Major Slipup at the K.H.M.H., Wrong Body, Wrong Family
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is conducting an investigation into a serious mix-up that occurred at the morgue this morning. A mother visited the morgue to pick up the body of her deceased child for burial only to learn that the child’s body was handed over to the wrong family. That family unknowingly held a cremation service for a child that was not theirs. It is a twisted tale that K.H.M.H. says it is taking very seriously. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
One mother is tonight distraught after the morgue at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital allegedly handed over her deceased neonate to the wrong funeral home for cremation. Nahomy Guerrero lost her newborn son Aaron Allen on Saturday night, only a day after giving birth to him. Today, only hours before he was scheduled to be laid to rest, she learnt that her baby had been handed over to another family for cremation.
Nahomy Guerrero
Nahomy Guerrero, Mother of Aaron Allen
“I came this afternoon because my common law was at the cemetery doing the tomb, he was finishing up the tomb and when he was at the tomb, Jenkins Funeral Home called him to let him know that they came to dress the baby and put him in the coffin, but the baby wasn’t here that a mother funeral home had already came and picked up that body, that that body was not here. So, that is when I came personally to KHMH to come and find out what had happened, where my baby is and what they did with him, how is it possible they confuse a baby that has a tag on it. He has a name, how deh wah loose ah and give another funeral home a baby they never suppose to cremate. They came and told us that they are sorry but that they had mistakenly given my baby to Coye Funeral Home to cremate. At that moment, my world just fell apart because my baby never deserves that. At no moment did I give them permission to do that. How deh wah confuse my baby and just cremate ah. And, deh nuh wah be responsible or accept that they did wrong.”
So, the body of Guerrero’s child was given to the wrong funeral home and ultimately the wrong family. But, Guerrero says her troubles at the hospital did not start there. She says she was rushed to the hospital on Thursday after she began bleeding profusely while thirty-four weeks pregnant.
Nahomy Guerrero
“The front desk lady at the emergency told me that why I never came the Wednesday night because I done mih the bleed that now it is not an emergency. I told her yes, I just bled this morning and that is the reason for me to come here again. She said you are not bleeding at the moment and it is not an emergency anymore. I told her it was just a dash the Wednesday night and this morning it was more. And she said, well it is not an emergency mam. I said, I would just like for you guys to do me an ultrasound to check if my baby is ok. She said, I won’t get any ultrasound because it is not an emergency anymore. I am not bleeding anymore. They told me the only way I would get my ultrasound is if I would pay it right away. Thank god I had a little money on me and I gave them a forty dollars in advance for the ultrasound so they could do me the ultrasound and they took like twenty minute to let me in.”
The conclusion of the ultrasound was alarming for Guerrero, as she recounts. She says that due to the results she needed an emergency C-section.
Nahomy Guerrero
“The third conclusion was a retroplacental hemotoma and I search it up and Google right way and the first thing that pop up is that you need a c-section and they didn’t give me any c-section. They just admit me and had the heart rate monitor keeping track of the baby’s heart rate. Until the Friday morning they said that they would do the c-section. My baby was born at ninety-thirty and I was under complete anesthesia so I could hear my baby first laugh or anything.”
Little Aaron passed away a day later inside the Intensive Care Unit. The major question being asked here is how did this mix up occur? Was there not a verification process in place to ensure that the right body was being given to the right family?
Nahomy Guerrero
“The question was if at any moment how many funeral home we give the death certificate to, the death certificate to, and we told them right away, only Jenkins, we never deal with no other funeral home and Jenkins was the one to inform us that when they came to dress the baby the baby was not here. And, they had already cremate the baby and now I just the ask for justice, mek the hospital stop be so negligent and do what they want. That is not fair. I have a c-section. I am in pain physically, emotionally for mek deh come give me more pain like that, it is not fair.”
Jose Espat
Jose Espat, Family Friend
“There were only six copies of that death certificate. The original and five copies which were handed in a fgolder to the family. The family has stated they hired Mr. Jenkins Funeral Home, no other funeral home and a copy of that certificate was left at that funeral home, another copy was left at the space, the land where you go to bury your loved one that is two. That leaves two and the original. K.H.M.H. clerk is claiming that they have one which was brought in when the body of the baby was given. The family asked to see it; they cannot produce it, because there is none. The family asked to see it and they cannot produce it because there is none because the family has in their possession the original and the three remaining copies of those death certificates. I am telling you from someone who use to work there, no one can come to this morgue and walk out with a body without a death certificate being presented and that being processed by the clerk. I will confirm that the family has confirmed that they did not seek the services of Coye’s Funeral Home. Coye’s Funeral Home confirmed that they were never contacted by this family and was not hired to deal with this baby and the family has retained counsel which is attorney Nazira Miles and they are going to seek a law suit against the K.H.M.H.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
