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Peoria County's new morgue gets pathologist

Posted September 30, 2007 11:00 pm

Anita Szoke

A forensic pathologist will begin providing autopsy services in Peoria County's new morgue today.

Dr. Scott Denton is a board-certified forensic pathologist and was the assistant medical examiner at the Cook County Medical Examiners Office.

He served as interim chief from Dec. 31, 2006, when the Cook County Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Edmund Donoghue retired, until June 22 of this year, when a new chief was named. His last day in that office was Aug. 31.

Denton will not be an employee of Peoria County. He will be paid $800 per autopsy, Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll said, adding that he will not receive benefits from the county. He will work out of the county's own morgue, which was built last year but was unused while the county went through the recruiting process for the forensic pathologist.

Peoria County paid $195,476 to renovate and outfit the morgue from what previously had been a kitchen area at the coroner's office, located in the former juvenile detention center on Gift Avenue. Construction of the 20-foot-by-30-foot facility began in February 2005 and was finished in March 2006.

The goal to build a county morgue was to save money, specifically facility fees and costs associated with driving bodies to Bloomington.

"Ideally, it will be a cost savings to taxpayers," Ingersoll said.

Previously, each autopsy cost Peoria County a minimum of $1,140 - $700 to the forensic pathologist, $140 to the pathologist's assistant and $300 for a facility use fee.

The county conducted a nationwide search for a forensic pathologist, who is an expert at analyzing the effects of injuries and determining causes of death through autopsies. Such specialists are coveted by authorities largely because their testimony is strongly considered in court.

There are only about 1,100 forensic pathologists who are board certified or have undergone a series of tests and certification processes worldwide, according to the American Board of Pathology.

For about 10 years, Dr. Violette Hnilica worked with the Peoria County Coroner's Office performing the vast majority of the county's autopsies. But on occasion, bodies were driven to Bloomington for autopsy either because Hnilica was out of town or her case load wouldn't allow her time to do the work.

"We will no longer have to pay facility use fees for each autopsy," Ingersoll said.

She said that although some additional costs will go into the new morgue, such as heating and cooling and the cost of purchasing disposable items such as cleaning items, it could pay for itself in five or six years.

Anita Szoke can be reached at (309) 686-3248 or aszoke@pjstar.com.

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