by

Jeff Jellison

Publisher

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office logged a record-breaking number of cases in 2020.

Chalfin

According to Hamilton County Coroner John Chalfin, his office recorded a total of 511 cases in 2020, up 23 percent from the previous year.

Chalfin predicts the number will grow in 2021. “Based on current statistics, the office could see 560 to 600 cases,” he said.

Chalfin contributed the increase to the growing population in the county. “COVID-19 did not impact our numbers significantly,” he said. “A majority of those deaths were people under a doctor’s care, which most often, does not warrant a coroner investigation.”

A new statewide death reporting system, DRIVE, was implemented in January. It’s used by coroners, physicians, health departments, and funeral homes, and it has Chalfin frustrated.

“Under the old system it took 15 to 20 minutes to certify a death with the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH),” he said. “Now, under the new system, it takes nearly an hour if everything goes smooth.”

In Indiana, death certificates are administered by the local health departments and require the signature of a physician or coroner. Death certificates are needed for families to settle final affairs of the deceased.

“The new system has delayed the issuance of death certificates, making it difficult for families to move forward with final arrangements,” Chalfin said.

Chalfin said his frustration with the new system is attributed to inadequate training by ISDH, timing of implementation, and the lack of physicians registered in the DRIVE database.

“They rolled this out right in the middle of a pandemic,” he said. “What use to be a simple process is now an arduous task for everyone involved. On top of that, the new system did not initially recognize the newly formed Fishers Health Department.”

Barb Hathaway, Vital Records Registrar for the Fishers Health Department, confirmed her office did not come online with ISDH’s new system until mid-February, which created a backlog in the issuance of death certificates for deaths occurring in Fishers.

Chalfin said the new system has tasked his staff. “An average number of hours worked per coroner case is 14. With a case load expected to be nearly 600 this year, it is easy to see the additional workload the new system will create,” he said. “We are the fourth largest county in Indiana by population. Unlike some of the larger counties, we do not have a staff person assigned to processes death certificates. Much of our time is spent investigating cases and conducting autopsies. We will need to make some changes if the bugs aren’t worked out of the DRIVE system.”

Chalfin also pointed out some death certificates are being delayed due to toxicology reporting. “In death investigations requiring toxicology examinations, results from testing laboratories are taking four to six weeks due to a nationwide increase in overdose deaths,” he said.