For Immediate Release: October 18, 2021
Brookfield, Wis. – Today, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) presented Passare with the 2021 NFDA Innovation Award during its International Convention & Expo. Coming in second place was Parting Stone; Frigid Fluid took third place. Established in 2009, the NFDA Innovation Award recognizes and promotes creativity, innovation and excellence among funeral service suppliers and vendors.
Passare users wanted a way to streamline the death certificate process for every case. The Passare team developed and released the first-ever integration with a state’s electronic death registration system – the Pennsylvania Electronic Death Registration System (PA EDRS). With this integration, users in Pennsylvania can quickly and easily submit death certification information from Passare’s case management platform to the PA EDRS, saving significant time, increasing accuracy, and eliminating duplicate data entry into multiple systems.
Families want to feel comforted by the cremated remains of their loved ones, but for some, a conventional urn may not be a meaningful option. This may lead some families to hide a loved one’s cremated remains in a closet – sometimes for decades. For families that choose cremation, Parting Stone’s service provides solidified remains that can be touched and held. This new memorial product returns 100 percent of an individual’s cremated remains back to the family in as form that resembles 40-60 beautiful river stones.
Frigid Fluid has developed a new embalming machine that features an ultra-sonic sensor and digital displays for flow readouts, formula temperature and pressure. Offering true top-down mixing, the machine prevents uneven embalming. It also features two patent pending features, the Mix/Clean port and the Smart Lid. It is the first machine to allow phenols and hi-index cavity fluid.
More information about the winning products by Passare, Parting Stone and Frigid Fluid can be found online, www.nfda.org/innovationaward.
Earlier this year, funeral service suppliers had an opportunity to submit a product or service that became commercially available after January 1, 2019, for consideration in the 2021 NFDA Innovation Award competition. A distinguished panel of judges evaluated the 21 entries on the criteria of originality, quality and design.
NFDA thanks the 2021 Innovation Award judges: Amy Cunningham, funeral director and owner of Fitting Tribute Funeral Service; James McCann, entrepreneur, founder and chairman of 1800Flowers.com; Kevin Smith, manager of Berceuse Funeral and Cremation Traditions; Leili McMurrough, program director of Worsham College of Mortuary Science; Matthew R. Bailey, funeral director and president of Bailey Family Funeral Homes; Nicole Krause funeral director with Krause Funeral Homes & Cremation Service; Patrick T. Lanigan, funeral director and owner of Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home; Timothy McLoone, funeral director with Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home; and Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing.
NFDA is the world's leading and largest funeral service association representing more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
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Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, jkoth@nfda.org