Man says late wife was not at her own funeral due to medical examiner shortage
LEWIS COUNTY, N.Y. (WWNY/Gray News) – A man in New York state said his late wife was not at her own funeral because of a shortage of medical examiners in the area.
Jefferson County and Lewis County in northern New York state are in dire need of a medical examiner or forensic pathologist who can perform autopsies to determine someone’s cause of death.
The counties have been going without one, and it’s directly impacting area families.
Officials said if an autopsy is needed in Lewis County it must happen hundreds of miles away in Binghamton, in the southern part of the state.
Ritchie Turck felt the effects of this when his wife died last month. Her autopsy was performed in Binghamton, and her body didn’t make it back to Lewis County in time for the funeral.
“She was not there for her funeral for her family and the over 500 people that came to the church to see her,” Turck said during a meeting with Lewis County lawmakers.
Turck is now urging the county to find a medical examiner, and fast, so something like this doesn’t happen to another family.
“Think hard of how you can get somebody here to care for what you call your ‘family,’ which is Lewis County,” Turck said during the meeting.
Lewis County leaders say they are trying.
Ryan Piche, county manager, said the shortage of medical examiners and forensic pathologists is a nationwide problem.
The shortage is also costing the county tens of thousands of dollars to transport bodies to the medical examiner in Binghamton for autopsies.
“When we had the relationship with Jefferson County, we only spent about $12,000 a year on transportation. This year, we had budgeted $60,000,” Piche said.
The neighboring Jefferson County doesn’t have a medical examiner, either.
Jefferson County officials said they are budgeting an extra $92,000 for the more than 100 autopsies the county expects it will need in 2024. Its autopsies are done in the Syracuse area.
Piche said that if there was even just one medical examiner that Lewis and Jefferson County could share, it would be beneficial for all.
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