Cortland Standard .net

By COLLEEN SIUZDAK
Staff Reporter
csiuzdak@cortlandstandard.net
Cortland County coroners are hoping to use Cortland Regional Medical Center facilities for autopsies and to store bodies to save on transportation costs.
The county currently contracts for the use of facilities at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton for the services. In addition, the forensic pathologist at Lourdes who the county relies on for autopsies may be retiring soon.
County Coroner Whitney Meeker said during the county Legislature’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday that she has a meeting with CRMC’s Chief Operating Officer David Kobis Wednesday to discuss the possibility of the hospital purchasing a walk-in refrigerator system for more bodies to be stored at the local hospital’s morgue.
The four- to five-body walk-in refrigerator system from Michigan-based Mopec is $21,992, a cost the hospital would have to pay.
Meeker said during the committee meeting that the two-drawer morgue at the hospital has not been changed since 1947 and should be updated so more room can be available.
“All I’m going to say to them is ... would you consider buying this cooler and installing it simply because you need it,” Meeker said.
Coroner Kevin Sharp agreed Friday afternoon the morgue in the Cortland hospital is inadequate in the event more than two bodies need to be stored there. If there is not enough room, the body would need to stay outside the cooler and would remain there until the funeral home could get it, Sharp said.
Sharp said the rate of deterioration is sometimes hard to predict because it depends on various factors such as cause of death and whether the deceased took any medication, possibly speeding up the process.
Legislator Joseph Steinhoff (R-Cortlandville) said Thursday morning after the meeting it would be better to have the option for space available at the hospital.
“It would be nice if we can work out a deal with a local facility,” Steinhoff said.
He said it would always make it easier on the families to have their loved ones closer to home to make the process more efficient. Lourdes is located about 40 miles away.
Steinhoff added that using the local hospital would help reduce transportation costs, saving the county money.
Meeker said the county contracts with TLC Emergency Medical Services, which has a base fee of $300 per trip, plus$5 per mile.
A trip to Lourdes costs $525, the cost of going there since the trip back is not paid for.
“I’m trying to help with the costs, trying to help to keep things going,” Meeker said. “I don’t want to get to a point that we say, ‘Uh oh, we’re done.’’’
Another concern is the possible retirement of the forensic pathologist at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. The county contracts with Dr. James Terzian for autopsies. Terzian could not be reached for commentFriday.
Meeker said an autopsy is not always done and it is up to he family to decide if they want one, if it is not part of a criminal investigation.
Meeker said out of 57 unattended deaths last year, 24 were sent for autopsy.
Coroners have to declare death when there is no doctor present to do so, what is considered an unattended death. Often a coroner is called to the home of the deceased to declare death when there is no attending physician, for example. Coroners may also declare death at the scene of an accident.
Meeker said Friday afternoon she was told by the hospital administration a couple of months ago that CRMC would not conduct autopsies due to a ventilation problem at the hospital that would be expensive to fix.
CRMC spokesperson Lauren Mossotti-Kline said this morning that the hospital is waiting for more information from Meeker at Wednesday’s meeting to talk about the possibility of storage and autopsies.
Sharp said 95 percent of the autopsies done do not require a forensic pathologist, but the county would need to have a contract with one in case an autopsy was needed for a criminal case, since CRMC does not have one.
A forensic pathologist on staff is both medically and legally trained to work on criminal cases and is able to testify about the legal findings of the exam. A regular pathologist can perform autopsies in non-criminal cases.
“The last thing we want to do is subject the county to a potential lawsuit because something was missed because it was a forensic versus a regular pathologist,” Sharp said.
Another option is to contract with the Onondaga County medical examiner to perform autopsies, although Meeker said this would be more expensive than Lourdes.
For example, an autopsy examination ranges from $1,300 to $1,900 at the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office, while Lourdes charges between $400 to $1,375.
Meeker said this morning she has never seen an autopsy cost more than $1,375.