Record breaking death toll in Alabama impacts funeral industry

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MONTGOMERY, Alabama (WSFA) – Alabama set a new record amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with more total deaths recorded than in any other year in the state’s history.

At a press conference on Friday, public health official Scott Harris said 2020 will be the first year in Alabama history that there have been more deaths than births. According to Harris, there were 64,714 deaths and 57,641 births last year.

The number of 64,714 deaths in 2020 is an increase of almost 20% from the 54,109 total deaths recorded by the Ministry of Public Health in 2019.

Figures from the Ministry of Public Health also show that the death toll in 2020 is between 10,000 and 12,000 increase in the number of deaths compared to recent years.

Total number of deaths in 2020 in Alabama – 64,714
Total number of deaths in 2019 in Alabama – 54,109
Total number of deaths in 2018 in Alabama – 54,357
Total number of deaths in 2017 in Alabama – 53,240
2016 Alabama total deaths – 52,452
Total deaths in 2015 in Alabama – 51,896

The increase in deaths has not only strained our state’s healthcare system, it has also had a significant impact on the state’s funeral industry.

Those who work in the funeral industry say last year has been tough, but this year is no different.

“We are tired. I feel like all, just about every funeral director in our state and our country is tired,” said Chris L. Thompson, owner of Brookside Funeral Home in Millbrook.

Thompson said despite a busy 2020, they are attending even more funerals, cremations and burials this year.

“We’re probably over 100 cases, 100 to 125 more cases right now than we saw around this time last year,” Thompson said.

“In terms of our cremation rates, they’re up,” Thompson continued. “We do cremations for other funeral homes so when you add their cases it becomes our case so we did almost 70 cases in August and that was a lot for my staff plus the funeral so august has been our hardest month we have ever seen, and this month does the same.

Brookside Funeral Home is not alone, however. Charles Perine, executive director of the Alabama Board of Funeral Services, says funeral homes in the state are busy.

“After speaking to some of the different funeral homes in the state and some of them are constantly, at a constantly busy pace,” Perine said.

Perine said that while COVID-19 is a contributing factor, so are a long list of other causes.

“Whether it’s COVID, whether it’s an accident, whether it’s murders, whether it’s just a general illness and illness, there is a high death rate right now,” he said. declared Perine.

Meanwhile, funeral homes face the same problem as hospitals in our state: not enough staff.

“Almost all of the staff here work 10 to 14 hours a day to maintain what we have,” Thompson said.

“Staffing is the biggest challenge right now, and just the sheer numbers that are coming in in some areas at any given time, but we have to adapt and we are here to adapt and meet the challenge,” Perine said. .

Perine said funeral homes have learned a lot during the pandemic. He said some have invested in refrigeration systems for their businesses and some crematoriums have installed second units to meet demand.

Perine added that despite the increase in deaths and staff shortages, this has not delayed funeral services for loved ones.

He said while some funeral homes have continued to restrict their services to the cemetery only, others have resumed their services in person. He also said that a handful still offer virtual streaming services for families.

Perine said every funeral home in the state is working hard to serve their family in the best possible way given the current circumstances.

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