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Massachusetts funeral directors ask for public-health worker status; committee hears logistical case
Summary
The Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association urged the Joint Committee on Public Health to classify funeral directors as public-health workers for priority vaccination during public-health emergencies (H2463), arguing their close contact with deceased patients and entry to health-care settings warrants statutory clarity.
Stephen Jameli, first vice president of the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association and a licensed funeral director at Mercadante Funeral Home in Worcester, told the Joint Committee on Public Health that H2463 would classify funeral directors as public-health workers and therefore make them eligible for vaccine priority during declared public-health emergencies.
Jameli described daily duties that bring funeral workers into hospitals, nursing homes and private residences and said the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s phase definitions during the COVID-19 pandemic supported prioritizing funeral workers because they meet the definition of persons who have direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials. He estimated roughly 1,900 individuals in the state would be affected.
The Association argued statutory clarity would ensure funeral directors are not left out of prioritization in future emergencies and would reduce ad hoc disputes during crisis responses. Committee members asked clarifying questions about whether the proposal overlapped with existing emergency-phase guidance and about training and personal protective equipment for funeral workers; Jameli said the bill would enshrine protections in statute to avoid ad hoc decisions during crises.
No vote was taken on H2463 during the hearing.
