News and Opinions on Washington End-of-Life Care
Written and curated by PMA staff, this page seeks to elevate news that affects the mission and vision of PMA. Posts are organized newest to oldest.
The PMA Blog - written by our staff and volunteers
End of Life - thoughts from Dr. Jim deMaine
Stories about end of life situations I encountered during a 32 year practice in Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine. I try to point out the ethical issues, stresses, successes and failures. There are literature citations but this is a personal, hopefully educational exercise. Please comment!
News and Sources Outside PMA
By Brendan Kiley, Seattle Times contributor and Pacific NW magazine writer. Published Dec 14, 2025
As the COVID-19 death toll mounts, faith leaders are grappling with a heart-wrenching question: How do you conduct a funeral in the midst of a global pandemic?
"Over the past two weeks, increasingly strict social-distancing rules — culminating in Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order on March 23 — have sown confusion and consternation among families, cemeteries, faith leaders and funeral directors over a fundamental question:
What to do with our departed loved ones in a new era of enforced isolation?"
Up until recently, when a loved one died, the family would plan a funeral. Family and friends would gather, comfort one another, hug, cry on each other’s shoulders and share in the ever-so-crucial grieving process. But COVID-19 has changed all of that. On today’s episode of Tuesday People, Mitch Albom welcomes guest, Nora Menkin, Executive Director of the People’s Memorial Association and the Co-op Funeral Home in Seattle, WA.
The American way of death adapts to social distancing.
PMA Executive Director was invited to speak on-air with John Richards on the Morning Show. PMA is the sponsor of KEXP's annual Death and Music event. This year, in celebration of PMA's 80th anniversary, Nora shared a brief history of the organization, how it supports its 72,000 living members, and why there is a need for a group like PMA in the funeral industry.
