Transporting the dead, health issues and domestic violence topped the list of concerns discussed Thursday at a town meeting hosted by the St. John Community Foundation and Sen. Donald Cole. About 30 people attended at the Legislature building.
Since 2006 the volunteer organization St. John Rescue has transported the island’s dead bodies to the morgue at Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center, a job they don’t get paid to do. And Training Officer Bob Malacarne said that, since 2008, the organization has asked the Justice Department for a contract.
“Justice doesn’t send the contract back,” Malacarne said.
Who is responsible for dealing with the island’s dead is a murky area, according to Dr. Joseph DeJames, who serves as Myrah Keating’s director. When foul play is suspected, bodies belong to the medical examiner, but who is responsible for transporting others and maintaining the morgue is unclear.
According to DeJames, discussions are under way to close the morgue because it’s expensive to maintain it for the amount of bodies transported to Myrah Keating. DeJames later told the Source that Myrah Keating dealt with 23 dead bodies last year.
If the Myrah Keating morgue closes, bodies will have to go directly to St. Thomas. While transporting bodies to the medical examiner or a funeral home on St. Thomas during the day isn’t problematic, at night the situation become more difficult. However, DeJames said the V.I. National Park might use its boats to do nighttime transfers.
He said that the Health Department’s Emergency Medical Service doesn’t transport bodies because it ties up their ambulance, which might be needed for another call. When EMS goes on a call, St. John Rescue provides backup service.
In discussing health issues, DeJames said that 40 percent of Myrah Keating’s patients don’t have health insurance.
“No insurance usually means nonpaying,” he said.
Cole said that Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas is often overflowing with dialysis patients and asked if a dialysis center could operate at Myrah Keating. DeJames said the island doesn’t have a large amount of such patients.
“It would be cost prohibitive for the amount of patients,” he said.
In response to a question from St. John resident Alvis Christian, DeJames said the Veterans Affairs program that had started to operate at Myrah Keating isn’t functioning because the facility isn’t fully set up to meet federal computerized paperwork demands. He said he was the only staff member able to use the computer system.
“It became an administrative nightmare,” he said.
Additionally he said there weren’t a large number of veterans asking for services. Consequently veterans have to go to St. Thomas to receive care paid for under the Veterans Affairs program.
The St. Thomas-based Family Resource Center has one staff member based at Myrah Keating. While she provides services during the day, domestic violence clients can’t get help at night, St. John resident Yvonne Wells said.
Bernard Araujo, who serves as the development director at the Family Resource Center, said transporting St. John clients to the agency’s safe house on St. Thomas is problematic. He said while the police accompany clients to the St. John ferry dock and meet them at the Red Hook ferry dock, they have no protection while on the ferry.
St. John has no safe house, and caring for domestic violence victims during the night is a problem, Wells said. She said the Police Department doesn’t want the victims to remain at the police station and Myrah Keating isn’t set up to care for them.
While dead bodies, health issues and domestic violence got the most discussion, Wells also complained that the island’s only VITRAN bus doesn’t run during the afternoon because the air conditioner doesn’t work and it’s too hot for the driver.
“The drivers have refused to drive and the union is supporting them,” Wells said.
She said when that bus has problems, St. John has no VITRAN service.
St. John Community Foundation Director Celia Kalousek said that there are 90 different departments and agencies providing services on St. John. She said she’s trying to get them to work together.
“Nobody’s talking to each other,” she said.
Sen. Myron Jackson also attended the meeting.
