Big Horn County Coroner’s office receives accreditation

The International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners announced last week that the Big Horn County Coroner’s Office has received accreditation by the association.

Big Horn County Coroner Mike Jameson said the Big Horn County office is the smallest coroner’s office to receive the accreditation and is one of only three counties in Wyoming to receive the status, joining Natrona County and Laramie County.

The Big Horn County office self-submitted to the process for the purpose of ensuring that the operating policies, procedures and practices are within international guidelines, an IACME press release states. The local office was subjected to a review of 285 standards including administrative, forensic, investigative and facility review.

The IACME requires 100 percent compliance with mandatory standards and 90 percent of all applicable standards, the association stated.

“It’s quite a process,” Jameson said, giving credit to chief deputy coroner Bill Brenner for performing much of the work on the process.

After the county submitted the application for the accreditation, the IACME sent representatives, one from Missouri and one from Casper to the county to conduct interviews with the likes of Jameson, deputy coroner and sheriff Ken Blackburn, a representative of the West Park Hospital Ambulance Service and county commissioner Bruce Jolley. The reps inspected facilities and vehicles.

According to a site visit report for the inspection performed in April, the coroner’s office is well marked, well maintained and serves the organization well. The inspection of the vehicles assigned to field investigators in the county met and exceeded requirements, the report states, having “all of the necessary equipment.”

The six-year-old building in Basin also meets or exceeds standards, the report states, with the autopsy suite up to date and clean and the HVAC system recently upgraded. The report notes plenty of storage, supplies and a secure location for evidence.

During the visit, Commissioner Jolley reported that communication with the coroner’s office is excellent and positive and that the commissioners are aware of the need for an additional HVAC upgrade for the autopsy area.

Blackburn said using him as a deputy coroner works out well, especially when there are high-risk recoveries, and all involved believe safety is imperative, with Blackburn usually on scene first in high-risk cases. He noted the open relationship between the sheriff’s office and coroner’s office and that they “trust, need and depend on one another.”

The ambulance service representative, EMS Phillip Franklin, said the office has a “great working relationship” with all EMS agencies and fire districts in the area.

In a letter dated October 3, IACME Executive Director John Frudenberg said the accreditation auditors made it clear in their report that the Big Horn County Coroner’s Office “makes every effort to provide the highest level of service to the citizens, neighbors and visitors of Big Horn County,” a service accomplished “by a dedicated team of well-trained investigators through timely and compassionate investigation of deaths occurring in their jurisdiction.”

“When an agency elects to subject themselves to this process, it clearly indicates their desire to stand to peer review and demonstrate to the public and stakeholders a strong desire to provide excellence in service provision,” the IACME stated in a press release, adding that the process, which is good for five years, “indicates professionalism and compassion” by the coroner’s office.