Health Department responds to report that bodies were transported to morgue by pickup truck

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PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Department of Health on Friday confirmed a disturbing report by the Philadelphia Inquirer that accused a hospital of transporting bodies to a University City medical examiners office in the back of a pickup truck.

"The Health Department is appalled that this happened, and strongly reminded the referring hospital of the existing protocols. This is not normal or acceptable.”

A photographer for the newspaper reported seeing a dark blue F-150 pull up behind Joseph W. Spellman Medical Examiner Building on Sunday afternoon with as many as six body bags piled in its cargo bed. The bodies were covered with a thick black mat.

The driver was reportedly seen climbing into the cargo bed and walking on the bodies. The Inquirer says the bodies were dragged to the edge of the truck bed and loaded onto stretchers one-by-one before being wheeled into a refrigerated trailer.

"On Sunday, these protocols were not followed during what was expected to be a routine transfer of bodies for storage," health officials said. "The Medical Examiner’s Office regularly works with hospitals throughout Philadelphia to ensure that bodies are treated with the utmost dignity and respect."

While the Inquirer was unable to definitively say which hospital the truck came from, the report says that "Albert Einstein Medical" and "Einstein Med Center" was written on two of the body bags in black marker.

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When reached for comment an Einstein spokesperson issued an apology and ensured that its pandemic protocol will be updated, the paper said.

“We deeply apologize and are making every effort to ensure we continue to provide the respectful, compassionate care that we are known for," Einstein told the Inquirer.

The report says that it is unclear if the bodies that were brought to the medical examiner's office in the pick-up were victims of COVID-19.

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Overcrowding at hospitals and funeral homes has prompted refrigerator trucks to be used as makeshift morgues. The Inquirer reports three such trailers - which can hold at least 40 bodies - are parked at Spellman Medical Examiner Building.

Mayor Jim Kenney told the Inquirer that the trucks are not exclusively for COVID patients, but to assist with currently heightened mortality rates at hospitals.

An anonymous city official told the Inquirer that local hospitals sometimes use contracted services to transport bodies. City workers from the Dept. of Licenses and Inspections are reportedly being diverted to the morgue to help unload bodies.

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