Public Hearing: YES ☐ NO ☒ Department: Medical Examiner
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): All Districts
Acceptance of Grant Funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office (DCMEO)
Body
Information Contact: Director Beoncia Loveless
Phone Number: 404-508-3515
PURPOSE:
To consider accepting a grant award in the amount of $94,104 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to fund the accreditation of the DCMEO through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME accreditation will enable the DCMEO to establish a minority physician training program in conjuncture with Morehouse School of Medicine. The grant term is projected to start this year and conclude on September 1, 2027.
NEED/IMPACT:
The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office (DCMEO), in partnership with Dekalb County, Georgia, seeks approval to accept grant funding from BJA to obtain accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for the DCMEO. This accreditation is a critical step in establishing the first minority forensic pathology training program in the nation sponsored by a Historical Black College/University (HBCU), Morehouse School of Medicine.
The funding will allow the DCMEO to secure the necessary equipment, pay accreditation fees, and provide personnel hours to successfully complete the ACGME accreditation process. Once accredited, the DCMEO can host a Forensic Pathology Fellowship program to train expert physicians in field of forensic pathology.
Forensic pathologists (or Medical Examiner’s) play an essential role in public health by investigating deaths and providing key evidence for legal proceedings. However, there is a severe national shortage of qualified forensic pathologists. Out of an estimated need for 1,600 forensic pathologists to provide full medicolegal death investigation coverage in the United States, there are only around 600 practicing currently. Furthermore, there are fewer than 50 African American forensic pathologists in the entire country, compared to over 7,800 African American internal medicine physicians.
By establishing the first forensic pathology fellowship program with an HBCU, the DCMEO and Morehouse School of Medicine will create a pipeline to train forensic pathologists and help address the workforce shortage and lack of minority physicians in this field. The program will benefit DeKalb County public health by producing expertly trained medical examiners to serve DeKalb County, the State of Georgia, and the Nation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund because there is no funding match requirement.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
To approve the resolution and authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute all necessary documents...