Shortage of forensic pathologists costs Elkhart County

According to Elkhart County Coroner John White, who spoke on the topic before a gathering of county leaders at the 2015 County Leadership Summit Thursday, the Elkhart County Coroner’s office has traditionally used the services of the forensic pathologist on staff at Elkhart General Hospital when such need arises. A forensic pathologist is a medical professional who specializes in determining cause of death through the use of an autopsy, examination of injuries related to crime and examination of tissue samples relevant to crimes or suspected crimes.

However, White noted Thursday that the hospital’s forensic pathologist resigned in January, leaving the county without a local alternative for such services. The doctor’s last day was May 1.

“We have conducted all of our forensic autopsies there for many, many years, and the pathologist has always been provided to us by the South Bend Medical Foundation,” White said.

In light of the change, White noted that the county’s only real option for forensic pathology services moving forward is to partner with Kalamazoo, Michigan as the only two available choices in Indiana – Fort Wayne and Lake County – are currently near to capacity and cannot handle the county’s entire case load.

One of the most notable reasons behind the lack of available forensic pathology services, White said, is that the nation is currently facing a significant shortage of individuals going into the field of forensic pathology – a fact which has left a void of nearly 500 unfilled positions in the field across the country.

“It’s a very unique situation,” White said.

In speaking to the partnership with Kalamazoo, White said the city recently opened a brand new forensic facility which including the former Elkhart County pathologist will house four forensic pathologists, as well as a forensic anthropologist and facilities for dental comparison and a modern DNA laboratory.

“So they offer us everything that we occasionally need, and it’s all in one location,” White said.

In speaking to the cost of partnership with Kalamazoo, White noted that there will obviously be increased cost due to the fact that transportation to the Michigan facility alone will add between $300 to $400 to the regular cost of doing autopsies, which he said typically falls in the range of $2,200.

All in all, White said he anticipates the fee to partner with Kalamazoo to fall around $2,500, plus the additional expense of transportation.

In speaking to any other potential options other than the Kalamazoo partnership, White did note that the South Bend Medical Foundation is considering building its own forensic center, though he noted that the facility as described would only employee one forensic pathologist, and would not include the additional services such as the DNA lab and dental comparisons available through the Kalamazoo lab. White also noted that the facility would only be open Monday through Friday, whereas the Kalamazoo lab is open 365 days a year.

In addition, White noted that in order for the new South Bend facility to happen, the foundation is requiring that the county sign an exclusive 10-year contract with them for medical forensic autopsies by the end of May, or plans for the new facility will be dropped.

“The cost that they’re currently projecting would be $828 more than going to Kalamazoo, and they’d still only have one forensic pathologist,” White said. “For the citizens of Elkhart County, I have some feelings that that’s probably not the best direction for us to go.”

In speaking to the added cost of partnering with a facility such as Kalamazoo, Elkhart County Council President John Letherman made the suggestion that the county look into the possibility of requiring that perpetrators of crimes resulting in the need for an autopsy or the litigants cited in cases of negligence resulting in death, etc., be required to pay for the autopsy, which could help reduce the cost to the county.