Funeral home not in distress despite more COVID-19 deaths
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The owner of a Columbia funeral home said Wednesday that the local mortuary business isn't overwhelmed despite a sharp increase in deaths related to COVID-19.
Parker Millard Funeral Home owner Reid Millard said at a news conference Wednesday that his morgue has yet to reach half its capacity.
Millard said the funeral home was proactive and constructed a garage that could double as a morgue if needed to handle the extra load. He said the morgue could easily fit 100 bodies.
Executive Director of the Missouri Funeral Association, Don Otto Jr. said Wednesday that he hasn't gotten a single report of funeral homes having to turn someone away, or that had reached capacity.
Otto Jr. continued, and said many think if morgue capacity is low in hospitals, the case is the same for funeral homes. The executive director said funeral homes for the most part have more capacity in their morgues as opposed to hospitals.
Millard held the event Wednesday after reports circulated of a mobile morgue appearing outside Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital. Truman spokesman Jeff Hoelscher said this week that the mobile morgue is there in case it is needed.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 34 Boone County residents, the county health department reported Wednesday. The pace of death has increased in recent weeks, with more than half of them being reported since the start of November. The story is similar in other Mid-Missouri counties.
The deaths aren't the only change the coronavirus pandemic has caused in the mortuary business. Parker Millard funeral director Nick Mckague said the home has had to get creative with how it holds services.
Parker Millard implemented many social distancing practices and expanded options for families. The funeral home has ropes to block off areas for social distancing, a plexiglass screen to allow family members to speak without a mask, hand sanitizing stations and masks available for everyone.
Mckague said the funeral home has held virtual and drive-thru services. One drive-thru service included more than 200 cars.
