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RISING SUN, MD — Bob Foard, Jr., has never been one to shy away from a challenge. That quality stood him in good stead when he decided to consolidate the embalming facilities from his three funeral homes into one centralized location.
The family business, founded by the senior Robert Foard, owns and operates R. T. Foard Funeral Home, P.A. in Ris- ing Sun, R. T Foard Funeral Home, P.A. in Chesapeake City, MD, and R. T. Foard & Jones, Inc., in Newark, DE.
The Rising Sun location was chosen as the place for the ex-pansion project. To guide him through the intricacies of design and construction, OSHA compliance and operational efficiency, Mr. Foard engaged the services of Duncan Stuart Todd, Ltd., the preparation room specialists.
To address the challenge, it was decided to convert an existing detached 3-car garage into a 21st century two-station preparation room while retaining one garage bay for load-in/receiving. In a short few weeks of design time from DST, his specialty consultants, Mr. Foard found
he had on paper the making of a great new facility. Soon thereafter construction was underway and all his specialty equipment was installed, as called for by the plan.
Essential to the success of the new embalming room is the OSHA compliant PrepAir ventilation system and extensive custom cabinetry. The cabinetry includes specialty instrument drawers, enclosures for soiled linen and hazardous waste with rolling carts, ample storage space for chemicals and linens and a computer desk area. In addition to the room’s modern embalming equipment, an overhead mortuary lift, body cooler, stacked washer/dryer and employee restrooms round out the practical and efficient design. Of all of the equipment in the room, Mr. Foard especially likes the pulldown drench hoses above each table.
As Mr. Foard’s project involved renovating an existing structure, it was not unusual that he found himself facing some cost/benefit decisions about how best to proceed. In particular, the dilemma of a structural obstacle posed by the existence of a lally column in the middle of the room—whether to remove it and gain space, or retain it and avoid the costs involved in necessary structural modifications. Although he was reluctant initially to remove the column, he followed the advice of DST and did indeed remove the column. Subsequently, having now logged many hours in the room, Mr. Foard says that he is “glad he did.”
Commenting further along those lines, Mr. Foard declared “It (the new construction) is the best thing we ever did. The job was done professionally. We have more peace of mind knowing that we have proper ventilation and that we meet compliance codes. Plus, our staff is happy working in an efficient and comfortable environment.”
He went on to add, “When- ever other funeral directors visit us to pick up a body, they ooh and aah at our state-of-the-art preparation room.”
Bob Foard has served a long list of esteemed funeral service organizations. He is also known for his active participation in community activities, among them the Rising Sun Lions Club, New- ark Morning Rotary, Newark Senior Center, Cecil County Chamber of Commerce, and Elkton De Molay Lodge. He and his wife, Patti, have two young daughters.
