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Central multi-county morgue mulled
YOUNGSTOWN
Several Northeast Ohio counties are discussing the feasibility of establishing a central multicounty medical examiner’s office to be shared by the county coroners, Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham told the county commissioners Thursday.
Meacham said he has discussed the matter with the auditors of Trumbull, Columbiana, Portage, Stark and Ashtabula counties.
“If we can work together to save taxpayer money, we certainly will investigate the feasibility,” Meacham said, adding that no commitments have been made toward the project.
Meacham said he met last month with state Auditor Dave Yost to discuss the possibility of a regional morgue feasibility study being paid for by a state grant under House Bill 5. This legislation provides dollars for studying greater efficiencies and economies through shared facilities and services.
Some counties have aging morgues that are having difficulty responding to the demands placed on them by the epidemic of drug overdose deaths, he said.
A regional medical examiner’s office could centralize forensic pathologists and technicians in one place, where bodies could be stored; autopsies could be performed; organs and tissue could be recovered for transplantation; forensic photography, lab and information technology functions for record-keeping and evidence-tracking could be housed; and medical education could be conducted, Meacham said.
“It’s well-worth looking at whenever we can show economies of scale in any communities regionally,” said Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti.
“We’re happy where we are right now with Oakhill Renaissance Place, where the [Mahoning County] morgue presently is, but it is space-confined,” he said.
However, he added: “If this study could show that we can do this better and cheaper on a regional basis, I would be in support of that.”
In other business, the commissioners voted to close Columbiana Road between Beard and Unity roads in Springfield Township Tuesday and Wednesday to replace a culvert.
They also approved a 15-year license agreement with the State of Ohio Office of Real Estate and Planning for rent-free use of a light tower at Youngstown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium for a law-enforcement communications antenna.
Sheriff Jerry Greene said last month that YSU had agreed to allow rent-free placement of such an antenna atop the stadium.
The antenna will be part of a radio communications upgrade accompanying 911 emergency dispatch center consolidation, said Maj. William Cappabianca of the county sheriff’s office.
The county Haz-Mat Team accepted a $4,200 grant from Marathon Petroleum Corp. of Findlay to help the team buy equipment for cleanup of petroleum product spills that might occur at Marathon or other facilities in the county.
Along with this grant, Marathon is entering into cooperative training with the Haz-Mat Team and local firefighters concerning spill response, said Silverio Caggiano, deputy county Haz-Mat chief and Youngstown Fire Department battalion chief.