A laundry worker discovered a stillborn baby boy roll out from a bed sheet that was being prepared for laundering while working at a hospital's off-site laundry facility.
And now police are trying to find out how the baby, stillborn on Apr. 4, ended up at the facility that is used by Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The baby was found wearing a tag on his ankle and a diaper when authorities were called to Crothall Laundry Services Tuesday.
Hospital officials came immediately to collect the body after the laundry service notified them of their discovery and released a statement shortly after.
"This was a terrible mistake, and we are deeply sorry," said Chris Boese, chief nursing officer at Regions Hospital.
"We have processes in place that should have prevented this but did not. We are working to identify the gap in our system and to make sure this does not happen again."
The statement also said that the boy's body was wrapped in sheets in the hospital morgue and were then mistaken for laundry.
This occurrence marks the first time that the hospital lost any infant remains, according to a press conference, and no employees are being disciplined at this time.
"Obviously, this hits close to home for those of us who work in health care," said hospital spokesman Vince Rivard.
Red Wing Police Chief Roger Pohlman does not believe that the incident is a result of foul play, although there is an investigation underway to find out how the stillborn got transported to the laundry facility.
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