Page A8 july 2024 www.vischerfuneralsupplies.com Put a photo on the coin and... Hold them again 908-238-1711 sales@memorialeaf.com LoadAlone protects your vehicle, your body and your profits. Hernia? Back Aches? Work Smarter. Not Harder. Saves money. Saves your back! Let the patented winching system do the heavy lifting for you! Visit us at LoadAlone.com or call 585-330-5772 The case study for this month will be a gentleman who died from injuries he received in a MVA. The deceased was the driver, his wife and child were passengers and they survived with minor injuries. All three were secured with safety belts. On a windy afternoon, he met a delivery truck from a lumber yard at an underpass of the interstate and a sheet of unsecured plywood was sucked out of the flatbed of the truck and plummeted directly through the driver’s side windshield, striking him in the face. Both vehicles were traveling at highway speed. Their vehicle left the roadway, rolled, and he died on top of his wife. I have a personal connection with the family, which always adds to our self-imposed drive for perfection. The deceased suffered multiple fractures of his jaw and facial bones which caused disfigurement to the structure of his face along with the surface injuries. The all-important pre-case analysis indicated a ‘head-freeze’ or waterless embalming would be in order. But first things first…reconstructing the proper internal physical form of the face was the first step. I made use of the needle injector to attach the tacks and wires into the sides of the jaw bones to be used to bring the jaw line into proper form. In addition to the needle injector and for additional stability, I used a drill with an 1/8” bit on either side of the medial fracture, upper and lower jaws, using doubled floral wire to secure them. These were the necessary first steps before attempting to position the fractured cheek bones. It was important to secure the jaw/mandible prior to working on the cheeks. In this case, no autopsy was performed. I would have considered making an access incision but the large laceraBy Wally Hooker, CFSP, MBIE tion (Fig. 1) on the left side gave me full access to the damaged area and the right side had virtually no cheek bone damage. The damage to the cheek bone on the left side was significant (Fig. 2) and the fractures were clean, so with just a couple of holes drilled in the bone, I was able to wire the bones into place. The wiring seemed secure, but for additional security I used mortuary putty on the inside, between the jaws and cheek. These were painstaking steps, but the efforts paid off and brought proper form back to the face. There was a delay in receiving him into our care, which meant the road rash, abrasions, dicing, and open wounds were dehydrating as a result of lack of treatment (Fig. 3). It is important to keep in mind, for any level of restorative work, we MUST have firm, dry tissue as a foundation to build on. Soft, spongey tissue will be a recipe for disaster. I performed a restricted cervical injection using arterial fluid, water conditioner, humectant and tan dye mixed to a 3.5% solution strength. Surprisingly, the head injected very well and preservation was thorough. I embalmed from the RCC downward and he embalmed well from a single point injection. Embalming 101 Following the embalming, I carefully washed him and finished up with washing his hair. Then carefully dried him. I had other ‘balls in the air’, so I decided to hold off beginning my restorative efforts…even though I was ‘chomping at the bit.’ In my mind, I knew waiting overnight would probably pay dividends and the tissue would be even more firm and dry after 12 hours. I covered his face with massage cream to slow down further dehydration and waited. We will continue with this case study next month. Until then, be safe and don’t be a knucklehead embalmer. I’d like to thank all of you who take time reaching out to me regarding these articles, it means many of you are reading them and I’m always happy to consult with you. I met many of you during winter and spring association conventions where I lectured. It was a privilege to share and talk with you. Wallace P. (Wally) Hooker CFSP, MBIE, is the owner, funeral director and embalmer of Family & Friends Funeral Home of Wingate, IN. He and his wife, Janet designed, established and built their funeral home in 2004. Wally is a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science, where he serves on the Advisory Board. He is Past President of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association and previous board member of North American Division of the British Institute of Embalmers. In addition, he has served as chief deputy coroner/investigator of Fountain County, IN for the last 24 years. