Resigning medical examiner's letter lists numerous problems. 'I don't wish harm to my well-being.'
The Volusia County Medical Examiner's morgue cooler is "consistently over capacity." The facility is "critically" understaffed. The current backlog of autopsies waiting to be proofread is "approximately 200."
Those are just some of the serious concerns outgoing Medical Examiner Sara Zydowicz registered in a letter to the chairman of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Medical Examiners Commission — a letter in which she said she is also resigning.
"The office has been neglected to the point that daily work is at times not possible and the risk of critical error is uncomfortably high," Zydowicz wrote May 10. "I have repeatedly voiced my concerns about the critical and potentially dangerous state of affairs and have not received a satisfactory response. Staying in this office is, for me, untenable; I do not wish to tarnish my reputation staying in a situation I didn't create and I don't wish harm to my well-being."
When the county announced Zydowicz's resignation last week, officials said she was leaving her position effective June 1 for personal reasons. Her letter, though, indicates significant concerns with the state of the medical examiner's facility. She had been in her position just a month when she announced May 15 that she was quitting.
Dr. Stephen Nelson, chairman of the state commission that oversees medical examiners, said he wasn't aware of the questionable state of Volusia County's medical examiner facility until he received Zydowicz's letter. He called the situation "troublesome" and "disappointing."
Zydowicz's letter calls working conditions "dangerous" and long-neglected by county management.
Since Volusia County is one of only a few charter counties in the state — the rest have medical examiners that are appointed by the governor, not hired by a county manager — the county has to formally request aid from the state to right the ship.
Deputy County Manager George Recktenwald, in response to Zydowicz letter, sent an email to the County Council on Monday. He said he didn't agree with all of Zydowicz's statements and that she may not have "fully appreciated the steps that had been taken to address her concerns."
He gave examples: the county, with approval from Zydowicz, agreed last month to sever its contract providing medical examiner duties to Seminole County, which has been in place since 1999. When it goes into effect Oct. 1, that would ease the caseload numbers by 30 percent, Recktenwald wrote.
Nelson said this week County Manager Jim Dinneen told him Volusia is considering that option. Dinneen has not responded to News-Journal questions about Zydowicz's plan to resign or her letter.
"If they want to have someone come in and give (the department) an audit type look, that would be ideal," Nelson said. "There's nothing criminal there, I just think they need to have someone come in and look over their policies and procedures and perhaps tweak them. The (letter) is very telling."
Nelson also said it's unheard of that a county would hire a medical examiner without input from the sheriff or the state attorney's office, as was the case when Zydowicz was hired in march in March.
After Zydowicz's announced departure last week, Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote to The News-Journal attacking county leadership over its handling of that department.
Chitwood had more to say Tuesday after receiving a copy of Zydowicz's letter.
"This is a disgrace," Chitwood said, adding that he has 52 cases pending review by a medical examiner; some on the shelf since Jan. 1. "This is serious business. We get constant phone calls from victims who want to know when their loved ones are going to be scientifically examined."
In the document, Zydowicz, who as part of her duties in Volusia also handles autopsies for Seminole County, went into detail about myriad issues plaguing her short tenure including:
Not enough room in the morgue to store bodies, which means some decedents spend up to three days in a hospital with nowhere to go.
Too few employees, less than a third of what's needed to effectively catch up on a backlog of 200 cases without risking critical mistakes.
Difficulty getting county leaders to provide requested budget information or to hire additional help, such as a temporary employee to answer phone calls.
Problems with her predecessor, Dr. Marie Herrmann, who has stopped testifying in court for autopsies she's performed, which has caused problems for attorneys.
And while plans to build a new $13.2 million facility are in Volusia County's five-year forecast, requests for funding help from Seminole County has been unsuccessful. The current facility, built in 1997, doesn't cut it, Zydowicz explained. A tour of the facility was not granted Tuesday.
"The office has been neglected to the point daily work is at times not possible and the risk of critical error is uncomfortably high," Zydowicz wrote to Nelson, who is the medical examiner for District 10 in Polk County. "Performing 15-20 autopsies a week in addition to administrative duties and a crumbling (literal and figurative) office is not viable."
Recktenwald said the county has responded. The council has approved the purchase of an additional portable cooler to store cadavers, and has made available other cooling resources on a short-term basis when cases rise above capacity.
Zydowicz wrote that the medical examiner's office should have 39 employees based on case load, but currently only has 14 "despite the fact the same staffing requests have been made since 2012."
Recktenwald addressed her staffing concerns in the letter to council, too. He said that two forensic investigators went out on worker's compensation which "understandably increased workload on staff." But he advised that Zydowicz was told she would get immediate staffing relief through the hiring of additional employees, two forensic technicians and a temporary office assistant position.
"Before her application for the position, (she) was well aware of the current challenges of the office as well as the capital plans for improvement," Recktenwald wrote to council members, later adding, "I am uncertain what Dr. Zydowicz meant in her letter when she referred to a dangerous condition. (She) only gave me personal reasons for resigning."
Zydowicz could not be reached for comment. Before being hired as chief, she had worked as a contracted associate medical examiner part time for the county since 2016. Herrmann headed the department for the previous 11 years.
Zydowicz earns $248,000 a year — the second-highest on the county’s payroll — and has agreed to continue to help on weekends and to finish any of her open cases.
County spokeswoman Joanne Magley said the county has begun interviewing candidates for the position.
The News-Journal reported in August that the medical examiner's office, which also serves Seminole County, lost its accreditation in 2015 due to its "way substandard" facility.
County Council members reached Tuesday said they were surprised by the letter Zydowicz sent to state officials. However, Councilwoman Deb Denys said she wasn't surprised by what it said and the conditions shouldn't have come as unexpected shock to Zydowicz since she worked at the office previously.
"Everyone is aware of the situation," Denys said, "including Dr. Z. What's most surprising is that she circumvented the county and went directly to the state. We never heard complaints for her before this."
Denys said she'd support having an outside party come in and look at operations in the facility.
"It was explained to me that (the office) wasn't that bad," said County Chair Ed Kelley.