GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - As the Kent County Medical Examiner’s Office prepares a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the recent surge in overdose deaths tied to opioids has Dr. Stephen Cohle concerned.
“The opioid crisis has been close to a disaster for us,'' Cohle said.
A spike in death investigations, including an 18 percent increase in autopsies, has put a strain on his office, said Cohle, Kent County’s chief medical examiner.
Cohle’s office performed 450 autopsies in 2017, compared with 355 in 2016. "We had about 80 extra autopsies last year over our projected budget,’’ he said. “So therefore, we've gone over budget.''
Investigating drug overdoses, he said, can be time-consuming and costly.
“When we have a possible drug overdose death, we want to try to find out what is the drug that the person might have used,’’ Cohle explained. “Sometimes the basic drug screen may result in more sophisticated, complicated testing, including sending it to an outside lab.’’
Anticipating the number of autopsies, he said, is like trying to hit a moving target. “But we project based on past history,’’ Cohle said. “And, I’m afraid this year, because of this continued onslaught of deaths from the opioid crisis, we may be over budget again.’’
The Kent County Medical Examiner 2017 Annual Report says the increase in death investigations and autopsies resulted in a record expenditure of $1.7 million; up from $1.3 million in 2016.
“We’re going to have to be paying for whatever autopsies are needed and that includes virtually all of the opioid deaths,’’ Cohle said.
Kent County recorded 156 overdose deaths in 2017, up 67 percent. Opioids, notably fentanyl, helped fuel the spike, Cohle said.
Cohle’s office last year also investigated 28 homicides, an increase of about 27 percent from 2016.
“That’s important to us because homicide investigations are labor-intensive,’’ Cohle said. “They require a careful scene investigation, working with police and examination of the body.’’
Kent County logged 89 suicides last year, an increase of three from 2016. Gunshot wounds, hangings and drug overdoses were the most prevalent causes of death.
“There are more women committing suicide,’’ Cohle said. “It used to be about 2-to-1 men to women; now it’s closer to even.’’
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