Mortuary Science Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee Minnesota Department of Health August 12, 2014

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1 Mortuary Science Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee Minnesota Department of Health August 12, 2014 Attending: Laura Anderson, Manager Roger Bengtson, MFDA Mike Dahl, MFDA Joe Sellwood, MFDA Lobbyist Mike Kosloski, MFDA Mike Mathews, U of M Gil Acevedo, Mortuary Science Erika Fulgem, Mortuary Science Carlena Weiland, Mortuary Science Kathryn Danielson, Mortuary Science The meeting was called to order at 1 :00. There were no comments regarding the June notes. The first item on the agenda was 2015 Legislative Initiatives. Gil explained that the Initiatives have been divided into three categories: Budgets, Policy and House Keeping. The process for submitting proposals goes through the following levels: Please note that the Tum the Curve process is being used for presentation, Section, Division, Executive Office, MMB, and the Governor's Office. At this time the proposals from Mortuary Science have made it to the Executive Office. An important part of the overall process is justification and accountability. Under budget proposals: An increase in licensee fees. The last increase was in At this time the monies taken in for fees is less than the operating costs for the Mortuary Science Program. This is due to an increase in staff, grants that have ended, increases in the operating costs. Question - What dollar amount is brought in from fines? Are dollars from the "rule breakers" used to help increase the budget? Answer - Dollars brought in from fines do not go to Mortuary Science. They go to the General Fund. Changes are forth coming to reward "rule followers" and to correct "rule breakers". Question - What is the role of the Disaster Preparedness Mobile Unit (DPMU) and the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP)? This question was prompted by the reference above regarding "grant dollars" which are no longer available and were a part of the Mortuary Science budget at an earlier date. Answer - That role is being reviewed. Question - How will the fee increases be implemented?

2 Answer - Gil explained what the proposed increases would be, but are in the review stage of our process. This is subject to change. Review of recommended policy proposals: State Exam - At this time there is no policy, in statute, on the tum-around time for a retake of the State Exam. Intern - Presently, an internship must be completed in 1-3 years. The proposal is to change the requirement to 2,080 hours (full time employment). Comment - With the cremation rate increases, there are fewer opportunities for embalming. Consider adjusting the requirements. Also, there are many second career mortuary science students. They are more experienced and worldly, have business degrees and different levels of education. Comment - New employees are not graduating with experience. Question - What about a mentoring program? This would allow for students to shadow a licensee to learn the business and obtain hands on experience. Suggestion - Add a new category for Case Reports. A report that is just for cremation cases. House-keeping Proposal: Rules were removed in 1997 and Strike Rules wording from the statute. Agenda: Continuing Education Requirements Currently the requirement is 12 credits every two years. The proposal is to raise that amount to 25 credits every two years. Of the 25, ten would be specific and 15 optional. Suggestions for specific CEs would be OSHA, updates to 149A, Funeral Service Law, Ethics, Pre-Need Arrangements. To do this there would need to be a partnership with MFDA, MDH and the U of M. Other ways to obtain credits are E-Learning and online semmars. Comment - 25 credits is excessive. It is very difficult for the directors to get away for education. Suggest increasing it in smaller increments. Comment - Employers do not pay for the employees CE. Employees have to use vacation time. The information does not change that much from year to year.

3 Comment-Take into consideration that only three states require a Bachelor's Degree. Those states are Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mike Dahl submitted a handout listing the CE requirements of other states. Question - Why isn't there a requirement to list CE's on the Renewal Application? How are the CE's monitored that are checked on the Renewal Application? If the licensee is not included in the CE Audit there is no way to know if the CE being obtained is acceptable. Suggestion- Improve the quality of the CE rather than the quantity. Agenda: Public Posting of Disciplinary Actions The statute allows for the public posting of disciplinary actions. The section will begin publishing these effective July 1, This is the beginning of the fiscal year. The posting will be on the web site for a period of five years. This would be in line with the Record Retention Schedule. A letter will be mailed to the industry to make them aware of this. Suggestion - Place article in the Minnesota Funeral Directors (MFDA) Bulletin. Agenda: Role of the Regulator Gil stressed that the role of MDH is to protect public health. Part of this is done through regulation. Question - Is the role about protecting public health or regulating the industry? Who is regulating the home funerals? Comment - Dry ice used for home funerals has the potential to kill people if used improperly. A new product that is being used is not approved or regulated. Agenda: Change of Ownership Comment - Should require an inspection and should be required to be brought up to current standards. Agenda: Pre-Need Trusts, Pre-Need/At Need Funeral homes with trust accounts will be asked to provide an audit by an independent auditor every 2 years. This audit will show how the money is being banked and accounted for. Question - Will the yearly report and $25.00 fee still be required? Answer - Yes, yearly reporting and the filing fee will continue.

4 Comment - Some owners are audited by the banks where their funds are trusted. Comment - Pre-need accounts are not going to pay for the entire funeral. It is a down payment. The public believes it will cover all the expenses. Suggestion - A discussion with the Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding updating their statutes to be in line with funeral service expenses needs to take place. End of meeting questions and comments: Comment- Pre-need and At Need requirements should be consistent. Either both should be required to be licensed or neither should be required to be licensed. Question - Why is a licensed mortician required to be at an earth burial but not at a cremation? Suggestion - review statl'.fe regarding licensure. Comment - Cremationists should be required to have formal training. Suggestion - Look at the statutes of other states. Mike Dahl has a list to share with Mortuary Science. Future Meeting Topics: Representative Laine will present on Home Funerals, Green Burials and proposed changes to 149A. Discuss Home Funerals - compliance oversight. Who is following up to make sure they are following the law? This devalues the license of the industry. Discuss Minnesota not having a cutoff date for locating a relative of the deceased. Discuss Minnesota allowing a person that commits a homicide to still have the "right to control". Discuss the funeral home being able to embalm a body while trying to locate a missing relative. This question was posed to the committee by Gil: When a funeral home is struggling financially and with customer service issues, would you suggest a mentor to help them get on track?

5 Feedback from committee members: Join a professional organization. If they aren't willing to do the leg work they should fail. They need to keep up with current industry standards. Have a good working relationship with a Business Advisor, Accountant, Attorney and Banker. There are others in the industry that would be happy to take acquisition of the failing business. This is a case where pre-needs could disappear. Comment regarding an sent to the industry from the Mortuary Science Office: surprised at the number of funeral establishments that had not renewed their license. Meeting adjourned at 3:00