A Santa Barbara County civil
grand jury report deemed the county’s coroner’s office “an unhealthy
environment” and recommended that the county take the drastic step of either
constructing a new facility or relocating to a more suitable building.
The report, which was released
Wednesday, detailed several areas in which the grand jury deemed the operation
of the coroner’s office, which is a department of the Sheriff’s Office, to be
noncompliant with the California Code of Regulations and the state’s
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The problems listed by
the grand jury ranged from policy, training, equipment and facilities to
testing and documentation.
The most notable issues raised
in the report concern the facility’s ventilation system and infrastructure.
The report noted that the
current coroner’s office, located at 66 S. San Antonio Road in Santa Barbara,
is “not adequate” for performing autopsies on known or suspected bodies with
airborne infectious diseases, as the facility is “deficient” in controlling
such diseases or protecting employees and visitors from them.
“The distribution of fumes
poses a major concern with communicable diseases, aerosol transmissible
diseases and other pathogens,” said Sandi Miller, the jury’s foreman.
“Personnel and the public could be exposed to these dangers when procedures are
performed on high-risk cases, such as tuberculosis and other airborne
infectious diseases.”
The grand jury report cited a
2013 study performed by Mechanical Engineering Consultants Inc., which found
that there is just one heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit
for the entire building. When the HVAC is running, according to the study,
odors and airborne pathogens circulate throughout the facility. This poses a
major health concern, the study continued, because it allows for the potential
spread of communicable diseases and exposes people in the building to
formaldehyde.
In an effort to remedy the
ventilation issues, the grand jury report states that current staff members
have created a “makeshift solution by using a fan and keeping a door open in
the autopsy room during procedures.”
The grand jury performed its
inspection last year. It noted that several of the issues raised in this year’s
report were also among the 2012-13 grand jury’s findings.
In response to that 2012-13
report, which found the facility to be in need of major upgrades, the county’s
Board of Supervisors stated in February 2014 that health and safety concerns at
the office “will be given high priority for funding.”
This year’s report noted that
the recommended extensive structural and mechanical upgrades have not been
approved or budgeted by the Board of Supervisors.
The coroner’s office was
established by the Board of Supervisors as part of the Sheriff’s Office in
1947. The current facility was built using inmate labor in 1987, and the grand
jury reports that “there is no evidence the facility was constructed in
compliance with appropriate standard building codes.”
The grand jury recommends that
the county either build a new facility or move the coroner’s office to an
existing adequate building. It also recommends that the office properly train
staff on issues related to infectious disease control and air- and blood-borne
pathogens, test and vaccinate employees for tuberculosis and Hepatitis B, and
purchase new equipment, such as full-face powered respirators, among other
suggestions.
Kelly Hoover, a spokeswoman for
the Sheriff’s Office, said the department is in the process of evaluating the
report.
“During our preliminary review
of the report, we have identified a number of findings that appear to be
outdated due to prior implementation of previous recommendations,” she said.
As far as the drastic
recommendations regarding a new facility, “The continuing effects of the
economic downturn have precluded implementation of such large-scale facility
improvements,” she said. “Nevertheless, throughout the past two years, we have
worked with the CEO's office and Santa Barbara County General Services, to
address coroner's facility concerns and will continue to do so in the future.”
February
12, 2015
Lompoc
Record
By Willis Jacobson
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