• Your local and/or state public health officials may be making recommendations for the care of decedents and/or public gatherings that are more stringent than what the CDC and federal government have recommended. In these cases, you should defer to your state and/or local public health officials.
• The CDC has advised if you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and/or develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider for medical advice. If you are concerned about a potential exposure, this risk assessment for healthcare personnel (HCP) from the CDC may be useful.

News Release Template

If you wish to share information with your community discussing funerals for confirmed/suspected cases of COVID-19 and the steps you are taking to keep families, guests and others safe, NFDA has prepared a news release template – download it here. You can customize this news release with specific information about your funeral home and the steps it is taking during this unprecedented time. The text in this news release can also be adapted for use as a message on your funeral home’s website or social media platforms.

Key Messages - Conveying the Value of Funerals

Whether you are speaking with the media during an interview or a family during an arrangement conference, conveying the value of memorialization - even during these difficult times when families aren't able to have the funeral they want - is critical. Grief expert Dr. Alan Wolfelt has developed some key messages that you can convey to reinforce the value of funerals. 

• 8 Talking Points for Funeral Directors, Crematory Staff, Cemeterians, and Other Death-Care Workers
• Brochure: Why We Have Had Funerals Since the Beginning of Time

The CDC has excellent flyers/posters you can post in your funeral home about COVID-19 and healthy habits they should follow during the pandemic. 

#LastResponder Pride

Have a Facebook account? Show your pride in being a #LastResponder! Add our new frame to your Facebook profile picture.

Through NFDA’s consumer outreach initiative Remembering A Life, we are developing tools to help you communicate about navigating the ways COVID-19 is changing mourning rituals and grief. More tools will be added soon.

