A recent report (November 2025) from the State of New York Department of Health with the results of an audit “which covered April 2019 through November 2023, concluded that the state Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must improve oversight and coordination to address significant deficiencies in the practice of funeral directing” according to the reporting from this article in the Albany (NY) Times Union.

The audit covered that time period listed above in which, according to the report there were 801,421 deaths in the state.  There is some interesting data in the report that I found, but before I report on that I’ll post what seemed to interest the New York State Department of Health and the various news sources.

The audit report, in its entirety from the Department of Health can be found here.

Among other issues, here are four areas where the report mentioned that New York’s funeral establishments can improve:

• Risks with handling of remains.  In this area the report suggested four areas that could be improved upon.

1.  Verifying deaths by the funeral director via pulsation and and listening for a heartbeat via stethoscope or putting an ear over the chest.  Audit workers confirmed that a full 1/2 of funeral directors who were asked said they did not perform these verifications of death.
2.  Funeral directors could reduce mis-identification by labeling or tagging of bodies
3.  There is a “lack of assurance of acceptable preparation rooms”.  Evidently in 2006 the NY DOH stopped inspections and now relies on an annual photo of the preparation room.  Some firms seem to submit the same photo year-after-year so there is no “assurance” the room is in compliance.
4. Burial and cremation permits are not to be issued until after the Death Certificate has been filed.  Evidently, it is widespread not to follow this practice as the audit found 2,545 death certificates that were registered after the disposition took place.  Those death certificates came from 872 different funeral directors.

• Funeral Director and Firm Registrations.

1. It seems that the biggest issue with this point is that there may be funeral homes with multiple branches where some of those multiple branches are not registered.

• Death certificates with duplicate or no Social Security numbers.

1. The audit found 773 Social Security numbers that were used for more than one person.  That affected 146 death certificates and these certificates were filed by 111 funeral directors from 108 funeral firms.

• Reporting firm closures and other firm changes. 

1. There is somewhat of a “muddled” situation between primary firms and secondary firms at the same locations.  Because of no inspections the DOH has reason to believe that many of these licenses are not up to date and or correct.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  As so often happens with these types of reports authored by those not in the Death Care profession, much gets lost in the translation of what really is important.   For instance, when you have 773 Social Security numbers that are duplicated that means one thing if it is on a 10,000 death caseload, but it means a completely different thing if that is in the context of over 800,000 deaths.

And yes, funeral directors should be reporting those numbers correct, but in most instances, they are at the mercy of the number that was provided them by the family.  Keeping proper records should be a goal of all in the profession.

Also, the problem with the prep room photos and the potential for funeral director and funeral firm registrations probably gets corrected if the New York State Health Department puts an inspector or two back on the road to check on these establishments.  My guess, is that the State has other priorities that take the resources that should probably be used for this purpose but are designated for other programs.  . . . and, if you don’t fund inspections, then you cannot expect to find the bad actors in the bunch.

The State of New York is scheduled for a 2026 annual budget of $254 billion.  If better funeral home enforcement was a priority, it would probably take less than $500,000 to make it happen.

Finally. . . some statistics I found interesting:  One of the statistics I found very interesting in the audit was one you could probably only get from an audit of Death Certificates.  It was the statistic on the place of death.  Here’s what they found for those New York residents between 2019 and 2023 — a period that did cover the pandemic era deaths:

1.  46.3%  –  Hospital
2.  30.8%  –  Residence
3.  17.2%  –  Nursing Home
4.    3.4%  –  Hospice Facility

Anecdotally, I think those numbers represent a real change from when I started in the profession in 1980.  And, I think the change represents the value of Hospice and how it has moved forward and been almost universally accepted.  My guess, is that when I started the ranking would have been (1) Nursing Home, (2) Hospital, (3) Residence.  I think the higher ranking of Residence at this time reflects the fact that many in those residences are receiving Hospice care at home.

I also wonder if Hospital deaths are higher than normal on this list, simply because it was conducted during some of the pandemic era dates.

More news from the world of Death Care:

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Experience + Innovation: Champion’s New Resource for Embalmers

Springfield, Ohio – August 2025 – The Champion Company, a leader in embalming innovation, proudly announces the Mortuary Masterclass—part of its Journey to Safer Solutions, delivering practical education and forward-looking resources for funeral professionals.

The Mortuary Masterclass bridges generations of funeral service expertise—pairing the wisdom of seasoned embalmers with the fresh perspectives of today’s students and new professionals. Each episode blends science, research, and real-world prep room conversation in a practical, engaging format.

“Our Expanding Encyclopedia of Mortuary Practices set the standard for excellence in research publications,” said Rick Jordan, Sales Manager at The Champion Company. “Mortuary Masterclass carries that same spirit forward—only now it’s knowledge embalmers can take with them, whether in the prep room, between calls, or over morning coffee.”

