REFLECTIONS ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Funeral services permanently changed

WADSWORTH — Dan Rospert never thought he'd be livestreaming funerals to viewers on the other side of the world. That service has grown so popular that the owner of Hilliard-Rospert Funeral Home, 174 N. Lyman St., Wadsworth, can't imagine going without it, even after the COVID-19 pandemic eventually subsides. "We did our first (online streaming service) on June 20," Rospert said. "That went very well for us and the family and since then looking at the list of where our viewership has been has been pretty remarkable. We've had people in Vietnam, Guam, Malta, France, Finland, all over the U.S. and Canada. "There are people who've been able to come to their loved ones' service when they wouldn't have been able to before. That's never going to go away now. It's helped many, many people this year." Rospert said online services have sometimes drawn as many as 200 viewers, some choosing to view from afar for geographic reasons and others due to fears of COVID-19 infection or spreading the virus to someone else. "The elderly just can't travel right now and we had this gentleman from West Virginia who really wanted to be at his sister's funeral," he said. "He was so thankful to get that chance. That wouldn't have been possible like this before last year." Deaths related to COVID-19 began to swell among Rospert's services starting just after Thanksgiving. "December really hit us and pretty much everyone really hard," he said. "We didn't even have our first COVID service until midsummer and after that it kind of stayed on a consistent level. Then when December hit it was just all we were doing. It was very frightening, to say the least." Until recently, funeral home workers had been excluded from the Ohio Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccination plans despite taking on additional risks and responsibilities during the pandemic. They, along with law enforcement personnel, were made eligible in Phase 1C after widespread backlash to their exclusion. As early as January, confirmed reports of funeral home employees receiving their first vaccine dose and being included in rollout plans had come in from a handful of states including New York, North Carolina and West Virginia. Nevada also had included that demographic in its "Tier 2" phase. "People were really scared," Rospert said. "We've been handling remains and doing many things we never thought we'd have to be doing as far as safety. It's what we've had to do and what we're going to continue to do. We're going to continue to be here for our community and our families." Rospert said he's now received his vaccine doses. "I'm going to keep operating as if I don't have it as far as wearing a mask and social distancing," he said. "We're all going to be doing that here. It does feel good to have it, though. After all of this just go get the shot and let's all help each other stay safe." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.