• A COVID-19 page for families and communities is available on the Remembering a Life website, www.rememberingalife.com/covid-19
• Visit and follow Remembering a Life on social media. Look for posts in the coming days that you can share (or retweet) on your funeral home's social media sites.
  • Remembering a Life on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RememberingALife
  • Remembering a Life on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RememberALife
  • Remembering a Life on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rememberingalife
• NFDA has debuted a new public service announcement (PSA), A Message to the Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic, to help families understand that, in spite of mandates and guidance limiting public gatherings, they do have options to meaningfully commemorate the life of their loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also reinforces the role of funeral directors in helping families plan a safe and meaningful service. This new PSA is part of NFDA’s Remembering A Life consumer outreach and education initiative and is available for use by association members at no charge. Learn more.
• Looking for a simple and fun way to help families relax, and lower stress and anxiety? Look no further than a box of crayons or colored pencils! Coloring as an adult can help you focus on the moment and promote creation over consumption by unplugging from technology. The free Remembering A Life coloring pages make it easy for families to get started. Share these pages with the families you serve: http://www.RememberingALife.com/coloring
• On April 24, Remembering a Life hosted a live event on Facebook for consumers, "Grieving During the Pandemic," with grief expert Becky Lomaka, MA, CT. Click here to share the recording with your community on your funeral home's Facebook page.
  • Webinar Description: If you’ve experienced the death of a loved one or any type of loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, our expert, Becky Lomaka, MA, CT, will share information about the impact physical distancing and grieving in isolation have on families that have experienced a loss, including the heartbreak of a loved one dying in isolation. She will also share strategies for beginning the grief journey during these unprecedented times. 
• Blog Posts - Share on social media
  • Loss In A Pandemic: Using Social Media Purposefully by Sara Murphy, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/loss-in-a-pandemic-using-social-media-purposefully
  • Staying In Touch—Real Touch by Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/staying-in-touchreal-touch
  • The COVID-19 Mourner’s Bill Of Rights by Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-covid-19-mourners-bill-of-rights
  •  Are You Experiencing COVID-19-Related Anticipatory Grief? by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/are-you-experiencing-covid-19-related-anticipatory-grief
  • "Tell Me How to Grieve"  by Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/tell-me-how-to-grieve
  • Coping With the Uncertainty of Ambiguous Loss by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/coping-with-the-uncertainty-of-ambiguous-loss
  • The Healing Power Of Art (Part 4): Creating Mandalas by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-healing-power-of-art-part-4-creating-mandalas
  • Aromatherapy Takes You To A Healing Place by Remembering A Life, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/aromatherapy-takes-you-to-a-healing-place
  • Ten Freedoms For Using Ceremony During The COVID-19 Pandemic by Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/ten-freedoms-for-using-ceremony-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
  • Grieving Alone and Together by Dr. Sara Murphy, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/grieving-alone-and-together
  • The Healing Power Of Art (Part 3): Visual Journaling by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-healing-power-of-art-part-3-visual-journaling
  • The Healing Power Of Art (Part 2): Mask-Making by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-healing-power-of-art-part-2-mask-making
  • Condolences in the Time of COVID-19 by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/condolences-in-the-time-of-covid-19
  • The Healing Power of Art (Part 1) by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-healing-power-of-art-
  • Coloring for Relaxation - It's Not Just for Kids by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/coloring-for-relaxation-its-not-just-for-kids
  • Writing to Heal Stress, Grief and Loss by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/writing-to-heal-stress-grief-and-loss
  • The Art of the Freeze by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/the-art-of-the-freeze
  • Grief Composting by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/grief-composting
  • Grieving a Coronavirus Death: Help for Special Circumstances by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/grieving-a-coronavirus-death-help-for-special-circumstances
  • Loss in a Pandemic: Nurturing Uncertainty with Self-Care by Dr. Sara Murphy, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/loss-in-a-pandemic-navigating-uncertainty-with-self-care
  • Healing Place Meditation by Elizabeth Lewis, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/healing-place-meditation
  • Nurturing Hope in Difficult Times by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/nurturing-hope-in-difficult-times
  • Coronavirus And The Six Needs Of Mourning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/coronavirus-and-the-six-needs-of-mourning1
  • Loss In A Pandemic: Recognizing Grief From Non-Death Losses by Dr. Sara Murphy, https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/loss-in-a-pandemic-recognizing-grief-from-non-death-losses
  • Funerals In The Time Of Coronavirus: Thoughts For Families by Dr. Alan Wolfelt: https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/funerals-in-the-time-of-coronavirusthoughts-for-families
  • Loss in a Pandemic: Supporting Grievers by Dr. Sara Murphy: https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/loss-in-a-pandemic-supporting-grievers
  • How to Talk to Children About the Coronavirus Pandemic by Dr. Alan Wolfelt: https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/how-to-talk-to-children-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic
  • Loss in a Pandemic: Funeral Planning by Dr. Sara Murphy: https://www.rememberingalife.com/blog/loss-in-a-pandemic-funeral-planning

Remembering A Life - Tools For Your Families to Use at Home

Make a lasting, comforting impression on the families you are serving during this extraordinarily difficult time. 

• The death of a loved one is difficult. Losing a loved one at a time of unprecedented upheaval and limitations may seem overwhelming. Families may be in need of extra support and new ways to honor their loved one as they navigate their grief journey. The items in the Remembering A Life Grief Self-care Box were carefully selected to help grieving individuals find relaxation, reflect and remember. How and when they are used is up to the individual – there is no "right" or "wrong" way or time. The important thing is to use them when ready to do so, whether that's today, tomorrow, or weeks – even months – from now. Learn more about the box and the items in it (select items are available for individual purchase). 
• There’s never been a better time to invite families to Have the Talk of Lifetime and no better way to do it than with Have the Talk of a Lifetime Conversation Cards - whether you make them available for families at your funeral home or send them to families at home. They’re a great way to get the conversation started, especially for family and friends who may be feeling isolated. Learn more and order.

• From the CDC: Funeral Guidance for Individuals and Families
• From Sesame Workshop (the creators of Sesame Street): Caring for Each Other, an initiative to support families through the COVID-19 crisis. Find additional resources on their Health Emergencies page. 
• What's Going On, a digital book by Clare Shaw to help children understand the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Article by Dan Katz, L.A. Ads: Positioning Your Funeral or Cemetery Business In The Age of COVID-19