From left, investigators Jim Fish and Lance Emberling, along with Union County Coroner Dr. Dave Applegate, pose with the certificate of accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners.
(Photo submitted)
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The Union County Coroner’s Office has earned national recognition.
The Union County Auditor’s Office recently earned full accreditation by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME).
Applegate said the process took, “10 months of actively working, using various standards.”
NAME said the accreditation process was created for, “improving the quality of the medicolegal investigation of death in this country.”
“The NAME Accreditation Program is a peer review system,” according to information from NAME. “Its goal is to improve office or system performance through objective evaluation and constructive criticism. The inspector is the medical examiner’s peer and serves as a guest consultant to the office or system.”
Applegate said inspectors combed through polices, records, the evidence room, procedural manuals, even looking at vehicles the coroner and staff use.
Union is one of just six counties in Ohio and only 79 in the country to have earned the honor. Greene is the only other accredited non-metro county in the state.
He said the accreditation process forced his office to increase its standards and performance.
“We have already implemented multiple changes,” said investigator Jim Fish.
Through the process the Coroner’s Office has instituted new morgue documents at Memorial Hospital which will allow for better patient tracking and accountability, implemented a new death reporting system for Hospice agencies, created a new system for families and others to request autopsy and coroner’s reports.
He explained one of the changes allows the office to keep track of each death in the county. He said if the body comes to the coroner’s office, the new system helps officials keep track of exactly where the body is in the investigation process.
“We represent the decedents, but we need to be able to give answers to the living on why they passed,” said investigator Lance Emberling.
Applegate said that with the new focus, residents can be assured, “if a loved one dies, they have a much higher chance it will be investigated properly.”
“Our scene investigations are more thorough, giving us a better understanding of the cause and manner of death for the individual,” Applegate said. “Our evidence management has improved through better documentation, record keeping and chain of custody which will help the prosecutor’s office if a trial is needed.”
He added that protocols were established and implemented to assist fire departments, the Sheriff’s Office, police departments and the hospital handling death scenes
Each death is also categorized with certain things like drug involvement, medications or trauma, noted.
“We do not want to fail to recognize patterns of deaths in Union County,” Applegate said.
Beyond providing better investigation and answers, the enhanced processes help those that pay the bills.
“As a tax payer, I want to see effective and efficient government that works,” Applegate said, noting the investigation should be “high quality, with little waste, as far as resources.”
“We don’t want to increase the cost of a trial by mishandling or not identifying evidence in a death,” Applegate explained. “We don’t want to order unnecessary autopsies, but if an autopsy or toxicology screen can help law enforcement, it can save law enforcement in the long run.”
Applegate said that in addition to improving their handling of death investigations, the process has also helped the office prepare for catastrophic events.
“We need to be prepared for unusual events,” Applegate said.
He added, “the time to figure that out is not the day it happens.”
“Having a mass fatality plan in place gives the EMA, health department and other organizations a better idea of what to expect if the plan was needed to be put in to place,” Applegate said.
The coroner said it wasn’t just his office, but many others as well.
“We had a lot of help and the assistance of a lot of people and that makes me feel good about our county, where we collaborate and work together,” Applegate said.
Alex Jones, an intern from Tiffin University and who attended North Union High School, also did much of the work helping to earn the accreditation.
“Not only did I feel like I was being taught worthwhile things, I felt like I was part of a family,” Jones said.