St. John Murgas supports its storage capacity with new feature

Health Authority officials say Newfoundland and Labrador have made a huge increase in the number of bodies to be stored in a new morgue facility in St. John’s.

Daniel Parsons, senior director of Provincial Capital Planning and Engineering with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, said that this new feature has two fridge units and two freezer units, which is located away from a hatred in the parking garage of Janeve Children’s Hospital.

He said that the original morgue facility was constructed in the 1970s and had a capacity of 12 bodies. The new feature can store 96 bodies.

“What we have done here has greatly increased our capacity,” he told reporters on Friday during the convenience visit.

Ron Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of the Eastern-Urban area of the Health Authority, said that this extended feature is a boon, which also includes for those working there, but it is also a case of “perception”.

“We wanted to ensure that … people’s bodies and families and others were dealt with in a very professional manner. In a very careful manner and sympathetic manner,” Johnson said.

“So I think this new facility does this.”

Johnson said the new facility came online in early June.

Kori Murray, senior director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, said the new place is argonomically designed and safe for employees.

Murray said, “The old place was very limited again. We had a very limited capacity. So many times it was difficult to recover a deceased, either for the funeral house or for autopsy services,” Murray said.

Unclaimed body will not ‘pile up’

CBC News reported earlier 28 bodies were being stored in freezer units Outside the Health Science Center in St. John due to lack of space in the morgue in March 2024. The morgue doubles as the office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The freezers were later transferred to the hospital parking garage – where a new, extended morgue has been constructed.

The provincial government amended the revised law, which was filed on 24 December and came into force on 1 January, which strengthened the Health Authority to bury for burying for burying for burying family members two weeks after the discovery of family members and then five days after the person’s identity was deployed online on a dedicated website.

Between law and extended feature, Johnson said he did not guess that he would have to deal with the increasing number of unclaimed remains again. However, he said that other reasons may be that they would require more storage, such as “mass events” that causes many deaths.

Johnson said, “There will always be a need, but I am not guessing that these unclaimed remains will be piled up again.”

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