Arlillian Kate Bushelon, manager of Bushelon Funeral Home in Birmingham, said casket companies have also reported shortages and asked her to call ahead before ordering, something she’s never had to do before.
Bushelon said the number of families requesting her services has increased substantially since November, when the number of hospitalizations from COVID-19 began climbing in Alabama.
“Last week, we waited on 20 families, where it had typically been five to ten a week prior to the pandemic,” Bushelon said.
In the past, surges in COVID-19 deaths trailed spikes in hospitalizations by two or three weeks. Hospitals reported an average of about 3,000 patients daily last week, about twice the number of patients as the summer wave, a warning that many more deaths could be coming.
Perine said funeral homes haven’t been overwhelmed and have had enough capacity to store remains for burial. In other cities, authorities have used mobile morgues, but none have been needed in Alabama.
Bill Yates, deputy coroner for Jefferson County, said his office rarely handles COVID-19 cases. But they have been swamped by homicide and drug overdose deaths. The morgue, which is usually about two-thirds full, hit full capacity in December.
His office has collaborated with funeral homes to hold bodies until space becomes free. Funeral homes have also agreed to hold remains requiring burial in the county cemetery to save space in the morgue, he said.
“Everybody is just kind of dealing with it and trying to work together,” Yates said.
The pandemic has upended the funeral business is other ways too. Crowd limits and concerns about the virus limited funeral planning since March. Families often became distraught when they couldn’t plan a large funeral for a loved one, Points said.
“It’s been hard for us, but it’s been terrible for families,” Points said. “Absolutely terrible for families. It’s never been a good time to lose somebody, but it’s been particularly terrible this year. They can’t embrace each other. They are afraid to come to large groups. It’s just so difficult.”
Without the support of families, funeral directors have stepped up in other ways. During a recent funeral, Bushelon filled in as a pallbearer because the service didn’t have enough able-bodied men. It was the first time she ever served that role.
“Overall, not many people come to the funeral services,” Bushelon said. “That can be disheartening for the families because their family member was well loved.”
On top of the stress, funeral directors also face danger. Both Points and Bushelon said family members still suffering from COVID have exposed funeral home workers while making arrangements. The high risks of the job pushed mortuary workers into the first tier of vaccine recipients, but not all counties have honored the guidelines set by the state, Perine said.
Points said she has called several hospitals and health departments to find vaccines. So far, no luck.
“We are eligible to get them,” Points said. “But we don’t know how to do it.”
Points worries that the funeral industry has been overlooked as the vaccine rolls out. The first tier included health care workers and mortuary workers, but most attention focused on nurses and doctors.
“When all this first started, they were talking about restaurant workers. They were talking about teachers and grocery store employees,” Points said. “We’re the last of the frontline workers. Why aren’t we included in the benefits and recognition? We are the last of the frontline workers and we are getting bombarded.”