Richland coroner says office can’t afford autopsies, body storage, needs emergency funds
The Richland County Coroner’s Office will not be able to do its job unless it gets emergency funding, according to Coroner Naida Rutherford.
By the end of June, the coroner’s office will not be able to pay for the storage of bodies, autopsies, post-death testing, transportation of bodies or cremations unless Richland County Council approves $300,000 for the office, Rutherford said.
“We are an office that can’t close,” Rutherford said. “Death doesn’t wait.”
The inability to pay comes as deaths have increased 30% in Richland County compared to last year with a third of that increase coming from coronavirus, the coroner said.
The increase in deaths have shot up the costs for the coroner’s office.
Each month the coroner’s office spends an average of $80,000 on pathology services, which include autopsies, and $20,000 transporting bodies, both necessities for the office. The office won’t be able to pay those cost unless it gets more money, Rutherford said.
The office owes a local funeral home about $2,000 for cremations.
Rutherford said the coroner’s office can’t keep asking for services without being able to pay the providers.
She tried being frugal and “made a good faith effort to make it,” but the money isn’t there, she said.
Prisma Health Richland is also adding to the increased bills, Rutherford said.
Prior to April 2020, Prisma Health provided pathology services for free, according to Rutherford. But that month, the coroner’s office and Prisma Health Richland signed a deal for the office to start paying for autopsies, body storage and other necessities after a suspicious death.
The new deal was signed under Gary Watts, former Richland County coroner. Rutherford took office in January 2021.
In response to Rutherford, Prisma Health spokesperson Tammie Epps said “Prisma Health and its morgue at Prisma Health Richland Hospital remain committed to providing services and support to Richland County Coroner’s office in its provision of Richland County forensic autopsies.”
“Any expenses associated with the autopsies performed in the morgue at Prisma Health Richland Hospital have always been offset by nominal fees,” Epps said. “In the past, those fees were paid to Prisma Health through another contractor retained by the Coroner’s office.”
The pandemic also put the coroner’s office in the hole last year, Rutherford said. The office spent $300,000 stocking up on supplies to deal with coronavirus, which put it behind this year.
The increase in deaths has also nearly filled the morgue that the coroner’s office uses, Rutherford said. Bodies may soon have to be stored in a refrigerated truck, which will cost almost $32,000 a month. The Richland County Coroner’s Office does not have adequate body storage if the off-site morgue fills up, according to Rutherford. Instead of a temporary, refrigerated truck, Rutherford wants the county to fund a permanent upgrade to the coroner’s facilities for $45,000.
Prisma’s spokesperson said the Prisma Richland morgue’s capacity can accommodate the hospital’s needs and those of the Richland County Coroner’s office.
Rutherford will be asking Richland County Council for the emergency funds Tuesday night.
This is breaking news that will be updated. Check back.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 2:33 PM.