“We had personal effects in our building going back to the early 1970s,” explained James Garrow of the city’s Department of Public Health. “This has obviously led to a crisis of storage space.”
http://www.phillyvoice.com/their-eagles-pendants-went-unclaimed-after-they-died-now-theyre-auction/
By Brian Hickey
In Philadelphia, the number of autopsies at the medical examiner’s office has risen about 20 percent since 2013, from 2,489 to 3,018 last year, said department spokesman James Garrow. That required a doubling in the budget for supplies and materials — gowns, safety equipment, and body bags — and the hiring of a new assistant medical examiner. The city doesn’t break out individual costs. “We’re too big an operation,” Garrow said.
By Sam Wood
NBC10
Spokesman James Garrow of the Philadelphia Department of Health said Friday that 7-year-old Sebastian Gerena died of “anomalous origin of the left coronary artery,” a condition that researchers say can lead to sudden death among the young.
By Staff
Inquirer
A spokesman for the city Health Department declined to release the cause of death yesterday, citing privacy issues. “We saw nothing in the autopsy to suggest this is an infectious disease or condition,” James Garrow said.
https://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140523_Pupil_s_death_spurs_push_for_school_funds.html
By Dana DiFilippo
Garrow said that, absent family, an unrelated third party must show some connection with the deceased in life – not just an objection to the way they died.
He said the office would hold unclaimed remains for 10 years, although they would be cremated once the staff exhausted efforts to find relatives. After 10 years, Garrow said, cremated remains are buried at local cemeteries.
https://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130825_A_battle_to_bury_remains_of_the__Gosnell_babies_.html
By Joe Slobodzian
Gawker
Jackson had gone missing earlier this year. When an unidentified woman died in a Philadelphia hospital on July 20th, authorities matched the body to Jackson’s missing-person’s report. Jackson had been dealing with drug and mental health problems, and her family had been trying to find her. Her son saw the pictures of the body, and positively identified the body as Jackson.
“If someone comes in and they’re a family member and say, ‘That’s my mom,’ that’s generally good enough,” Philadelphia Department of Health spokesman James Garrow said.
https://gawker.com/woman-found-alive-two-weeks-after-her-own-funeral-1193752487
By Max Rivlin-Nadler
Huffington Post
The mix-up came as a surprise since Jackson’s son identified the body.
“The gold standard here [for identifying a body] is visual identification by a family member,” so the son’s identification was taken as fact, Philadelphia Health Department spokesman James Garrow told The Huffington Post.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/woman-alive-days-after-funeral-sharolyn-jackson_n_3805276
By Amanda Scherker
Inquirer
A Philly Horizon House worker and Jackson’s son, Travis Jackson, 30, identified her from a photo. A medical examiner signed a death certificate and released what they thought was Jackson’s body.
“If someone comes in and they’re a family member and say, ‘That’s my mom,’ that’s generally good enough,” city Health Department spokesman James Garrow said.
https://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20130825_She_s_alive__so_who_s_in_that_grave_.html
By David Gambacorta
USA Today
The medical examiner determined the woman died of heat stroke, signed a death certificate and released the body to the family, Philadelphia Department of Health spokesman James Garrow said.
“If someone comes in and they’re a family member and say, ‘That’s my mom,’ that’s generally good enough,” Garrow said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/23/woman-alive-after-funeral/2694005/
By Staff
CBS3
A representative of the Philadelphia Health Department says all proper procedures were followed by workers and, with two people, including a family member, identifying her, it was following protocol to release the body.
By Walt Hunter
Fox29
The Collected Works of Jim Garrow 