3 new freezer units now tucked away in hospital's underground garage, housing unclaimed dead
CBC
Just one day after CBC News reported that the largest hospital in Newfoundland and Labrador was storing dozens of unclaimed bodies in temporary freezers in an alleyway, the province's health authority went shopping for new equipment.
Three newly constructed freezer units have been set up inside the Health Sciences Centre underground parking lot to deal with the morgue's overflow of corpses — and this time it's keeping them out of sight.
On March 6, CBC News first reported 28 bodies were being stored in freezer units outside the Health Sciences Centre due to a lack of space in the morgue, which doubles as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
On June 25, those units were removed from the alleyway.
Three new units have been built a few minutes walk away, tucked away in an underground parking lot that is not directly viewable from the street.
While there are a few vehicles and ambulances parked in the garage, the freezer units take up several parking spots once reserved for disabled drivers and expectant parents. A wall has been erected, blocking them from view.
Ron Johnson, chief operating officer of N.L. Health Services' Eastern Urban zone, said the changes were implemented for a more dignified and respectful place for the storage of bodies.
"I'm pleased to say that that's in place now. And we removed the coolers from the loading docks. That was just done today," Johnson told CBC News.
Having the units inside is a better setup than the previous arrangement, he said.
"We realized that we had an issue with these unclaimed remains. And so what we did immediately is we put a little team together to sort of draft the policy in dealing with that and in a very dignified and respectful way," said Johnson.
He said the team was formed several months ago to get a handle on how the health authority handles unclaimed remains, looking at best practices in other jurisdictions.
"We've worked on the policy, we've worked on the infrastructure and we're making some positive progress."
All four of the hospital's freezer units — as well as a fifth that is being used in the short term — are now being stored in the garage.
"We have them now inside the building and what that does, it gives us an ability to be able to work more effectively than outside of the elements," said Johnson.
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