By Chanell O'Farrill, Hollywood Forever
STERI-CLEAN SoCal’s slogan, “Restoring Homes and Lives”, is not just a motto on a business card. One conversation with representative Don Gilmartin, or any of his dedicated colleagues, and you can sense the passion for the work they do and for those they serve. With 14 territories, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, Steri-Clean SoCal provides dignified, empathetic cleaning services to help families who might otherwise face the cleaning and removal of biological matter after a death, on their own. Typically 70% of residential deaths result in some kind of biological residual – whether from a slip and fall head trauma, delayed removal of a decedent after an unattended death, or, of course, crime scenes or other violent or traumatic home deaths. They also specialize in removing extreme clutter and clearing out hoarding situations – an overwhelming task for those families facing it alone.
Steri-Clean Founder, Cory Chalmers, saw firsthand the need for this type of service for families. From his years as a paramedic, fire fighter, then later, Captain, Chalmers combined his passion for public service and his knowledge of biohazard response and remediation to create Steri-Clean in 1995. Don Gilmartin was inspired to serve in death care after losing his niece and nephew to tragic accidents. He invested in Steri-Clean and has helped solidify its reputation as a trusted ally to funeral homes and families all over Southern California. He and his team are staunch supporters of our local professional associations, in addition to their commitment to CFDA.
One of Steri-Clean’s goals in being part of the funeral service community is to encourage funeral homes to expand the services they offer by providing the opportunity to help a family that has experienced trauma in the home. They aim to serve your family with the same compassion, care, and understanding that you provide in your own establishment. In addition to being of service at time of need, Steri-Clean SoCal is working behind the scenes to establish legislation to preserve the privacy and dignity of those lost to a traumatic event. They are advocating for stricter regulations and penalties for those who might profit from images of trauma scenes sold on the internet.
Steri-Clean is available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. You can count on Don to be available to answer any questions you might have as you consider how Steri-Clean might be of service to you and your client families.
Thank you, Don, and your dedicated colleagues. The CFDA appreciates Steri-Clean’s support, involvement, and dedication to service in our profession.