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Mobile morgues returning to some Ohio hospitals


A mobile morgue was brought to OhioHealth in 2020. (WSYX){ }
A mobile morgue was brought to OhioHealth in 2020. (WSYX)
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As hospitals struggle to cope with spiking case numbers, refrigerated mobile morgues are returning to some Ohio hospitals. Some hospitals relied on mobile morgues in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when infections were spiraling.

A hospital in Akron recently bought a mobile morgue to help add additional space. The mobile morgues are used to preserve dead bodies when hospital morgues are at capacity.

Right now, hospitals here in Franklin County aren't using them but it may not be too much longer.

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“There’s just very sick patients around the country and especially in our Ohio hospitals that are dying of COVID but also dying of other diseases and the funeral homes are very, very busy as well,” said Jodi Keller with the Central Ohio Trauma System.

Keller said the three major hospital systems in Central Ohio haven’t made a request for the mobile morgues quite yet.

“We would have to see probably, I would guess 50 more deaths a day to be able to expand, beyond what our capacity is right now,” Keller said.

OhioHealth brought in a mobile morgue a year ago as a precaution because of rising COVID deaths and funeral home delays.

“Right now, the hospital morgues are able to handle it but the limiting factor is for the funeral homes to be able to come and pick up the bodies,” Keller said.

Overall, patients are sicker than before the pandemic, a mix of both COVID and non-COVID patients.

“I think it’s probably a general mix of people maybe delaying care so when they do show up their heart failure is a little bit worse or their diabetes is a little bit worse than it would be otherwise,” said Dr. Andrew Thomas, OSU Wexner Medical Center.

Hospitalizations also continue to climb, and ICU beds are at capacity. In order to free up beds, many hospitals have postponed elective surgeries.

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“On average though with what’s called the case mixed index or the severity of illness of people admitted to the hospital has been higher than any month since July than we had in any month prior to the pandemic,” Thomas said.

As more hospitals make requests for mobile morgues, Keller said she’ll continue to monitor the situation here in Franklin County.

“It’s always on our radar. We do have a group in Franklin County that has a very elaborate plan that we could put in place at a moment’s notice if we would need to activate for more storage,” Keller said.

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