McHenry County Blog

McHenry County’s Democratic candidate for Coroner has issued the following press release:


Marlene Lantz states on her blog page that her office handles 1100 "cases."

Here is how it really works.

These are the "cases" she is including in her numbers.

1) Funeral Directors walk into her office, show her an already signed death certificate by a doctor, she looks at it to verify it has been signed, then, takes the cremation permit that also is already filled out by the funeral home, and signs her name to approve the cremation. This will account for at least 600 of her "cases; " this takes about 2 minutes. Based on a 20 percent cremation rate of a county our size, this is a minimal estimate.

2) Hospice deaths at home: The hospice nurse must call the Coroner to inform the office of the death, most of which, if not all, are now pre-registered anyway with the Coroner's office. Its a basic telephone verification and no deputies even go out of the office. They give a telephone release. Again, Lantz calls this a "case." Again, all of 5 minutes to complete this "case." I'm sure there are a few hundred more of these.

3) This leaves the real truth. Of the 1100 she claims as "cases" only a small fraction of these cases actually are "actionable" cases. Ms. Lantz needs to provide the rest of the story on these "cases." Many Coroners use this ploy, to pump up their office numbers to seek more money from the county board. The entire truth is as stated above.

The real question is:

How many bodies are actually brought in the front door of the morgue and autopsied or studied for toxicology?

By swearing in as a deputy a "full time" secretary, she would be able to sign all the cremation permits, as she is there everyday anyway.

Thus, the field deputies can concentrate less on paper work, and more on working "hands on" cases.

So far this year, as of mid-July, we have had ZERO murders, as is the case MOST years, and maybe a dozen accidents resulting in death. (I do not have the exact number at hand, but its a relatively low number.)

By making a secretary a sworn deputy, this also frees up the field deputies for "personal time" off so they are fresh and professionally happy.

Also, this provides an extra officer without hiring another full time officer. Both physical and emotion health will be my focus for my deputies.

Although I'm sure they are apprehensive about the possibility of having a new Coroner soon, they need not worry. I have their well being planned for.

I will myself, work night calls and in the field, which will help build a "team" atmosphere and provide rest and family time for the staff.

Keeping in mind, our profession runs 24-7. I will be seeking a secretary who will work full time, 5 days a week. This will provide continuity of office operations. This would bring the staffing down to a level that I find acceptable. Down from six to five employees, plus my full time willingness to work in the field.

Prior to my launching my own personal investigation into the management of the Coroner's office as it relates to our protection of local nursing home residents, I had intended to actually dismiss one full time deputy. However, you may now read at my blog spot the most disturbing results of my investigation, I will now plan to enact, a first of its kind,

"Coroner's Elder Care Protection Task Team."

I will dedicate one deputy specifically to this duty. A daily log will be kept. This log will follow each on call deputy home each and every night. This way, we can keep a close check on numbers of deaths for each individual nursing home. We will check the daily obituaries and compare its content to the names of the nursing homes who have reported deaths in this time frame. This will serve as a checks and balances protection plan.

Additionally, in the past month, my Prescription Drug Plan that I had proposed last September has now gotten statewide attention. I will implement this plan within days of taking office. The Coroner has the law enforcement powers to do this without it yet being state law. I will dedicate a deputy to this "Narcotic Prescription Drug Retrieval" task force. This deputy will work along side law enforcement officers to assist them with this project.

I now ask you to read, the results of a most disturbing turn of events as they relate to our current sitting coroner of 28 years. This my friends, "Must NEVER be allowed to happen again!

David J. Bachmann
Democratic Candidate for McHenry County Coroner
www.bachreview.blogspot.com

Labels: Dave Bachmann, Marlene Lantz, McHenry County Coroner