ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Two staff members were fired for their role in leaving a veteran's body unattended more than nine hours in a shower room at the hospice unit of the Bay Pines VA Health Care System.
The Tampa Bay Times reports (http://bit.ly/2gF5voU) Bay Pines released details of the firing and the incident on Tuesday.
An internal investigation found some staff violated hospital and VA rules by failing to properly care for the remains of the veteran and took steps to cover up their actions.
The body was left unattended because hospice staff members didn't make a request through proper channels to have the body removed.
At first, the body was moved to a hallway, then to a shower room, where it stayed for more than nine hours.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.
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