Community Outreach

As our county has grown in the last 30 years, we have seen an increase in deaths related to opioid abuse, suicide, substance abuse and vehicle fatalities.  I feel strongly that the position of Coroner should include community outreach and proactive steps to prevent these deaths including but not limited to:

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• High School outreach programs that utilize the “every 15 minutes program.”

 

• Getting involved with the MADD program.

 

• Teaching preventive measures to parents of children who are struggling with the big issues our children face today, such as bullying.

 

• Providing resources and programs to the students in our county on how they can help and set an example for others to follow. Show them the best ways to help each other when facing extremely difficult issues.

 

• Develop a strong community partnership, encouraging input and suggestions from community members.

 

The vision we have for a new Coroner’s Office include a very well put together internship programs for our youth. There is adequate time in the 10-hour workday of our Deputies to be serving the community in programs targeted at students who have an interest or desire to learn more about the work of a Death Investigator, Forensic Science practices and Pathology. The current staff at the Coroner's Office are hungry to teach. Creating these new programs and allowing these students a full view at what a career in this field requires would be an amazing way to give back to and enhance our great County.

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Budget/Taxpayer Concerns

Based on my experiences within the Coroner's Office, I would like to focus on utilizing the budget to train Deputy Coroners and emphasize continued education. For example, regarding grief counseling, learning to assist families to not only help their children but themselves how to cope with current challenges by giving options on how best to deal with the "why did this happen" when they lose a loved one prematurely.

 

Continuing education for the Deputy Coroners team involving more complex medical aspects (anatomy & physiology), medical terminology, developing a mass fatality training program, and update the policies and procedures.

 

An increase in the budget is not needed.  Funds have already been set aside for a direct purpose and not all training comes with a cost. Time management can be an extremely useful tool as well. Rather than having a full staff in the office, when time permits, it is a perfect opportunity for members of the office to work with other agencies and get involved with community programs.

 

Working with Outside Agencies and the General Public

It was no secret that, historically, there had been conflict with the Coroner’s Office and its relations with outside agencies. During this term, we have made great strides and rebuilt relationships with our law enforcement agencies and increased their confidence on our abilities.  The Coroner’s Office also relies on the expertise of the personnel in other agencies, these positive interactions are essential as death investigations require a team approach.  My goal was to see healthier networking and communication between the Coroner’s Office and its affiliated agencies flow smoothly and effectively while working together on death investigations.

 

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Inter-Office Communication

Every employee at the Coroner’s Office has their own strengths that can add to the quality and success of the office if they are given the right environment. I firmly believe that the best policy for any job is to invest in the right people. Investing in training for the individuals conducting the investigations can only increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Coroner’s Office.

 

Taking an interest in and encouraging employees continued education and training, doesn’t just create more informed workers, it also increases employee morale and job satisfaction exponentially. My goal is to empower my team and help them gain as much knowledge as possible.

 

Three years ago, my campaign plan consisted of establishing the first ever Standard Operating Procedure Manual for all death investigations, developing a Surge Plan for the managing, storing, and handling of decedents following a mass fatality or an infectious disease; such as COVID, as well as necessitating the importance of dual record storage of paper files to electronic.  A policy and procedure manual has been completed and followed.  I have also developed an Incident Surge Plan to be used if a mass fatality was ever to occur.  This plan has also proven to be beneficial with the recent COVID-19 outbreak.  All paper records have been electronically saved and stored. This was a large task but I was able to electronically store all Coroner reports starting from 2000 moving backwards until 1893.  Quarterly evaluations of the Investigators work performance are now also being completed.  Employee evaluations are designed to help build up and train employees worth keeping and create a verifiable paper trail for employees that are not adding value. The failure to do these crucial and vital reviews leaves the employees set up for failure and the County open to litigation. Again, it has been a busy and productive three years and I am so thrilled with our accomplishments thus far.

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Family Interaction & Bereavement Services

Although most of the public sees the Coroner’s Offices job as finding the cause and manner of death only. That is actually not the only primary focus of being a good Coroner. The best Coroners and Deputy Coroners have a strong sense of responsibility to the families we come into contact with. Some Coroner’s expect their team to refrain from becoming too empathetic. My experience has taught me to treat the families with the care, respect, and dignity that I would want in their shoes. I fully support any Deputy that went above and beyond the call of duty such as sending sympathy cards, offering direction to proper counseling, and assisting the family in any way possible. 

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