The Pulaski County Coroner’s Office may have to wait a bit longer before it gets to move into a new space, so some formal arrangements are being made for temporary offices. The coroner’s office plans to move into the Winamac Municipal Utility Complex, once the town’s police department moves into its new station downtown. However, Chief Deputy Coroner Jon Frain told the Pulaski County Council and Commissioners last week the new space may not be ready until next year.
The coroner’s office is currently in the basement of the Pulaski County Justice Center, but Frain said autopsies cannot be performed there, so the coroner is also using Frain Mortuary. “It came to our attention through the official channels of my funeral home insurance and the county insurance that in order for the funeral home to be covered for the work that’s being done there, as far as liability, that a contract has to be signed,” he explained.
Frain also said the coroner’s office lacks several basic resources like a computer, printer, or county email address. Even more perplexing, according to Frain, is the lack of a contract for the removal of medical waste. He said medical waste containers need to be placed where bodies are stored in the justice center and where autopsies take place at Frain Mortuary.
The county commissioners planned to make an official decision on the contracts during their regular meeting this morning at 8:00 a.m., following a review by County Attorney Kevin Tankersley.
