INSIGHTS
PRESERVE AND PROTECT YOUR LEGACY RAD HR
BY KIAHNNA PATTON
F
ew things hit as hard as a loved one dying. What do you do? One of the first things people do is notify others that the person has died. Then, the funeral planning begins. After that, closing out final affairs is a priority. If the person had a trust or will, it might be easier to close out those affairs, but keep in mind that there is so much not addressed in those documents. One thing you may not know to do to preserve and protect the legacy of the dead is closing accounts – credit cards, driver’s licenses, voter registration, social media properties and many other time-consuming tasks that can make end-oflife seem endless. Contacting an employer to inquire about death benefits and medical insurance is another responsibility. And, I speak from experience when I say that I know that these are just the tip of the iceberg. It has never been easy to be on the side of death related to either personal loss or loss at work. As a human resources professional, I worked at a company where we lost four people within a few days. Three in a boating accident and one in a car accident. My job was to speak with the families. I reached out to them to offer my condolences and to guide them through the process of receiving benefits (retirement, life insurance, medical insurance, etc.) and other services from the company. It was also my job to arrange wellness services for employees who worked with those who died. We provided grief counselors and organized memorial services to honor the lives and legacies of those we lost. At the time, I didn’t know how much work those families were still tasked with after they spoke with me. That was almost 20 years ago when the amount of information one had to navigate was a bit less. In today’s world, we have cryp-
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ICEMAGAZINE | MAY 2022
ADVANCING THE IMAGING PROFESSIONAL
