JANUARY 7, 2008

ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATURE APPROVES NEW EQUIPMENT FOR MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE

The Erie County Legislature has approved the purchase of new coolers and X-Ray equipment to continue the vital operation and service of the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office, according to Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant (D-Buffalo) and Erie County Legislature Chair Lynn M. Marinelli (D-Buffalo, Tonawanda)

"I am proud that my colleagues in the Erie County Legislature joined Chair Marinelli and me in approving new equipment that is necessary to allow the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office to continue its everyday operations in efficient and high quality manners," Legislator Grant, whose district includes ECMC, said.

The new cooler system, which will cost about $155,000, will replace coolers that were first at the Erie County Medical Center more than 30 years ago when the Medical Examiner's Office was constructed. Wear and tear has affected their proper operations, the Medical Examiner's Office reports. As well as their use in law enforcement investigations, families have naturally difficult times when a person dies, and these can become more difficult when the body of their loved one cannot be returned in a condition for an open casket viewing.

The new X-Ray unit, which will cost about $80,000, will replace a unit that is more than 45 years old and was used at the Erie County Medical Center when it was previously the EJ Meyer Memorial Hospital. The current unit is so old that replacement parts are no longer produced. Forensic pathologists will be aided by this new equipment by, for example, being able to locate projectiles in bodies without having to cut into them, as well as check for broken bones in deaths of children.

"The purchase of the new equipment for the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office follows due deliberation by the County Legislature and the realization that we are fulfilling our responsibility to the residents of Erie County," Legislature Chair Marinelli said. "This new equipment not only benefits public safety and law enforcement, it aids and protects people in one of their more vulnerable situations, the death of a loved one."

"I and my County Legislature colleagues appreciate the hard and often unsung work the professionals in the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office perform 365 days a year, and are pleased that we are able to provide this new equipment to continue this fine service to the community" Legislator Grant concluded.

In attendance at the press conference from the Erie County Medical Examiner's Officer were: Dr. James Woytash, Chief Medical Examiner; Dr. Dianne Vertes, Deputy Medical Examiner; Dr. Jonrika Malone, Associate Chief Medical Examiner, and Karen Biel Costantino, Administrative Coordinator.

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