Despite a letter written by Volusia's outgoing medical examiner this month warning of substandard conditions inside the morgue, a report released Thursday from an expert who toured the facility concluded they aren't "critical, dangerous or harmful."
That expert, Dr. Jon Thogmartin, has been tapped to serve as the county's interim medical examiner until a full-time replacement for Dr. Sara Zydowicz is found.
"Because of his stellar reputation," County Manager Jim Dinneen said, "we extended that offer to him. What’s good about this is that he can run the office and keep it at high standards. That will give ourselves time to recruit and find a new ME."
After a May 25 tour, Thogmartin knows what he's in for as he steps into his new role. He wrote in his report that Volusia's District 7 office is actually "one of the most squared away" he'd ever encountered and that the county's plan for a new morgue scheduled to begin construction in 2019 will be an "ideal solution" to many of the site's storage space shortcomings.
To county officials, the consultant's opinion confirms what they've believed all along: That the shocking letter inked by Zydowicz wasn't an accurate representation.
"I'm really, really pleased with this report," said County Chair Ed Kelley, who will hear a full presentation from Thogmartin at Tuesday's council meeting. "I thought it was really positive, and I thought it reflected what I felt to be true all along."
On May 10, Zydowicz wrote a letter to the chairman of the Florida Medical Examiners Commission disclosing a litany of challenges at the morgue. It described “potentially dangerous conditions” at a “critically understaffed" facility that doesn't have enough cooler space to store all the bodies. She also wrote that she was resigning so as as not to "tarnish her reputation."
“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,” she wrote.
The letter and the news that followed triggered backlash on social media. It also prompted the county to bring in Thogmartin to assess the validity of Zydwicz's claims. He was selected based on a recommendation from Stephen Nelson, chairman of the state medical examiners commission.
Even before Thogmartin arrived for the tour last Friday, county leaders were confident.
"This isn't a surprise," Dinneen said. "At this point you can tell by this report that (Dr. Zydowicz) mischaracterized the situation. The office has a stellar reputation, and it continues to operate very professionally and it's highly regarded and we plan to continue that."
He added: "The fears that she created among the public were exaggerated and unwarranted. The public doesn't have to be worried about it anymore."
The report doesn't satisfy critics, though.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood — who felt slighted when the county hired Zydowicz in April without consulting his office, which he called a general practice consistent with state statutes — blasted Dinneen and county management in a self-described Twitter rant last weekend, saying "the tail is wagging the dog" and that the county needs an "enema."
After being told of Thogmartin's report, Chitwood said he isn't buying it.
"I am throwing the B.S. flag," he said, curious why Zydowicz, who who worked in the facility for years before being hired as chief M.E., would fabricate stories about the morgue's condition. "Now, two weeks later, this office is now a model of efficiency? Jim Dinneen and his manipulation could make us believe the Holocaust really didn't occur. He expects us to swallow this as the truth?"
Chitwood also questioned why somebody in line for an interim job could be trusted to give an honest review of the situation.
Dinneen dismissed that as a concern. "The review is the review," he said.
Thogmartin has served as the District 6 Medical Examiner, covering Pasco and Pinellas Counties, for 19 years. He also served as the executive director of the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory, which is a full-service crime laboratory that performs forensic analysis for local law enforcement.
"Any problems that we found are relatively simple to fix as compared to other Medical Examiner problems that we have resolved in the past," Thogmartin wrote in his report, adding, "... the conditions at the office are not critical, dangerous, or harmful. The office has a good reputation both locally and statewide."
He examined several claims made by Zydowicz. Here are some of his findings:
Morgue cooler is over capacity: Thogmartin said he would not conclude that the staff was neglectful or disrespectful to the decedents. The office staff was merely following procedures set by the district medical examiner. Alteration of procedures and the addition of a cooler Volusia County has purchased that is set to arrive in June will resolve this issue. The planned construction of a new medical examiner facility will be an ideal solution, he wrote.
The office is critically understaffed: The District 7 medical examiner office has 14 employees and performs 700-780 autopsies per year. Thogmartin said 15-17 medical examiner employees would be sufficient and these positions are currently funded by Volusia County.
The previous district medical examiner, Marie Herrmann, has retired and left unfinished cases and is unwilling to testify: Based on the caseload and demographics of the office, there could be 12 to 20 of Herrmann's cases that go to trial. Performing substitute testimony for former medical examiners is not unusual, he said. Unfinished reports left by former medical examiners when they leave office aren't unusual either.