FSE1150 Cremation History, Principles and Practice Midterm Study Guide

How should personal effects be documented?

An authorizing agent should fill out and sign the appropriate authorization form.

When contracting with a third party crematory, what documents should be up to date?

Appropriate certificates, licenses and operational records.

Common authorizations used for cremation:

Authorization for minimum care. Removal of medical devices. The cremation itself.

The following are certain authorizations commonly used for cremation:

Authorization for minimum care. Removal of medical devices. The cremation itself.

When is a minimum care authorization form completed?

Before anything is done, normally at the arrangement conference

What is the key element, as a FD, when dealing with a family?

Communication

When shipping remains internationally, it is best practice to do what?

Contact the funeral home where the cremated remains will be received, contact the family member receiving the cremains, and contact them embassy of the country receiving the remains.

If you have too many cremated remains to fit in one container, which one does the paperwork go with?

Copies of the permits must be made so that each container has its own identification and disposition permit.

Trenching

Cremated remains are dispensed into a superficial trench in the soil and subsequently covered.

Who constructed the first crematory in the United States?

Dr. Francis LeMoyne

What is the *cornerstone* of establishing and maintaining a good working relationship with third party crematories?

Due diligence

When should the refrigeration log be used?

Each time a body is removed or put back.

What is the 2nd required disclosure on the GPL?

Embalming is not required by law except in certain cases.

When should an embalming case report be utilized for deceased individuals received into the funeral home facility?

Every case should have an embalming case report, even the ones not being embalmed.

It is the responsibility of the FD to secure a legally signed and executed cremation authorization form for what cases?

Every cremation service provided.

Under which jurisdiction is cremation required to be included on price lists of those who offer both funeral goods and services to consumers?

FTC

What do families trust that funeral homes will do with the deceased?

Families trust that the funeral home will take care of and treat their loved one with dignity and respect from the first call to the final disposition.

When should a case report be completed?

For every case handled by the funeral home.

When is a burial transit permit required?

If a dead body or fetus is to be removed from the state, transported by common carrier within the state, or cremated, the funeral director, or person acting as such, shall obtain a burial-transit permit.

When is embalming considered mutilation?

If proper authorization to embalm has not been obtained.

Where should funeral home files and records be kept?

In a safe place.

In the United States, cremation rates have been:

Increasing

When traveling with cremated remains, why can't the urn contain lead?

It will prohibit successful x-rays.

If a family chooses scattering, the funeral director should inform the family of:

Legal restrictions (different states have different laws), advantages to keeping a small amount, and instructions for specific method of scattering.

When the cremated remains are ready to be shipped, what is the best way to make sure they arrive safely?

Make sure you have padding to go around the container.

What is a common problem faced by funeral homes regarding cremated remains?

Many cremated remains go unclaimed.

What federal agency works to protect employees in the work place?

OSHA

What jurisdiction requires that employees be trained to avoid potential blood borne pathogens, as well as introduce work place safety measures?

OSHA

When is a family considered to be served by the funeral practitioner?

Once a cremated remains have been verified and returned to the legal authorizing agent.

What medical devices must be removed prior to cremation?

Pacemakers

The FD is responsible for maintaining what?

Personal health Public health Safety

Entombment

Placing cremated remains in a columbarium.

Cremation is described as:

Reducing the body to inorganic bone fragments.

What is the central idea for funeral service?

Reverence for the dead.

Which Western society lost favor for fire burial, earth burial became the primary mode of disposition?

Roman

How should a FD reply if the family asks if embalming is necessary for a direct burial?

S/he should explain that embalming is not required by law except for certain cases.

The family must have a special permit to do what with cremated remains?

Scatter them.

Which of the following will provide funeral directors and assist the funeral professional in understanding the determination of who actually has the legal right of disposition?

State statutes

What culture is associated with the Elysian Fields?

The Ancient Greeks

In which culture does an undertaker (libitinarius) become more than just a religious location?

The Ancient Romans

Which culture developed the grand columbaria, containing niches for urns to house cremated remains?

The Ancient Romans

Which ancient culture believed that the spirits of the deceased may return to haunt the living, especially if the dead were not provided a proper burial.

The Ancient Scandinavians

Viking chieftain fire burials are associated with what culture?

The Ancient Scandinavians (& Christians)

When did the practice of fire burial begin in ancient Scandinavia?

The Bronze Age

Power of attorney

The authority to act for another person in specified or all legal or financial matters.

The FD must follow the directives of whom, when arranging a cremation?

The authorizing agent

The preparation of the body for cremation is always directed by:

The authorizing agent

When commingling cremated remains, who is required to sign the commingling remains authorization form?

The authorizing agent

Who has the right to include and exclude people from viewing the body?

The authorizing agent

What factors can set the tone for and be a significant part of providing a family with a meaningful memory in services and desires they deserve?

The care and presentation of the deceased.

If the deceased entered into a pre-need funeral service contract or executed another written document meeting the requirements of the state, who has the final say in the arrangements of the funeral service?

The decedent

Which document is arguably the most scrutinized form in the funeral service profession?