Episodes cover topics from advances in chemical formulations to casework strategies for dehydration, jaundice, and decomposition. The series is available on Spotify, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

About The Champion Company

Founded in 1878, The Champion Company has led embalming innovation for nearly 150 years—advancing preservation science with safer solutions, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to education.

For more information, visit www.thechampioncompany.com.

According to this press release it appears that one of the reasons that the Johnson-Romito Funeral Homes chose Busch Cremation, Burial, and Pre-Planning as their successor firm is the funeral homes’ common values and membership in the Order of the Golden Rule funeral home membership organization.

Both funeral organizations have served the greater Cleveland, Ohio, area for over 100 years.   During that time according to Jim Busch, President of Busch Funeral Homes, the funeral homes have a long history with each other.  Here’s what he says in the press release, “This partnership is a natural progression of the relationship our families have built over the years.  My father, John, and Mike and Debi’s father, Ed, shared a friendship through OGR that laid the foundation for this collaboration. Mike Romito and Debi Romito-DePompei as the next generation have carried on that legacy and were both wonderful to work with during this process. Together, we can extend our reach and serve even more families across Cleveland with the personalized care they deserve.”

Busch continued making this statement in the press release, “We are honored that Johnson-Romito Funeral Homes chose Busch to continue their family’s legacy of service in our community.  This partnership allows us to continue providing exceptional, community-focused funerals while maintaining our independence.”

The addition of the four Johnson-Romito Funeral Home locations will give the Busch organization ownersip of 12 facilities across the greater Cleveland area.

Related — Here is the Order of the Golden Rule website

Here is the Busch Cremation, Burial, and Pre-Planning website

Here is the website of the Johnson-Romito Funeral Homes

More news from the world of Death Care:

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It’s only Monday, but you don’t know when you will be caught in your car, or the removal vehicle, for a thirty to forty-five minute drive.  Just so you have something worth while and timely so the boss can’t say you are “off the clock” here’s some ideas of podcasts that you might find interesting.

From the National Funeral Directors Association and their Brush with Death podcast series:

The Wired Mortician

Here’s how NFDA hypes this podcast – “Host, Gabe Schauf is joined by Victor Sweeney, “The Wired Mortician”. Victor is a funeral director with DuBore Funeral Home in Warren, Minnesota who came into the national spotlight by just “doing the right thing”. He has since been featured multiple times by Wired Magazine in videos created to shed some light on funeral profession. In this episode, Victor shares his story and some thoughts on being a funeral influencer and educating the public.”

From our friends Danny Jefferson and Alan Creedy with “2 Guys and a Question” podcast:

Veteran insights into Facebook with Post and Boost’s Bill Johnson

Here’s the podcast hype from Danny and Alan – “When I started Trust 100 it was a Television COOP. That coop produced an average 30% increase in calls. We actually had one member quit because he was growing too fast. Today Social Media has replaced conventional media in power and impact.  . . . Learn the 4 ways to grow your business.”

And here is something brand new from our friends at Homesteaders Life.  According to a recent press release “Homesteaders Life Company has launched “Calling Hours”, a podcast for funeral professionals hosted by Homesteaders’ VP-Marketing Communications, Danielle Burmeister. Calling Hours will feature candid conversations with leading voices in the end-of-life space.”

Calling Hours by Homesteaders Life – Episode #1

Homesteader’ hype about this podcast is this, “Homesteaders’ President, CEO and Board Chair Steve Shaffer joins Burmeister in the first episode. “I am honored to be the first guest on Calling Hours and am pleased that Homesteaders is providing the opportunity for funeral professionals to learn more about the latest topics and trends. As technology advances and our industry adapts, this new podcast is another example of how we are continually evolving to deliver useful information and resources to our funeral home partners in a convenient and accessible platform, said Shaffer.”

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For the first time that I can remember, the Cremation Association of North America’s (CANA) Peer Support online meeting is asking all funeral workers to invite their spouse for tomorrow night’s group get-together.  According to a recent press release from CANA, here’s why:

“A funeral professional may be called upon as an event planner, a chauffeur, a makeup artist, an advisor on grief and accounting, and much more – wearing many hats during working hours. A funeral professional may also be a spouse, partner, companion, and parent. Finding time to wear all those additional hats can mean stress and strife in addition to love and joy.

Again according to the CANA press release, “Dwight EA Thompson facilitates a discussion on the unique challenges funeral professionals face to strike a balance. Prior to becoming a therapist specializing in couples counseling, Dwight spent 12 years as a funeral director and embalmer and understands the particular needs of a funeral professional in a relationship. Dwight brings his unique perspective to the March peer support meeting to talk about emotional tolerance and bonding between funeral professionals and their partners. That’s why, special to this meeting, partners are invited to join their funeral professional and participate in the conversation.”

The CANA Peer Support meeting will be taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, at 8 pm Eastern Time (7 pm Central, 5 pm Pacific).

For more information and/or to register and get login information click here.

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