On Monday the Marshall County Commissioners signed a 1-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the County Coroner and Pathologix LLC with Pathologist John Feczko MD from Valparaiso. The agreement will provide a pathologist to conduct autopsies for the county in the county morgue.
Marshall County Coroner John Grolich said the previous pathologist has dissolved his business because of staffing issues. That left the coroner’s office with a morgue but no doctor to conduct autopsies. Grolich said he contacted a pathologist in Indianapolis and Lafayette but neither had any interest in traveling to Plymouth to conduct autopsies.
With the new pathologist on board, the County Auditor Julie Fox recommended getting an agreement in place that would assist when the State Board of Accounts completes its audit. It will show that the county has a binding agreement in place for the services rendered and the cost.
The coroner had been paying $1,750 per autopsy with the old provider. The new MOU with Dr. Feczko is for $3,000 per autopsy. The MOU states that the fee is inclusive of travel to and from Marshall County and that Patholgix LLC will provide its own equipment for performing each autopsy. There will be no reimbursable expenses.
Commissioners Kevin Overmyer and Stan Klotz approved the MOU. Commissioner Mike Burroughs was absent from the meeting.
