Funeral homes work to ease extra pain pandemic deaths are causing

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - As the number of COVID-19 deaths in Central Texas continues to rise, local funeral home officials say the virus is taking its toll, not just on their capacity, but also emotionally.

Officials with Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home in Waco say they’ve been able to meet the increased demand caused by the uptick in deaths locally, however, they say the more difficult demand to meet is the emotional one as the pandemic is causing more tears and heartache, from those who didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, than ever before.

“It’s been really difficult working with the families who have lost someone due to COVID because of them not being able to be there in their last breath, and then families turning around weeks later and having to lose someone else.” said Josh Blake, Chief Operating Officer at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey.

Due to COVID-19, the funeral home has had to change the way it handles services and interacts with the public like offering virtual services, and having limited capacity for in-person services which include socially-distanced pews and face mask requirements.

“But, thankfully, we’re still able to provide those services at a pivotal time,” said Blake.

To be able to continue providing after-life services during the pandemic (in addition to following state and local mandates), they’ve had to provide extra staffing and resources.

Resources like PPE were hard to come by at first, said Blake, however, the county stepped-in.

“It was a struggle to get PPE supplies in the beginning from our vendors, but the county was able to fill that gap,” he said.

Blake says county officials have been in touch regularly, asking them for advice in addition to inquiring about their needs.

While some funeral homes in the area are struggling with capacity, WHB says it hasn’t been an issue for them.

“Here at Wilkirson-Harch-Bailey, we have the ability to hold someone, if needed, for longer than five days,” said Blake. “Currently there has not been an issue with being able to house the volume that we’re handling, we’ve been in this building for 20 years now, and when it was designed, it was designed for a high call volume.”

A service they offer in-house, embalming, has become especially important during the pandemic.

“That has been very meaningful to families, especially for those who have passed from COVID because they weren’t able to see them,” said Blake. “So now we’ve been able to create an opportunity for them to see them and say their last goodbye.”

Blake, who has been in his position since 2014, says the need for compassion and closure has never been higher.

“It’s just a different time, and it’s difficult for the families, and we are a compassionate group of people, funeral directors, and so it’s a pain that we feel as well,” said Blake. “At the same time, we’re honored that they’ve entrusted us with the care of their loved ones when death has been unexpected.”

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