Suicides and drug overdose deaths were up slightly in Pulaski County in 2020. Coroner Jon Frain reviewed last year’s numbers with the county council and commissioners last week. He said his office investigated nine accidental deaths, three suicides, and two homicides.
“I want to tell you that these numbers, especially the drug overdose numbers, would be a lot higher if it wasn’t for the good work that our first responders, EMTs and paramedics, and, of course, our law enforcement do,” Frain said.
Of the roughly 150 deaths that took place in Pulaski County in 2020, Frain said almost a third had to be investigated by the Coroner’s Office. Those numbers were virtually unchanged from 2019. “The reason we see so many deaths, in my opinion, that we have to investigate is because so many deaths do occur at home,” Frain said. “We are a very aged population, so we have people pass away at home, and the coroner’s called to an unattended death.”
But the past year has also brought some new challenges. While COVID-19 deaths are not typically coroner’s cases, Frain said his office was available to help the county’s medical facilities with postmortem care. That help was needed 24 times, mainly in November and December during the second COVID-19 surge.
Frain said the switch in Indiana’s electronic death registry has also created some problems. “Some of the information, as far as reporting-wise, is lagging,” he explained. “We’re having some difficulties getting people deaths certificates, especially if they were entered in in 2020 because they didn’t carry over properly. But the state is working on procedures and workarounds.” That includes allowing coroners to release bodies for cremation without death certificates.
Additionally, Frain reported that the Coroner’s Office started to bring in revenue in 2020. He said the coroner release report fees generated about $600.
