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A B.C. couple who were errantly sent a bill for the autopsy of their stillborn child are optimistic health authorities are addressing the shortcomings in the system that led to the painful mistake.
Laura and Nick Bordignon were still grieving the death of their infant daughter last October when they received an invoice from the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) containing a list of tests conducted by a coroner.
The envelope was addressed to Makayla Poppy, the name they had chosen for their baby.
Further ravaging their emotions, the letter indicated that Makayla’s body had not been promptly transferred to the funeral home they’d chosen. Instead, it was still in the morgue, some two weeks after the autopsy and nearly a month after she was delivered on Sept 25, 2024.
The health authority acknowledged the mistakes and cancelled the bill. But the Bordignons weren’t satisfied so they pushed for a face-to-face meeting with hospital officials to make sure their grief wasn’t in vain.
“It was a really positive experience,” Laura said. “They were very good at explaining exactly how they looked through the process [and] everyone involved in these types of situations … to find the communication trail of how this happened.”
“We’ve heard that it’s not so much that one person failed or that a team failed,” Nick said. “It’s that there are substantial and significant gaps and lack of communication where you have overlapping responsibilities.”
No one from the PHSA or B.C. Women’s Hospital was available for an interview.
In an emailed statement, Anne Margaret Leigh, executive director of the maternal newborn program, said in light of the invoice, processes within the PHSA revenue services had been “adjusted … to ensure such errors are not repeated.”
In their meeting, officials explained that the autopsy invoice addressed to Makalya Poppy was the result of someone failing to enter the letters “SB” on their file to indicate stillbirth, Laura said.
A system which they have since automated, she added.
“They’ve removed the need to manually input it to remove that chance of human error.”
The couple say they were assured communication gaps between hospitals – Makalya was delivered at Ridge Meadows Hospital but transferred to B.C. Children’s Hospital morgue for the autopsy – were being looked at for improvements, especially in cases of stillbirth, miscarriage and infant death.
“They’re also taking steps to improve the communication and process from birth to dealing with the funeral homes and trying to get the remains back to families like us,” Laura said.
Leigh’s statement would seem to support that.
“Leadership continues to work with external partners, such as funeral service providers, on best practices with respect to post autopsy communications and processes. This includes reinforcing escalation pathways, clarifying roles and responsibilities across teams, and reviewing relevant policies,” she said.
An investigation into the Bordignon’s case by the B.C. Patient Care Quality Office has been completed and results shared with the involved parties, Leigh said, but the results are not publicly available.
The Bordignons say after CBC News published their story in May, they’ve received letters from across Canada and met a number of people who have suffered a similar loss.
If nothing else, they hope going public has helped reduce the stigma around speaking about stillbirth, miscarriage and infant death.
“It’s really nice to start changing the narrative from ‘Hush hush’ to, ‘No, we really need to talk about this,’ so we can help more people,” Laura said.
Earlier this year the Bordignons put a pause on their advocacy work to welcome a newborn son.
And in October, 35 family members and friends formed Team Makayla Poppy, raising over $11,000 at the Butterfly Run in Vancouver’s False Creek neighbourhood.
The run is put on by the Butterfly Support Network, a registered non-profit group helping families that have experienced loss during the journey to parenthood.
The couple say it was a fitting honour to the memory of their daughter.
“Laura tie-dyed a bunch of shirts so we could all stand out in the crowd. Her cousins were there and the little ones, they were all wearing butterfly wings,” Nick said. “It was a really nice community feeling, being able to talk to other families who have gone through it.”
