The State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries and Funeral Services voted unanimously on Tuesday to revoke the embalmer's license, funeral director's license and funeral home establishment license of Sylvester Smith Jr. and Williams Funeral Home of Camden during a hearing concerning a recent failed inspection.
During testimony to the board, Josh Taylor, inspector investigator for the board, stated that on November 22, 2021, he inspected Williams Funeral Home on a follow-up inspection after infractions found in September of 2020.
According to records obtained by the Camden News, infractions recorded in 2020 included the lack of posted hours of operation; noncompliance with preparation room requirements; failure to maintain the establishment such as to ensure no hazard is presented to the health, safety and welfare of the public; and a lack of price cards in the selection room.
In an August 2021 meeting, the board allowed Smith to enter into an agreement to bring the business into compliance within 90 days.
Taylor stated during testimony to the board Tuesday, "I observed a funeral home that we would consider substandard."
Taylor further stated that the business was "filthy on the inside and outside."
"It appeared as though the funeral home had been unkept and in disarray for quite some time," he noted. His report also supplied photographs of the inside and outside of the home.
Taylor also stated that he did not observe any commercial bio-hazard waste disposal systems in the room used to prepare bodies for funerals.
"When we look at the bio-hazard waste compliance, we all know to operate a funeral home, that's an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirement, and the health department, some of their statute states that in Arkansas you do have to maintain a record, and usually with other bio-hazard waste systems there's an electronic record that's maintained and you have to have a paper trail from when that bio-hazard company picks it up to the day it's incinerated and they send you an email stating that it's been incinerated and not having that is a huge issue and just looking at these photographs, in my opinion, I don't even see how this justifies being a funeral establishment," Board Chairman Billy Curl stated during the hearing Tuesday.
The board voted to affirm the allegations and found that, according to Taylor's report:
- the preparation room, selection room and front yard at the funeral home were dirty and cluttered;
- the clutter in the selection room and preparation room presented a potential trip hazard;
- an exit was blocked in the preparation room by clutter and debris; and there was no casket price list or outer burial price list.
And as such "respondents did not successfully pass the inspection that occurred."
Arkansas Code 17-29-11 authorizes the board to " issue letters of reprimand or caution, refuse to issue or renew a license, suspend or revoke any licence for the practice of embalming or funeral directing."
In addition to revoking the licences, the board also made a motion to submit the findings the the Federal Trade Commission.
Smith, who is also the elected coroner of Ouachita County, was not present at the meeting.
Smith Jr. explained that there was a miscommunication about the time of the hearing. His son, Sylvester Smith III, an attorney, said he was double booked Tuesday, but plans to appeal the board's decision.
"We are appealing, asking for reconsideration of today's decision. Nothing is final until it is in writing and until we exhausted all of our rights to appeal, which we fully plan to do," Smith III said. "My office, meaning me, made an error, and I don't mind saying this on the record. I'm deeply ashamed that this happened in a matter involving my father, but we're all human, but the responsibility for us not appearing, that's on me. "
Counsel for the board Amanda Gibson noted that Smith could file an administrative appeal in Ouachita County Circuit court where a judge could reverse the decision, uphold the decision or send the case back to the board.
Smith Jr. said, "I guess because no one showed up, the board felt like they did what they needed to do."
"Really, dealing with the age of the facility, they want us to modernize or whatever, it does not have anything to do with any kind of missing funds or anything; this has something to do with some of the things in the facility needing to be upgraded. We are planning on moving to another facility in the near future," Smith Jr. added. "I ask the public to have patience. I understand why they took the action they did; when you have a meeting scheduled and the subject of the hearing doesn't show up that's kind of like you're just ignoring the complaint and that wasn't the case. I've had a licence for over 40 years, I've never had an infraction complaint or anything against my license by the board. "
Photo courtesy of Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. A report prepared by the thee Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, shows debris and clutter in the front yard of Williams Funeral home of Camden.