By TIM COOK
The Journal
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. – When someone dies without a family member or friend available to take custody of the body, medical crews are often left literally holding the body bag.
Who will transport many of those unclaimed bodies and where to send them has become a problematic responsibility–made worse in recent years by rising overdose deaths from the state’s opioid addiction crisis — for public health and safety officials across West Virginia.
In Jefferson County, almost by default as those first and sometimes last at the scene, local emergency medical officials are shouldering the disposition of unclaimed bodies, county officials said.
See the entire article: http://www.journal-news.net/news/local-news/2017/12/officials-seek-relief-from-rising-unclaimed-body-counts/
