14 DAY TRIAL // The Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota is in hot water after failing to recover the body of a stillborn, leaving it wrapped in bedsheets and having it delivered to a laundromat along with other linens.
The St. Paul Police Department is currently investigating the case after the baby has been recovered from the cleaning company.
Spokeswoman and VP of Patient Care Christine Boese delivers the hospital's apologies in a statement, adding that an internal inquiry is also underway to determine how the body has arrived at the laundry service.
''We are really sorry and saddened that this happened. We are taking a lot of steps and actions right now to understand how this did happen. [...] We are really looking into things right now,'' Boese clarifies.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, the child's remains were sent over to Regions morgue in St. Paul after the April 4 birth.
The infant was stillborn at 22 weeks and arrangements were made for the body to be forwarded to the morgue. In cases such as this one, the family decides what happens with their child's remains.
''When there's a stillborn, we work very closely with the family, to understand how they would like to handle the remains of the baby. Sometimes they ask us to take care of that, and other times they take care of that,'' Boese explains.
The remains were then taken out again and placed among linens bound for the Crothall Laundry in Red Wing.
When staffers came across the infant's body, it had a mortuary tag on. The infant had been dressed in a diaper beforehand.
The identity of the stillborn has not been released at this point, until officials contact the family.
''We are working on reaching out to them today,'' Boese adds.