I-Team's Call 4 Action: Hospital Apologizes For Lost Phone After Man Dies From Coronavirus
BOSTON (CBS) - Andrea Williams is heartbroken. In April, she lost the love of her life and the father of her children to coronavirus.
"I couldn't talk about it without crying," she said. "Very, very upsetting."
Gregory Carr died at UMass Memorial Health Alliance - Clinton Hospital in Leominister. Andrea says he didn't have much with him at the hospital. But the few things he did have were precious.
"He had his favorite sweatshirt," she told WBZ-TV. "And, of course, he had his phone so he could stay in touch. It's really important because I wanted the pictures on there see if he had any videos because I don't have any."
Andrea called the hospital looking for Greg's belongings and was told they were given to the funeral home with Greg's body
"The funeral home director said they did not get them. They did not sign for his belongings, only his body," she said. "He checked with the crematory, they said absolutely not, they put body through metal detector, there was no phone, no nothing there."
A hospital employee told Andrea she would investigate her claim.
"She mentioned there were other cases. This wasn't the only case she was looking into at the time," Andrea told WBZ. "I said seems like someone is stealing belongings after they pass away from covid, she said that's not something we are ruling out."
After months went by with no response, Andrea called the I-Team. We contacted the hospital and asked about claims of missing or stolen property.
In a statement it said, "In any case of a patient's belongings going missing, we conduct a thorough investigation and work with the patient and or families for a resolution. We continually look for ways to improve on this process."
As for Greg's belongings, the hospital told us it was unable to find them, leaving Andrea without cherished photos Greg may have left behind.
"It's hard because he was always the one who took pictures of us. There's not a lot. I wanted his phone for pictures he had on it," she told WBZ.
The hospital has apologized and offered to purchase a new phone for the family.