Cremation delay leaves family waiting for nearly 1 year
A Sacramento County woman said she has been waiting nearly a year since her husband's death to receive his cremated remains.
By Lysée Mitri
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — A Sacramento County woman said she has been waiting nearly a year since her husband’s death to receive his cremated remains.
“He died on March 15, 2024,” Debra McPherson-Taylor said of her husband, Robert Taylor.
The couple had been married for nearly 23 years.
“All that’s on my mind is that he’s gone. He’s not just passed away. He’s missing,” she said.
McPherson-Taylor said that after her husband died of a heart attack at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, she made arrangements for cremation.
“I wanted to get it done so that we can plan to have his memorial,” she said.
She was eligible for a “no cost cremation” through the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office indigent program, aiming to help those who cannot afford the service.
She said that she was told it would take one to three months. Yet, nearly one year later, she is still waiting.
“This is just too long,” McPherson-Taylor said.
Hoping to help, her daughter reached out to KCRA 3 Investigates.
“I didn’t know what else to do to help her. She relives this every day, and it’s just not healthy,” Jessica McPherson said.
She said the family called and called for months, trying to get answers about what was taking so long.
“I want to know why he hasn’t been cremated. Where has he been?” McPherson said. “Did they lose him? It doesn’t make sense.”
KCRA 3 Investigates worked with the family to get records and responses, revealing that the delays started with the hospital where Taylor died.
That’s because the county said that it could not pick up his body until a doctor at Mercy San Juan completed his death certificate, a process that took them nearly two months.
KCRA asked Dignity Health, which owns the hospital, what took so long.
Dignity Health sent the following statement:
Our goal is to provide the best care and support possible for patients and their families. We are currently reviewing the circumstances where there may have been a delay in completing this patient’s death certificate.
Consistent with patient privacy laws and hospital policy, we respect our patients’ privacy by not discussing the specifics of their care.
This is not the first time there have been delays with death certificates at Dignity Health hospitals.
A KCRA 3 investigation in October uncovered five other cases like this at Dignity Health hospitals, involving delays of weeks or even months, even though California Health and Safety Code § 102800 (2024) calls for doctors to sign off on a patient’s death certificate “within 15 hours after the death.”
Medical records show that the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office picked Taylor up on May 21, 2024. Then, more delays followed.
The county’s “no-cost cremation” program has seen an increase in demand, Sacramento County Public Information Manager Janna Haynes said.
“In 2024, we served 398 families, and that didn’t clear the queue. So, there are families coming into the program every day. There are families leaving the program every day. But unfortunately, there is quite a backlog just because of the volume of people that need this service,” Haynes said.
KCRA asked what the average wait time is.
“Unfortunately, it can take 6 to 9 months,” Haynes said.
She said that on top of a high demand for the program, there are other factors that can cause delays that are outside of the county’s control.
“It really depends on where your loved one passed away. Who’s filling out the death certificate? Did you fill out your application correctly?” Haynes explained.
In addition, Haynes said the coroner’s office does not actually do the cremation itself. The county contracts with other companies for that, companies that can have capacity issues of their own.
“We also have had some technology issues where the actual cremation chamber was, one of them was down for a month. That delays everything as well,” she said.
These are all things the family of Robert Taylor said they wish they had known upfront.
“I totally understand why people at least want to be communicated with when they’re dealing with a delay, and that’s definitely something that we can do better on,” Haynes said.
The family said the wait and the uncertainty have been difficult.
“I know I didn’t do it, but I feel like I let my husband down,” McPherson-Taylor said.
However, the family did recently get some promising news: The coroner’s office told them that just last week, Taylor’s body was sent to a funeral home that the county contracts with for cremation.
“It would mean the world to be able to finally have a place to visit him, his ashes, and take my son and show him, ‘Hey, grandpa’s ashes are right here. You know, he’s your special guardian angel.’ It would mean the world,” McPherson said.
The coroner’s office said it does not release the income requirements for its “no cost cremation services” for those who cannot afford it.
Those interested are asked to call the office at 916-874-9320 or email at coronerweb@saccounty.gov.
Applications are reviewed for eligibility, and the county said there is no limit to how many people can apply.
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