The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has approved a $278,000 addition to the Medical Examiner’s budget for the 2017 fiscal year. It will be used to hire needed staff.
The county medical examiner says the office needs to hire two additional pathologists to keep up with an increasing case load. County officials explain that in a typical week, about 95 cases make it through the ME’s office for investigation. This year, that number is averaging closer to 112.
This is the second time this year that the supervisors have approved funding for the office to bring in more staff. They hired two pathologists this summer. Once filled, these new positions will give the Medical Examiner’s office a total of 15 pathologists.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story had incorrect case-load totals.
