CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office is asking county council for additional funds to support a rising caseload driven by a spike in heroin and fentanyl deaths.
Cuyahoga County Council members will vote Tuesday on whether to approve a $200,000 transfer from the general fund to the medical examiner’s office, which has seen a 27 percent increase in cases in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same period last year, according to the council’s agenda.
The money could be used to hire an additional pathologist. All but two of the office’s current pathologists are on pace to exceed caseload limits set by the National Association of Medical Examiners, officials said.
The National Association of Medical Examiners penalizes medical examiner’s offices when pathologists perform more than 250 autopsies in a year. Last year, three Cuyahoga County pathologists performed at least 325 autopsies, and the office’s toxicology lab was cited for exceeding 90-day turnaround guidelines, officials said.
The medical examiner’s office could lose its accreditation if caseloads continue to rise and the office does not increase staffing, officials said.
Earlier this month, officials kicked off the “Know the Risks” campaign on the risks of prescription opioid abuse. The new program was touted as a critical component in the fight against a heroin and fentanyl epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives in Cuyahoga County.
Click here for cleveland.com’s full coverage of the KnowTheRx campaign.
The heroin and fentanyl epidemic that is becoming deadlier each year. Cuyahoga County reported a record 610 overdose deaths in 2016, and is on pace to report nearly 850 in 2017, county Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson said earlier this month.
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