Kim_Carrigan's Blog

Kim,

Nothing surprises me anymore. This is just further proof of the road humanity is headed down. There's always been bad people, but in recent years, a new level of evil has been parading around.

How do you know it happens all the time?

Kim,

My mother would always tell me and my sister if anything ever happens to me please take my rings off and keep them because some one will steal them. She was always worried about someone stealing them. She was afraid either the people in the hospital would steal them or the undertakers would steal them after they closed the casket. I hate to say this was a common practice, but for my mother to tell us this years ago as kids, I have to give some credence to her story, because where would she as well as many other people come up with the same story. I’m sure this happens more often than we ever hear about. It just goes to show you how mean spirited and cold hearted some people can be.

Kim: You must come across many stories which you are not able to report.

I have heard stories reported by the media where someone has taken credit cards off the deceased and used them. This story takes the cake,and this woman looks likes everyone mom.

Not all hospitals are like this. When my father died he was taken to the Norwood Hospital. I got there about two hours afterward. I went thru his pockets and everything was there, including his credit cards and Boston Police ID and shield.

Kim,

Stealing from a dead body is disgusting, however if she gets the jewelry back she wants to exhume the body an put the rings back on her mother. What is going to prevent a grave robber who knows this from digging her mother up at a later date and removing the rings? Who is going to know if they are missing the second time?

This is a horrible incident, but I have heard about this happening in some places. I'm sure the hospital has some way of finding out who had access to this woman's body and investigate from there. I have to agree with some of the others that not all hospitals are like this. I know from my own experience with my mother, the emergency room nurse gave me whatever jewelry she had on at the time.

My mother who had alzheimers and was in a nursing facilty had her diamond ring stolen off her finger which had been bent from the disease so someone had to have cut the ring off her finger since we had tried several times to remove it but were unable to. Thankfully my mother due to the disease did not know but it really saddened me for my Dad who had given it to her for their 25th wedding anniversary. We never did get the ring back. I also think with gold being at an all time high that you could see more of this. I tell anyone I know that is going to into the hospital or nursing facility to remove all their jewelry since this happened to us.

This has been happening for years and years...jewelry in Nursing Homes and Hospitals is almost always stolen more often than not...The sad part is the Administration will not do one thing about it...oh maybe a staff meeting with an empty threat or two...the funny thing is almost all of the time a finger can be pointed at the guilty one...however unless an accuser comes forth...it is hear-say...
My own Mothers wedding ring was stolen only days after she was admitted...however "no one had seen the ring so could not describe it"
Mother wanted to keep her diamond and would fight you for it...but once again..it was taken from her finger but she must have not known...I knew the ring was there two days before but no one came to me to give it up...
I told a nurse my Mom's diamond ring was gone and she had no idea what had happened...I then asked her to look in the narcotics drawer (which is locked) and she found it in there...funny isn't it? If I had not claimed it no one would know where it had gone...no record is kept and when a patient is admitted
the admitting person will write "one white metal band or one yellow metal ring with white stone" that will cover the facility...since no one can say my Mom's diamond ring set in gold is missing...so sad the clothes are another story...it is heartbreaking...

This brings to mind an incident at a place I used to work. Money and watches kept missing from patients bedside tables. A chatty new employee was suspected.Finally a few smart nurses and nurse mgr laid a trap. Made it known to this thief that their"Sunshine fund" was in a particular cabinet in the breakroom,monitored & restricted access to this room to everyone that evening, except the suspect who of course took the bait. The fund was checked after her break and sure enough missing money. When she was confronted,she of course denied any wrongdoing, but was fired anyway. And magically after that
there were no more complaints of theft by patients families. Unfortunately I'm sure
she probably just moved on to another longterm
facility to prey on more helpless elderly victims.

This brings to mind an incident at a place I used to work. Money and watches kept missing from patients bedside tables. A chatty new employee was suspected.Finally a few smart nurses and nurse mgr laid a trap. Made it known to this thief that their"Sunshine fund" was in a particular cabinet in the breakroom,monitored & restricted access to this room to everyone that evening, except the suspect who of course took the bait. The fund was checked after her break and sure enough missing money. When she was confronted,she of course denied any wrongdoing, but was fired anyway. And magically after that
there were no more complaints of theft by patients families. Unfortunately I'm sure
she probably just moved on to another longterm
facility to prey on more helpless elderly victims.