Login
Lost Password?
No account yet? Register

Welcome

Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.

What's at Taph?

Taphophilia Home
Thanatology Forums
Taphophile Weblinks
Taph's Article Archive
Contact Deadgirl
Donating to Taphophilia
Book Library

Deadgirl Recommends

Advertisement

Dig Deeper

Literature
Topics at Taphophilia
Deadgirl's Dictionary
Cemetery Photography
Industry News
Carved in Stone

A Taphophilia Thank You...

Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From
its conception and early development, DarkestWeb
was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Cemetery Snapshot

IMG_7767.jpg.jpg

Announcements

Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!

Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!


Men of Mortuaries Calendar
To purchase your 2008 calendar, learn more about the KAMMCARES Foundation, or to be featured in the 2009 calendar, please visit Men of Mortuaries.

Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.

Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.

West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
County Supervisors Hear About Morgue Overcrowding PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Friday, 09 June 2006
May 23, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- Overcrowding problems at a downtown morgue, which date back to 1982, force coroner's staffers to stack bodies and keep some corpses in the hallways, department officials told county supervisors Tuesday. Department of Coroner Director Anthony Hernandez and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran appeared before the Board of Supervisors to address the overcrowding issue and an alleged maggot infestation, which they denied.

"This (overcrowding) problem did not occur overnight. In fact, this has been building over many, many years," Hernandez said.

The morgue on North Mission Road in downtown Los Angeles has a capacity of 325 bodies. An average of 15 to 30 bodies are brought to the morgue every day, pushing the facility about 112 bodies over capacity every week.

There are currently 80 to 90 bodies waiting for cremation, Hernandez said.
While 85 percent of corpses are processed in two to three days, 15 percent of bodies cannot be easily identified, creating a backlog in the department, Hernandez said.

By law, coroner officials must allow 30 days to identify a corpse and notify next-of-kin, who have an additional 10 days to claim the body. It can take another two months to schedule the cremation of unclaimed bodies.

Overcrowding has forced officials to keep 12 to 15 bodies in the morgue's hallways. Bodies should be kept cool at 40 degrees, although the hallways are typically kept at 70 degrees, officials said.

Allegations of a maggot infestation are false, Sathyavagiswaran said.
The supervisors instructed Hernandez to return next month during budget deliberations with any requests for additional funding to hire more staff, expand the morgue or contract with private crematoriums.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9263024/detail.html
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]