College Gains Ok For On-campus Embalmings
The Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651, previously stated a funeral home could not be located on tax-exempt property.
Petition efforts by mortuary science faculty at this college resulted in a change in that law as long as the tax-exempt property is in an institution of higher learning with an accredited mortuary science program.
To get the law revised, mortuary science Chair Felix Gonzales and some of his faculty members approached state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte and District 120 state Rep. Mike Villarreal to sponsor legislation to change the wording preventing the department from establishing a facility on campus to meet lab needs.
The first and most pressing concern for the mortuary science department is to be able to provide embalming services.
Mortuary science students must complete 10 procedures for an associate of applied science degree.
Thanks to the change in state law, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is in the process of establishing a partnership with the department here allowing them to provide all of the embalming services for the State Anatomical Board.
The Alamo Colleges legal department is in the process of approving a memorandum of understanding between the Alamo Colleges on behalf of San Antonio College mortuary science department and the center.
The memorandum will allow mortuary science students to embalm bodies donated to the State Anatomical Board for scientific research.
The embalming lab in Room 236 of Nail Technical offers students an opportunity to embalm bodies without having to leave campus.
To participate in embalming labs at the present, students commute to funeral homes around the city.
If students cannot complete 10 labs before the end of the semester, they receive a grade of “I” for incomplete until the requirement is fulfilled.
Although an on-campus funeral home may provide students with an opportunity to further practice their craft, Gonzales said, “That’s a dream, and it would be more than unrealistic of me to expect that that’s going to happen any time soon.”
Gonzales also said the best they could do for right now is use a facility that could be adapted, but there’s also the consideration of personnel, liabilities and more.
“Even though we are licensed to that kind of function, we’re not in a position to where we could do it to people’s satisfaction. So why would we want to start off not satisfying people?”
The department is awaiting approval from the Alamo Colleges legal department to begin working.
