The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner has joined the short list of 75 facilities in the nation with full national accreditation, officials said.
Accreditation by the National Association of Medical Examiners is the highest achievement the association offers, and Pima County's is the only fully accredited office in the state, according to a news release.
“We view accreditation as a way to measure our policies, procedures, operations and personnel against national norms, and we are pleased to continue to provide the highest quality death investigation in Arizona to Pima County,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Greg Hess.
The accreditors' report noted that Pima County's OME is highly efficient, despite one of the country's lowest per-capita funding, at only $1.30 per person, the release said.
The office also serves as the medical examiner for Cochise and Santa Cruz counties, and conducts exams as needed for Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Navajo, Pinal and Yuma counties.
In 2015, Pima County's OME conducted investigations into 2,437 deaths. Forensic pathologists and anthropologists also performed:
- 1,456 autopsies
- 348 external exams
- 290 death certifications
- 145 anthropologic exams
Accreditation is good for five years, and Pima County's OME was previously accredited in 2011.
