2nd pathologist needed to retain accreditation, Trumbull coroner says

WARREN

Trumbull County is headed for another record year for drug overdose deaths this year with about 150 already. The county had 107 in 2016.

Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Trumbull County coroner, told county commissioners today at his budget hearing that he has tried for two years to hire a second forensic pathologist to help him manage the huge workload brought on by the opiate crisis and has gotten “not a single bite.”

One reason is that bigger coroner’s offices in Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus are also trying to hire additional forensic pathologists, and many candidates have never heard of Warren.

He said his caseload has grown the last three years from 310 in 2015 to 328 in 2016.

“This afternoon I have (no.) 351 waiting for me, and it hasn’t even hit December yet,” Dr. Germaniuk said.

Dr. Germaniuk has been part of teams that accredited coroner’s offices in Cleveland and Columbus, and he knows that a coroner’s office with a single forensic pathologist handling more than 250 cases a year “instantly loses their accreditation,” he said.

His office is seeking an increase in his budget from about $770,000 to about $1,111,000, about $250,000 of that being for a second forensic pathologist if he can hire one.

Read more about the situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.