TESTIMONY BY EDGAR BAKER PHILLIPS ON HIS SISTER
DORIS PHIUJPS
Good morning chairman Fonseca, viewing and listening
audience and all those present
My name is Edgar Baker Phillips Executive Director
Of the St. Thomas Stroke support Group, Inc. a 5013c
organization.
I would like to thank you for inviting me here today to talk
about my sister Doris and my experience with the Roy
Lester Schneider Hospital. First let me give a quick
report on my sister Doris. She is a 70 year old Virgin
Islander who was recently diagnosed with
Schizophrenia. She resided off island for
approximately 20 years and the family was not aware
of her location. She returned to St. Thomas in 2020
and refused medical care. She erected a tent on the
family’s property and decided to live there.
On January 25th
I received a call from my sister’s neighbor who
informed me that they had not seen my sister for many days and
her yard was unkempt which they had never seen before. The
neighbors felt that something was wrong. On January 26th
I went
to the hospital to find out if she was admitted there. Informed by
hospital personnel at the front desk that my sister was not
hospitalized at the hospital. Since
I was unable to locate my
sister,
I decided to file a missing person report with the
department of Public Safety. A silver alert was sent out by Public
Safety, while she was in the morgue.
1
On January 27th,
received a call from another neighbor of my
sister, who informed me that my sister was taken by ambulance
to the hospital approximately two weeks prior to ian. 27th,
I
contacted EMS to confirm this information and it was verified that
my sister Doris was transported to the Emergency Room at
Schneider Regional Medical center.
I was advised to contact the
Nursing Supervisor at the Hospital for additional information.
Contacted the supervisor, who informed me that the Emergency
Room Physician will contact me. The Physician did call and
reported that my sister was brought to the Emergency Room on
the 9th of January and died that same day from a bleed.
According to the physician, they were unable to contact the
individual who was listed as next of kin.
The individual who they
reported that they contacted said she never received a call from
the Hospital.
This was not the first time that my sister was hospitalized at
Schneider Regional Hospital and they could have looked back to
determine who was her next of kin then or they could have filed
a report with Public Safety. Additionally, when
I picked my sister’s
belongings up, her bag had numerous pieces of identification.
I also encountered a problem obtaining my sister’s death
certificate to enable the family to plan her funeral
. The process is
quite lengthy. She was in the morgue for two weeks, but the
document was not signed by the Physician.
It was signed the
following day, sent to the funeral home, then the funeral home
had to send it to vital Statistics who needed five to seven days to
record the information and return it back to the funeral home.
The funeral home then forward it to the family for review, it is
return to the funeral Home, who will have to return the document
if there is an error in the document.
2
I found out that my sister had a bank account with funds for her
funeral, but there was no beneficiary listed, but Title 15 Section
89 Payment for Debt and Funeral Without Administration
provides a guide on how this is handled. The Bank determines
how much will be provided, even if the invoices are provided and
there is sufficient monies available in the bank. According to Bank
personnel, a repast is not considered a part of a funeral neither is
an organist.
Thank God the family was able to pull together and bury my sister.
My concerns were as follows
1. No notification of next of kin or family member of death of a
loved one. She was taken to the Emergency Room by ambulance,
therefore they were aware of where she was living.
2. The process of obtaining a death certificate is too cumbersome.
3. Why is the Bank determining what is considered a part of a
funeral, even thou the funds are available.
I would like to thank this body for allowing me to share my experience
as it relates to my siste’s death.
I am available for any questions
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