New autopsy deal in place

Cooperation between Jay County Hospital and the Jay County coroner’s office will save money and time on autopsies, county commissioners were told Monday.

New county coroner Michael Brewster said he has contracted with Dr. Thomas J. Sozio, a pathologist who serves 20 to 30 Indiana counties, to provide autopsy services. And Jay County Hospital has agreed to make its facilities available to Dr. Sozio at no charge.

In the past, autopsies have been provided out of the county, most recently in Fort Wayne. Those have been expensive, and there’s been a significant time lag in getting results, which can pose a problem for families awaiting a death certificate.

So far, Dr. Sozio has performed three autopsies at JCH, Brewster said, and results have been back in just a couple of weeks.

“This saves time and money,” Brewster told the commissioners, praising the hospital and its staff for making the service possible locally. “This was really a no-brainer.”

Brewster said he has appointed Dustin Hilfiker as his chief deputy. Angie Schlechty and Bobby Johnson will also be deputies. The staff will be attending training in February.

Jay Emergency Medical Service director Eric Moore received permission to acquire two refurbished cardiac monitor units at a cost of $20,450 each from J&D Medical Services of Michigan. Those purchases fall within the JEMS budget, but Moore said he plans to approach Jay County Council in February for an additional appropriation to buy two new cardiac monitors at a cost of about $40,000 each.

Moore then plans to develop a schedule for replacement of the monitors on a regular basis over time.

Moore also said he is working on a new pay scale that he’ll take to the county’s personnel committee for review. His plan is to phase in a pay scale that has slightly lower new-hire, entry-level EMT pay and higher pay for paramedics, all within the total amount budgeted for JEMS personnel.

“We’ll get a meeting scheduled,” said commissioner Doug Inman.

A request by Portland Fire Chief Mike Weitzel on behalf of area fire departments for help on radio communication drew a positive response, but commissioners indicated they’d like township trustees to help out as well.

Weitzel explained that the various fire departments, JEMS and the emergency management office have been dealing with radio issues and hope a one-year service contract with J&K Communications will get the situation resolved. The cost of that contract is $10,293, which would be split between six fire departments, JEMS and emergency management.

Even when dividing the costs between the eight, that would pretty much use up an entire year’s radio budget for some of the all-volunteer fire departments.

He asked the commissioners to consider picking up half the tab.

“How about the trustees?” asked county attorney Bill Hinkle.

“I hadn’t thought about going to the township trustees,” responded Inman. “There are some healthy balances for some of those trustees. … We’re not looking for them to pay the entire thing, but I’d like them to participate.”

In other business, commissioners Doug Inman, Mike Leonhard and Chuck Huffman:

•Began to set in motion a look at a three-year capital improvement plan for the county.

•Authorized highway superintendent Ken Wellman to complete the purchase of two new snowplows from Hoosier Equipment LLC at a cost of $18,450. The snowplows, which had been ordered last year, are expected to arrive by the end of the week.

•Appointed Leonhard to serve on the Jay County Public Records Commission and Huffman to serve on the board of the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District.

•Approved 40 hours of overtime pay for courthouse custodian Bruce Sutton for work since he took over the position.

•Asked Hinkle to look into internal control policies for when the county makes purchases via Amazon. So far, only the sheriff’s office has made use of Amazon and then only as a last resort, county auditor Anna Culy explained. In the past, Amazon did not charge sales tax; but that has changed, and it’s not clear who should be authorized to make purchases using the county’s tax exempt number.

•Learned from Sheriff Dwane Ford that a police cruiser is out of action because of transmission problems. The vehicle, a 2012 with about 65,000 miles, is currently at Fuqua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep awaiting service. Ford is still in conversations about whether the work will be covered by warranty.

•Authorized Ford to go forward with replacing firearms in his department at an estimated cost of $6,500 after the current firearms are traded in.

•Gave Ford approval to go forward with repairs to an air compressor at the jail at an estimated cost of $2,000, which will be paid out of Public Safety funds.

•Learned Jane Ann Spencer had been re-appointed Jay County historian.

•Directed Wellman, at the urging of Leonhard, to develop an analysis comparing the cost of having the highway department replace culverts rather than contracting the work out.

•Declined to have the county pay for pizza for JEMS staff training events, noting it would set a precedent for other departments.