State Wants Three New Autopsy Centers To Reduce Backlogs

The state is proposing three new autopsy centers, including one in Winston-Salem. A legislative oversight committee has issued a list of recommendations for reforming the North Carolina Office of the Medical Examiner.

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center could receive $12.4 million for a new autopsy center if the General Assembly approves five categories of recommendations to be presented to the legislature when it convenes in January.

State officials say the centers will reduce case backlogs and help the medical examiner's office be more efficient. It handles over 2,000 death reviews each year.

Autopsies can be expensive and the N.C. Office of the Medical Examiner asked to perform fewer of them because of workload and budget issues. The Charlotte Observer reports that move troubled several police and medical officials.

Other recommendations include replacing the Greenville center at East Carolina University at a cost of $11.5 million. The proposal also includes an expansion of the Mecklenburg County medical examiner's office, and new autopsy centers in Wilmington and Asheville.