The embalming authorization form.

Which of the following is NOT considered part of the checklist to assist achieving a dignified experience for the identification viewing?

The family has not been informed of what to expect regarding the condition of the body.

What kind of attitude should a funeral director express towards cremated remains?

The funeral director should treat the remains in a dignified and respectful manner.

Where should an identification viewing take place?

The normal viewing room.

Why is international shipping of remains discouraged?

The package becomes difficult to track once it leaves the United States.

Ossuary

The placement of cremated remains in a communal repository.

Cremation

The process of reducing the body to ash and bone fragments through flame, heat and vaporization.

What is the process for identification and disposal of personal effects?

The process should always begin with a complete inventory of any and all personal effects as noted on the embalming case report when the body is received into custody by funeral service personnel.

What is the proper way to place cremated remains into a keepsake urn?

The remains should be placed in a plastic bag before placing them into the urn.

What should be included at the top of every authorization form?

The title of the form.

What is the role of the ME in cremation?

To issue the permit for cremation authorization.

Which of the following is an acceptable way of shipping cremated remains?

USPS *Priority* Mail Express

Where did the cremation age in North America begin?

Washington, Pennsylvania

When does a family sign the receipt for cremated remains?

When they come in to pick up the cremated remains.

What is the best and preferred way to receive authorization?

With an authentic signature.

When shipping cremated remains USPS, how must the container be marked?

With the appropriate shipping label.

William Gladstone

"Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals." (You can measure a society, with mathematical precision, by how they treat their deceased.)

Casting

(or scattering) Releasing cremains into the wind.

What document(s) is/are required to ship cremated remains?

- A FH affidavit - Burial transit permit - Death certificate

What items *should be included* on the cremation authorization form?

- An explanation of all facets of the cremation process. - The end product of the cremation procedure. - The understanding of the finality of cremation, that it is an irreversible process.

Common circumstances resulting in litigation with respect to cremation include:

- Cremating the wrong body. - Cremating without authority or informed consent. - Co-mingling cremated remains.

When interviewing a third party crematory, what should you do?

- Develop a list of questions - Document interactions and responses - Keep records on file at the funeral home

Acceptable methods of disposition for cremated remains:

- Jewlery - Sea burial - Send them into space (2oz) - Return them to the family to keep

What items are necessary when creating a protocol for selecting third party crematories?

- Minimum standard for identification and preparation of remains - Required authorization forms and permits - Instruction for final disposition - Training on how to handle a cremation arrangement conference

Options for commingling cremated remains:

- Ossuary - Scattering - Using the same urn

Much of the general public does not understand what concepts of the cremation process?

- The cremation process involves direct flames along with intense heat. - The processing required to prepare the remnants of cremation.

What information should a FD tell a family if the family is choosing to travel with the cremated remains?

- The remains must be hand carried through the TSA check point. - The remains needs to be in a container that is not lined with lead. - All the necessary documentation needs to accompany the cremated remains (burial transit permit, identification labels, death certificate).

What items *are required* on the cremation authorization form?

- The signature of the authorizing agent. - The identity of the human remains. - Whether or not a pace maker is present.

What information should be included on the cremation log?

- The time and day a cremation took place. - When the cremation is finished. - When they have been moved into the next phase.

According to CANA, what are the primary reasons cremation is selected today?

- To save money (30%); - Because it is simpler, less emotional and more convenient (14%); - To save land (13%).

How can the identity of a remains be verified before a cremation?

- Viewing by the authorizing agent - Identifying marks - Photographs - Finger prints - Dental records

How should a situation be handled if a family states that it is traditional to watch the cremation and asks if your establishment will allow it?

- You should explain the process and what they are going to see. - You should have the authorizing agent sign the form for permission. - You should have the authorizing agent approve of all parties that are going to witness the cremation.

When was the dawn of cremation age in North America?

1876

What year was the FTC's Funeral Rule established?

1984

How many containers should be used to package cremated remains?

2

The board of directors of CANA approved the model cremation law and explanation in what year?

2010

How many nautical miles do you have to go off shore to scatter?

3

When did the first cremations take place in the Western civilization?

3000 BC, in Greece 1000 BC in the stone age.

The state of Maine is required to keep cremated remains for how long?

4 years

According to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), after a period of how many days from the time of cremation may the Crematory Authority dispose of remains in any manner permitted by law, except scattering, if the Authorizing Agent or the representative has not specified final disposition or claimed the remains?

60 days

Indemnity according to Black's Law Dictionary

A collateral contract or assurance, by which one person engages to secure another against an anticipated loss or to prevent him from being damnified by the legal consequences of an act or forbearance on the part of one of the parties or of some third person.

If a family is adamant about not viewing the deceased, what should the next step be?

A document should be signed stating that the family has refused to view the remains.

Who should help funeral homes prepare authorization forms?

A legal counsel/ attorney

When a person dies *without* having a pre-need funeral service contract or a written document meeting the requirements, who has the final say in the arrangements of the funeral?

A representative appointed by the decedent by witnessed written document.