Hospitals... How do they get the dead bodies to the morgue with out other patients/visitors seeing?

Question

I work in a hospital, in the admin department, and have to do deliveries throughout the hospital daily.. I was just wondering when a patient dies in the hospital how do they get the patient from their room to the morgue without other patient, visitors, workers etc seeing?? My office is next to the "viewing room" (morgue) and i have never seen anyone being wheeled in there, surely they don't leave the body in the room till late at night when minimal staff are on and do it then do they?? It is a private hospital too, so every patient has their own private room.. Im just curious to how they go about it, and I'm still to new here to ask anyone without them thinking I'm wierd or morbid...

Answer 1

The morgue has a special table with the top set at the same height as a regular gurney. Underneath is a large open space where the body is placed. The lid is then closed and a sheet is usually draped over it, so that it hangs over the sides. The person pushing the gurney is usually dressed in surgical scrubs, and looks just like another hospital orderly pushing a gurney. Funeral homes use the same set up to move bodies to and from the funeral home, until the body is placed in a casket. Be on the lookout for the covered gurney with no body on it.

Answer 2

Two sets of elevators are usually in hospitals, public and freight. Some hospitals have holding bays for the deceased. They can leave the remains in the morgue until the funeral home picks up the body. Sometimes this can be up to a couple of days. Each hospital has their own way of "hiding" the body when being taken to the morgue. Some hospitals will use body bags, others will use sheets etc.
You should really ask the morgue staff questions. They know people are curious and I'm sure they would be glad to enlighten you.

Answer 3

Hospital Morgue

Answer 4

special care has been taken to make sure no one sees the dead cross before them. Seriously, if you went to a hospital for some sort of illness, do you really want to see a dead person being wheeled about right in front of you? Kinda' makes most people want to turn around and go somewhere else. People immediate think that dead guy died here.

There are elevators and freight elevators designed into every hospital now days that have specific entrance points not readily available to the public access for transport of the dead. Bigger hospitals have their own parking area and load zones that deal only with the morgue. backdoors and special docs are also part of the equation.

You said your office was next to the morgue? Drop by onbe day say hello and look for a large garage door type exit.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Hospitals... How do they get the dead bodies to the morgue with out other patients/visitors seeing?
I work in a hospital, in the admin department, and have to do deliveries throughout the hospital daily.. I was just wondering when a patient dies in the hospital how do they get the patient from their room to the morgue without other patient, visitors, workers etc seeing?? My office is next to the...

Answer 6

I work in a hospital and when someone passes a couple of people from the transport team come with a covered granny and the body is taken to the morgue. No one can see it, but most know what it is. The family usually gets some time to be with the body if they desire before the transfer. Go ahead and ask how things work where you are. No one should think you weird or morbid. My boss says there is no such thing as a dumb question.
Good luck in the new job.

Answer 7

Contact a local funeral home, speak to the director and I'm sure he/she can give you the info you need. There is training involved, but if you are working in the cosmetic aspect only, I'm sure you could be trained "on the job." By the way, the persons who do the deceased person's makeup are not necessarily morticians, nor are they bereavement counselors. You could easily get a job just doing the clothing, makeup, and/or hair; it doesn't mean you would have to do embalming or ever have ANY contact with the family. As far as whether people who work in morgues are weird, I say no. In America, I think we are fortunate to have a culture where other people take care of these things when a family is enduring the grief of the loss. I'm thankful for these people.

Answer 8

I work at a hospital, and both the hospitals I have worked at use the elevators that lead to the loading dock, where supplies are brought in through. They use a special gurney, that looks like a laundry bin, to carry bodies in. That way if a visitor happens to be wandering in that area of the hospital, then they will simply think that it is laundry being moved about.

Answer 9

I work in a hospital, and I have taken dead people to the morgue. There is a "morgue cart" that completely covers a person so you dont even know what is in there. Thats probably why you have never seen any dead people brought in.

Answer 10

Both of my parents died at separate times in the hospital. They were picked up by the mortuary preparing their bodies for internment because the cause of death was known. They were put in body bags on a gurney that had a top that pulled over them so it just looked like an empty guery, Then taken down to the waiting hearse.