What Happened
Among the widespread fear of the Coronavirus and lethal COVID-19, numerous media outlets have covered a large issue that we as a country are facing. Due to the rapid spread of the illness as well as the mortality rate seen since the pandemic began, we are finding ourselves running out of space to store the bodies of deceased COVID-19 patients. This is obviously a point of concern for the country, because if we run out of space, how will we be able to properly store the bodies and preserve them for a proper ceremony for their grieving families?
The team at American Mortuary Coolers decided to step in and help. With the alarming rate of deaths in the Chicago area, we decided to help by working with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office to convert an old refrigerated warehouse into a surge center that can increase the capacity for storing and managing deceased patients of the COVID-19.
We worked with the facility to implement many of our body storage racks into the warehouse, and are now capable of holding up to 2,000 bodies in preparation for where this disease might take place.
What CBS Chicago Said About The Situation
Recently, this story was covered by the CBS 2 Chicago news station. In the article with accompanying video, you can see workers prepping the facility for whatever may come. This includes numerous body racks being hauled in, all featuring the American Mortuary Coolers logo. The article discusses the plan for this facility.
“While my hope is that we have made plans that we will not have to utilize, I realize that my administration has a responsibility to prepare for a surge in deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in a statement. “We are working diligently to ensure that the victims of this virus are treated with dignity while under our care.”
We are honored to partner with Cook County to offer our support during this troubling time. We too hope that most of these body racks will never be used, but with the current state of the world, we hope it’s a measure we’ll never need.
The goal of this system is to ease the burden that numerous morgues are facing, with 312 deaths and counting in just Cook County alone. While a makeshift morgue is not perfect, it is the best we can do with the time constraint and desperate need for help at this time.