There are now companies which will store umbilical cord blood for the family's future use in the event of certain diseases. You pay an initial fee, and then monthly storage fees.
Some people bury the placenta, and later plant a tree above the burial spot. In some cultures, people (often just the mother) eat the placenta. This is called placentaphagia, and I thought I had heard of it, but thought maybe it was just some nightmarish idea I had, so I did look it up before I wrote this post. One person who claims to have eaten placenta is Tom Cruise (in an interview with GQ Magazine).
Sleep studies aren't done to turn people into lab rats. They're done to help diagnose seizure disorders, sleep apnea, and sleep disorders. If they are done as part of a research project, there are specific ethical protocols that must be followed.
We don't know what was being logged in this logbook, so we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that it contains confidential patient information. Perhaps it kept track of deliveries to the lab, refrigerator temperatures, or routine maintenance of various pieces of equipment in the lab, like the way fire extinguishers have to be inspected once a month to make sure they are fully charged.
There would not be any problem with staff names being posted. As Lynne has already noted, emergency contacts are required to be prominently posted. This was a state facility, so a person's employment there was a matter of public record.
Out of curiosity, and to add even more "life" to the photo, I did a google search and found several references for "Joanne Wojcik" and "Larry Seidman." One of the Ms. Wojciks is a researcher on mental health topics. Her published work has included studies of cognition in schizophrenia and treatment of nonpsychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. One of the Mr. Seidmans is a professor of psychology in the Psychiatry Department of a major university medical school. There is also a Larry Seidman who is a professional photographer.