Texas probes medical school's use of bodies without consent following NBC News investigation
Texas state regulators are investigating a medical school's failure to notify surviving family members before cutting up and leasing out the bodies of their loved ones.
The Texas Funeral Service Commission notified the University of North Texas Health Science Center on Oct. 18 that it was opening an investigation into the center's body donation program, according to a letter obtained by reporters this week through a public records request.
The notice of complaint was issued one month after NBC News published an investigation revealing that the Fort Worth-based center had dissected, studied and leased out hundreds of unclaimed bodies without prior consent from the dead or any survivors.
The center's failure to obtain permission from next of kin before using corpses for medical research — and its refusal to immediately release remains to survivors who came forward later — may have violated state law, Funeral Service Commission investigator Rudy Villarreal wrote in the letter addressed to the Health Science Center's president, Sylvia Trent-Adams, who has since resigned. Villarreal also alleged that the center failed to get permission from regulators before shipping bodies and body parts across state lines.
The Funeral Service Commission, which regulates body donation in the state, has the power to issue fines against programs for violations. In a statement Wednesday, the agency confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
Health Science Center spokesperson Andy North said the center has been 'working diligently to ensure a complete and accurate production' of documents requested as part of the probe.
The Funeral Service Commission investigation is part of a cascade of changes and official actions triggered by NBC News' reporting. The news organization discovered dozens of families who said they would have claimed their loved ones' bodies and given them proper funerals if they had been told about their deaths. Some were still searching for their relatives, unaware that they had died. The dead included military veterans, people who struggled with drug addiction and homelessness, and a young murder victim.
The Health Science Center shipped many of the bodies and body parts to out-of-state medical schools, device makers and health care education companies — charging $649 for a head, $900 for a torso, $703 for a pair of legs.
In response to the reporters' findings, the Health Science Center announced in September that it was suspending its body donation program, firing the officials who led it and hiring a consultant to review the program's operations. North issued a statement last fall apologizing to the affected families.
Dallas and Tarrant counties — which had provided the Health Science Center with more than 2,300 unclaimed bodies under contracts dating back to 2019 — ended their agreements with the center. Device makers, research companies and other groups that had relied on the center for bodies — including Boston Scientific and the U.S. Army — canceled or re-evaluated their business relationships with the program. And last week, a Texas state senator introduced a bill to ban the use of unclaimed bodies without consent.
In its October letter, the Funeral Service Commission asked the Health Science Center to turn over documents related to the operation of its body donation program and set a 15-day deadline to comply. North said the Health Science Center was later granted a 45-day extension and has been providing records on a monthly rolling basis.
So far, the center has turned over more than 1,800 documents, a Funeral Service Commission official said.
Separately, the commission sent the Health Science Center a cease-and-desist letter in November ordering it to end its practice of disposing of corpses by liquefying them through a process commonly referred to as water cremation, which the commission said is illegal in Texas.
In its official response to the commission, sent Dec. 4, the Health Science Center defended its use of water cremations, which are formally known as alkaline hydrolysis, but said it had already halted the practice in September.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Vaccine misinformation blamed for fatal CDC shooting
Georgia law enforcement officials confirmed during a Tuesday press conference that 500 shots were fired and about 200 rounds struck six different CDC buildings. Though no employees were hurt, DeKalb County police officer David Rose was fatally shot. The alleged shooter, Patrick White, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said they found documentation in his house expressing his discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations. Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the content of the documents was more about making the public aware of his distrust of the vaccine, though no direct threats were made. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union called out vaccine misinformation for putting agency staffers at risk. In a statement following the shooting, AFGE Local 2884 demanded a 'clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation by CDC and HHS leadership.' 'Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails. This condemnation is necessary to help prevent violence against scientists that may be incited by such disinformation,' the organization said. Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served during President Trump's first term, echoed these sentiments. In an op-ed for Stat, Adams said the shooting was a reflection of threats to public health workers brought on by a climate of 'misinformation, politicization, and inflammatory rhetoric.' Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Adams criticized for being slow to respond to the shooting, was not named by the AFGE, but has long spread vaccine misinformation. During an interview with Scripps News this week, he defended his decision to end funding for mRNA shots and reiterated his concerns about coronavirus vaccine injuries. When asked directly about a plan to quell misinformation and prevent something like the CDC shooting from happening again, Kennedy deflected any direct link. 'We don't know enough about what the motive was of this individual, but people can ask questions without being penalized,' Kennedy said, before criticizing the federal government's messaging about the coronavirus vaccine. Kennedy previously criticized CDC during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, calling it a 'cesspool of corruption' in a post on X, saying he would 'force the public health agencies to come clean about Covid vaccines.' During his Scripps interview, Kennedy sounded a different tone. 'They work in silence, saving us all and protecting our health. They should not be the targets of this kind of violence from anybody,' Kennedy said.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Mayor Eric Adams celebrates $33M plan expanding mental health services for New Yorkers at city clubhouses
