The three full-time pathologists at the Monroe County medical examiner’s office are managing caseloads that are more than four times what they should be under national accreditation standards.
County Executive Adam Bello fired off that statistic during his State of the County address this week and said the situation exists because of challenges in recruiting and retaining staff in the office, particularly pathologists.
He said the medical examiner’s office has been historically underfunded and announced that he’d submitted legislation to tackle the problem.
“Too few doctors and too many cases means it takes far too long to close out a case," Bello said during his address. "Doctors are asked to do too much, and families have to wait too long for a result.”
The medical examiner's office investigates deaths that were not attended by a doctor or that may not be natural, including suspected overdose deaths.
The legislation would significantly boost pay for the medical examiner and three associate M.E. positions, add a new deputy M.E. position, and increase the amount of money allocated for contracts with qualified forensic pathologists.
The intent is to ease caseloads for existing staff, speed up turnaround times for reports and findings, and move the office toward national accreditation, Bello said.
“Young doctors, they want to work in accredited offices where they can practice at the highest standards," Bello said. "But unfortunately, with our current pay structure and the overwhelming caseload, it's really exceedingly difficult to recruit full-time pathologists to our team, which then makes accreditation impossible.”
Legislator Steve Brew, who leads the Legislature’s Republican caucus, is a sponsor of the legislation. He said that it’s taking an extremely long time for pathologists to complete the work necessary to issue death certificates, which can be a hardship on families. That’s a problem Republicans have highlighted on occasion, and they’ve pressed the county administration on it.
Brew agreed that the major issue facing the office is staffing. The legislation is, he said, a positive step.
“The professional availability of pathologists and medical examiners, really it's kind of a lean bench,” Brew said, adding that Monroe County faces competition for that labor pool from other counties.
The additional costs will be paid for using $400,000 received by the county through settlements from several opioid lawsuits at various levels of government.
Legislature President Yversha Roman, a Democrat, is also a sponsor of the legislation, as is Legislator Michael Yudelson, leader of the majority Democratic caucus. Legislators will begin discussing the measure during committee meetings later this month.