An application for permit for the disposition of human remains from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Moore Funeral Home – Memory Chapel was discussed by the Washington County Commissioners on Monday.

Commissioner Mitch Antle said he recently fielded two calls from funeral homes in Tulsa about the indigent burial of two individuals, but he didn't know why. After some digging, Commissioner Antle said the two individuals came from Tulsa to The Journey Home in Bartlesville because it was the only hospice home in the area that had space available. He said even though they came from an adjoining County, they died in Washington County, and it is their responsibility for their burial.

According to Commissioner Antle, end-of-life care falls upon the Commissioners. He said only three end-of-life facilities exist in northeast Oklahoma, including The Journey Home. The other two facilities are in Tulsa and they are called the Clarehouse and the Porta Caeli House.

Apparently the Clarehouse suffered from a disaster and their guests had to be moved to the other hospice home. The indigent in that home began to trickle into The Journey Home in Bartlesville and they became Washington County's responsibility by law once they arrived.

Discomfort with approving the affidavits was brought up during the discussion. Commissioner Antle shared that discomfort with the other Commissioners, but he said they are forced by law to bury the indigent that die in Washington County. As a community, he said they should care for the indigent that pass away within the County, but that other communities should not dump their indigent into their care.

Meetings with The Journey Home have taken place. Commissioner Antle said he asked the executive director of the hospice home if there was any way the Board of Washington County Commissioners to ensure that prior to accepting an individual they have in place the mechanism for the disposition of their own remains.

It was agreed upon with the executive director that if the Commissioners issued a letter asking that on behalf of Washington County from The Journey Home that they would ensure during their intake process that these individuals out of Washington County had plans in place. If they did not have plans in place, they would not accept them as placement.

Commissioner Antle told his colleagues that a letter to The Journey Home has not yet been formulated. He said he mulled over it for quite some time on how it needs to be addressed and that it will be heavily weighted in the days to come.

The burial of the two indigents that came into the Commissioners' care was approved. Several affidavits for indigent burial have been reviewed by the Washington County Commissioners since August. Only three of those have been properly approved and paid for by the Commissioners in this fiscal year.

A letter to the Bryan County Commissioners from the State Attorney General's Office regarding a similar situation was also reference in the meeting. You can find the contents of that letter below and the potential for jail time if the Bryan County Commissioners did not comply to the law.