Mayor Eric Adams $30 million plan to expand services for mentally ill New Yorkers is finally complete — with 13 large 'clubhouses' now operating across the five boroughs, he announced Tuesday. Adams spearheaded the state-and city-funded initiative beginning in 2023 to develop the large centers serving 300 or more New Yorkers each, according to the mayor's office. 'Not feeling like you're part of a community, not feeling like you're part of a group, it actually has an impact on your physical health,' Adams said speaking at a press conference at one of the centers, Venture House in The Bronx. 'That's why it's so important to have places like these clubhouses.' 3 Mayor Eric Adams served rice to himself at Venture House, a mental health clubhouse in the Bronx. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office Six of the clubhouses were already operating and used the funding to grow their capacity, while the other seven are brand-new. The last of those, Phoenix House, opened in July in Manhattan, City Hall officials said. With the changes, enrollment at city clubhouses will double to 6,600 members by 2027, the officials said. The centers are operated by nonprofits and offer health, social and job resources to members with varying degrees of psychological troubles. Members also have jobs and responsibilities at the clubhouses, such as giving tours, serving food, cleaning and helping out at the reception area. 3 Adams also played part of a pool game with Venture House members Tuesday after a press conference. Haley Brown / NY Post Manhattan now has four clubhouses; Brooklyn and The Bronx have three each; Queens has two; and Staten Island has one. The city health department also plans to gather and analyze more data on members, according to Health Commissioner Michelle Morse. 'Part of our goal is actually to really improve the data and demonstrate the outcomes,' Morse said. City officials celebrated the initiative as part of Adams' 'End the Culture of Anything Goes' campaign, which highlights his administration's work on mental health. Hizzoner took the podium to cheers from Venture House members, who will now be able to use the brand new Bronx clubhouse because of the investment, according to City Hall. 'I am at home here,' Adams said, crying at times during his address. 3 Adams posed with members of Venture House. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office The Adams administration nearly doubled previous investments in mental health clubhouses, but the focus on larger locations, edged out nine smaller clubhouses that were no longer eligible to apply for Department of Health contracts because of new capacity requirements. Six of the smaller clubhouses have been able to maintain operations because the City Council carved out $5 million in funding over the last two annual budgets. 'We've been working with city council, who's been supporting some of the additional clubhouses,' Morse said. 'We're very thankful, of course, that there are lots of clubhouses across the city.'
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
As Miami-Dade faces budget crunch, fight over healthcare heads for a showdown
Managing healthcare bills for Miami-Dade's roughly 31,000 county employees is big business, and that's prompting a big fight at the County Commission. At issue is a proposal by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to drop the county's longtime healthcare provider, AvMed, for a national competitor, Aetna — something the mayor claims would save the county about $40 million as it faces a major budget crunch. The fight to win the county's healthcare contract has gotten messy enough that commissioners are holding a special meeting Wednesday dedicated solely to picking a winner. AvMed, based in Doral, argues Levine Cava is rushing the effort ahead of a fall open-enrollment period that's bound to be chaotic if a new provider takes over. AvMed also points to high customer-service rankings as a selling point — particularly with management based in the Miami area. But Levine Cava points to a pair of consultant studies showing that Aetna's national purchasing power would bring Miami-Dade cheaper healthcare costs in a year of budget strains. AvMed, based in Doral, and Aetna, a Connecticut-based subsidiary of the CVS drugstore chain, each want to manage the crucial billing process — including reimbursement rates for healthcare providers. Unions representing county employees are divided. The police union backs keeping AvMed, while the transit union wants to switch to Aetna. In a recent Miami Herald op-ed, Levine Cava said Aetna will bring both savings and expanded options for county employees. 'Partnering with Aetna means not only financial savings for the county but better healthcare access and quality for our workforce,' she wrote. AvMed, which has contracts across Florida, rejects the notion that Aetna will be cheaper for Miami-Dade and points to a recent J.D. Power ranking giving it the top scores for customer service in Florida. AvMed first won the county contract in 2016 and is encouraging Miami-Dade to stick with a healthcare company that has proven itself. 'By continuing its partnership with AvMed, Miami-Dade County can ensure uninterrupted access to the #1 ranked health plan in Florida,' the company said in a statement, referencing the J.D. Power ranking. If the county switches providers, Aetna would earn administrative fees from Miami-Dade worth about $15 million a year. AvMed's fees are lower, at $10 million. But the fight comes over the much larger county expense involved in the agreement: what Miami-Dade pays providers for medical care and supplies, including prescriptions. Like most large governments, Miami-Dade uses its own cash to pay medical expenses, rather than relying on an insurance company to reimburse providers. Under the 'self-insured' model, Miami-Dade can save money if reimbursement rates drop for doctors, pharmacies and other providers used by county employees. Miami-Dade's medical expenses currently hover around $600 million a year, according to county estimates. The county's insurance company negotiates the rates behind those expenses, and Aetna claims it can lower Miami-Dade's healthcare costs over the life of the seven-year contract. Two healthcare consultants hired by Miami-Dade back up that contention, estimating yearly savings of around $40 million when calculating how much the county would pay under each competitor's reimbursement rates. Commissioners have devoted a rare special meeting to deciding the contract award, placing board members in the position of refereeing between competing claims in the complicated realm of healthcare finances and reimbursement rates. 'I'm not for Aetna. I'm not for AvMed,' Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez said during a July 16 discussion of the healthcare contract. 'I'm for whatever is best for the employees of Miami-Dade County.'
