MAHONING COUNTY Autopsy post won't be filled for a while

There is a national shortage of forensic pathologists, the coroner says.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It will probably be a year before Mahoning County will have its own forensic pathologist, Coroner Dr. David Kennedy said.
Dr. John Delmastro, who recently completed a fellowship in the Allegheny County Coroner's Office in Pittsburgh, had a tentative agreement in the spring to be Mahoning County's forensic pathologist, starting Tuesday.
But after a conversation with Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Trumbull County's forensic pathologist, Dr. Delmastro turned down the job, which paid $110,000 annually to start.
Dr. Germaniuk "kind of scared him and he decided he didn't want to come here," Kennedy said.
Dr. Germaniuk said he told Dr. Delmastro that the salary being offered by Mahoning County -- $110,000 annually to start, and going to $120,000 once Dr. Delmastro became a certified forensic pathologist in Ohio in about a year -- "was extremely low" for him. But Dr. Germaniuk said his opinion wasn't the deciding factor in Dr. Delmastro's decision to not take the job.
"We're back to square one," Kennedy said.
Vacant for a year
The position of forensic pathologist, who conducts autopsies and provides courtroom testimony in murder cases related to autopsies, has been vacant in Mahoning County for more than a year.
Dr. Jesse Giles resigned from the position in June 2002 after seven years on the job to take a similar post in Jacksonville, Fla.
There is a national shortage of forensic pathologists forcing Mahoning County to focus its attention on medical schools and hospitals where forensic pathologists are trained, Dr. Kennedy said. Those students typically finish their training and fellowships in June.
There were about five other candidates considered for the job when the county chose Dr. Delmastro. All have since been hired elsewhere, Dr. Kennedy said.
"The best time to look is in December, January, and February when they are looking for jobs," he said. "They finish their fellowships in June and are ready to work in July."
Because of that, Dr. Kennedy doubts any candidates will express interest in the job, which is the highest paid county employee position, until the winter, and will not be able to start until July 2004.
Expense
Dr. Kennedy said the county spends about $120,000 annually to have autopsies done.
About half of the 150 or so autopsies needed in Mahoning County each year are being conducted in Columbus by the Franklin County Coroner's Office at a cost of more than $1,000 each, Dr. Kennedy said. Cuyahoga and Summit counties had done Mahoning County's autopsies, but had to stop because they couldn't handle the case load.
Having to send the bodies nearly 150 miles away means "it takes longer to get autopsy results back," Dr. Kennedy said.
The other autopsies are done by a pathologist at the Forum Health Northside Medical Center at a less expensive rate. But that pathologist will only conduct autopsies on bodies of people who appeared to have died from natural causes, Dr. Kennedy said.
skolnick@vindy.com