Cherokee County Coroner’s Office Swears-In Two New Deputy Coroners, A Medical Information Officer And Public Information Officer

The Cherokee County Coroner’s Office added four individuals to the staff during a swearing-in ceremony held on Monday afternoon in the Commission Chambers.

Since taking office in January 2015, the Coroner’s Office has seen a 40% increase in caseload which has led to the need for more trained individuals to be available 24 hours a day/7 days a week to meet the county’s needs. Cherokee County Coroner Dr. Jeremy Deaton said that he appreciate these individuals stepping up and answering the call to serve.

Dr. Deaton introduced those being sworn-in

 

  1. Deputy Coroners, Rhonda McDonald and Lamar Williams-are trained in Medicolegal Death investigation and will be available to assist in new death cases.
  2. Medical Information Officer– Haylee Trammell- assists both the Coroner and Deputy Coroner in gathering pertinent medical facts as they relate to the case and consult on drugs and their interactions relating to the demise of the individual.
  3. Public Information Officer, Joey Weaver- I would like to personally thank Joey for all that he does for the county. He currently serves as the Emergency Management Agency PIO, but he was called into active duty and sworn in in the middle of a sleeting rain storm on the shores of the Leesburg Landing in December of 2016. Joey did an AMAZING job of handling all the national and state media outlets and we hope to never need his skills and abilities again, but are so thankful to have him on board.

 

Following a brief presentation by Dr.  Deaton, Cherokee County Probate Judge/Commission Chairman Tim Burgess administered the oath of office to each of the four.

(Below are the official job descriptions for the office as state in the Coroner’s Policy and Procedures Manual)

Deputy Coroner(s)-Alabama Code-Section-11-5-34a. The coroner of each county is authorized to appoint such deputy coroners as are needed, with the prior approval of the county commission. Any appointment shall be in writing and shall be filed in the office of the coroner and the office of the judge of probate. The coroner of each county may delegate any of the powers of the office to one or more deputies who shall then have the same duties with respect thereto as has the coroner. Any act of a deputy shall be performed in the name of the coroner and signed by the deputy performing the act. A deputy coroner shall hold office during and subject to the pleasure of the coroner. Each deputy coroner, before entering the performance of the office, shall file with the judge of probate of the county the bond and oath of office required by law to be filed by the coroner.

    1. Deputy Coroners shall report to either the Chief Deputy Coroner or the Corner

Medical Information Officer-this person shall hold either a Medical Doctorate, MD, or a Certified Nurse Practitioner’s License, or a Registered Nurse’s License. Their license shall be in good standing with their respective licensing boards in the state of Alabama. He or she will provide the Coroner with information on medical conditions, drugs and their interactions, and also coordinate information between medical facilities in each case.

Public Information Officer-gathers facts and information from the Coroner and distributes them to the media. They produce printed and video material about their organization for dissemination to the public. A public information officer may be responsible for organizing special events such as news conferences, in conjunction with the local Emergency Management Agency, local and state law enforcement agencies, or any other appropriate agencies,  in the event of a mass casualty event.

Transport Drivers– this person shall hold a valid, non-commercial driver’s license. Per the Policy and Procedures Manual, this person shall be compensated $50 per trip to transport a body for the Coroner’s office to a designated location. The Coroner or Chief Deputy Coroner, shall authorize the trip before departure and sign off on the voucher indicating the number of trips this individual made during a time period.

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