SEMINOLE, Fla. (AP) -- A news report says that staff at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Florida left the body of a veteran in a shower for nine hours after the veteran had died and proper pickup procedures to the morgue weren't followed.
The Tampa Bay Times on Sunday reported that an internal investigation concluded that staff at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System in the Tampa Bay area failed to provide appropriate post-mortem care to the veteran's body.
The investigative report said that leaving the body unattended for so long increased the chance of decomposition.
The unnamed veteran died in February after spending time in hospice care.
The hospital's Administrative Investigation Board ordered retraining for staff.
Hospital spokesman Jason Dangel says hospital officials view what happened as unacceptable.
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