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.NomisPublications.com Monthly Columnsonline at Can We See Him/Her? (Part 4) Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 for a price of $26.50 per Share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion, including Park Lawn’s net debt. The Consideration represents a 62.1% premium to the closing price of the Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 3, 2024, being the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Transaction, and a 56.4% premium to the 20‐day volume weighted average trading price per Share on the TSX for the period ending June 3, 2024. The board of directors of Park Lawn, having received a unanimous recommendation from a special committee comprised solely of independent directors of Park Lawn and after receiving outside legal and financial advice, has unanimously determined that the Transaction is in the best interests of Park Lawn and is fair to shareholders of Park Lawn and unanimously recommends that Shareholders vote in favor of the Transaction. In making their respective determinations, the Board and the Special Committee considered, among other factors, the oral fairness opinion of National Bank Financial Inc. to the effect that, as of June 3, 2024, subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications contained therein, the Consideration to be received by the Shareholders pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Shareholders. A copy of the fairness opinion of National Bank Financial will be included in the management information circular to be filed and mailed to Shareholders in connection with the special meeting of Shareholders to be called to approve the Transaction. John Nies, Chair of the Special Committee, said, “We have concluded that this transaction is in the best interests of Park Lawn and fair to our shareholders. With a view to maximizing shareholder value, we conducted a thorough assessment of the Purchaser Group’s proposal as well as other alternatives available to the company, including the status quo. Following a comprehensive assessment and our extensive negotiations with Homesteaders and Birch Hill, we are pleased to have reached an agreement that provides immediate and fair value to shareholders.” “This Transaction represents tangible recognition of the value and strength of our organization. We are proud of the accomplishments of our team and look forward to partnering with Homesteaders and Birch Hill in a new chapter of Park Lawn where we can continue to execute on our strategic initiatives for the benefit of our stakeholders in the long-term,” added Brad Green, Chief Executive Officer of Park Lawn. “We have confidence in Park Lawn and their team and believe that, in partnership with Birch Hill, we are well positioned to support them through this transition given our mutual commitment to the funeral and cemetery profession,” said Steve Shaffer, Homesteaders President, CEO and Board Chair. “Homesteaders’ secure, stable financial position enables us to make long-term capital investments to support providers like Park Lawn while maintaining the financial strength that has made us a reliable partner for funeral providers and a safe funding vehicle for our policy owners for 118 years.” PLC is the largest publicly traded Canadian-owned funeral, cremation and cemetery provider. PLC and its subsidiaries own and operate businesses including cemeteries, crematoria, funeral homes, chapels and event centers throughout Canada and the United States which provide a full range of services and merchandise to fulfill the desires of individuals and families seeking to honor their loved ones. PLC operates in three Canadian provinces and seventeen U.S. states. For more information about Park Lawn Corporation, please visit www.parklawncorp.com. Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual insurance company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, is a national leader providing products and services to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. Homesteaders has an A- (Excellent) rating from AM Best, most recently affirmed in May 2024, and is a trusted, reliable and secure source of end-of-life funding for thousands of funeral professionals and the families they serve. Birch Hill is a Canadian mid-market private equity firm with a long history of driving growth in its portfolio companies and delivering returns to its investors. Based in Toronto, Birch Hill currently has $5 billion in capital under management. Since 1994, the firm has made 71 investments, with 57 fully realized. Today, Birch Hill’s 14 partner companies collectively represent one of Canada’s largest corporate entities with over $9 billion in total revenue and more than 30,000 employees. Park Lawn Announces Going Private Transaction with Homesteaders Life Company and Birch Hill Equity Partners TORONTO,ONTARIO— Park Lawn Corporation (TSX: PLC, PLC.U) announced that it has entered into an arrangement agreement with Viridian Acquisition Inc., an affiliate of Homesteaders Life Company and Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc., pursuant to which the Purchaser will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Park Lawn www.NomisPublications.com News FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY
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