Senate bill would require grief training for coroners
FRANKFORT—A caring attitude following a tragic death can’t be mandated, but Senate Bill 66 would be a step in the right direction, the bill’s sponsor told fellow lawmakers Monday from the Senate floor.
“I realize that we cannot legislate compassion or empathy or basic human kindness. I also realize that our coroners are elected officials who have to answer for their actions,” Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester said. “However, I believe it is important that we provide our coroners every educational opportunity to know how to deliver the worst news a family may ever hear in their lifetime.”
SB 66, also known as Nathan’s Law, would require coroners and deputy coroners to attend four hours of training to learn about the grief process and procedures for death notifications. The Senate approved the measure with a 35-0 vote.
Last week, Stacey Burnett, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, offered testimony on the bill to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
Burnett said her son left for Utah to visit friends and go snowboarding in March 2021. One night, the coroner’s van pulled up to her house.
Burnett said the coroner had no details of what happened to her son. She asked, “Is he dead? Is he dead?” But the coroner only handed her a piece of paper and walked away. The paper provided contact information for a sheriff’s office in Utah where Nathan was visiting.
Alvarado said Burnett and her family are not the only ones who have been adversely affected by a lack of communication, information or empathy.
“Unfortunately, her story is not unique, and the recent past, in fact this past summer, we heard of a death notification that occurred in another Kentucky county where the decedent’s family was not present when the coroner went to their residence, so the information was pinned to their front door for them to find when they came home,” Alvarado said.
Burnett said that day last March changed her life forever, and she hopes this legislation will help prevent the anguish she felt.
“It’s etched in your mind forever,” she told committee members.