St. Joseph County's first ever morgue is expected to be complete this spring

St. Joseph County has never had its own morgue, but that's about to change.

Renovations to the future morgue site ― a former chiropractic office located at 1622 E. Mishawaka Ave. ― are expected to be complete in March or April, County Coroner Dr. Patricia Jordan said.

The morgue will provide a place to store and secure deceased bodies and allow family members to identify and view them. The coroner's office purchased the building for $196,000 last year with American Rescue Plan dollars.

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Jordan said she had been “on the hunt for a building that would be acceptable for the purpose of a morgue" since assuming the coroner's office in January 2021. She said she feels great that the morgue will soon be a reality.

"I think everybody that lives in this county deserves it," she said. "It's something nobody wants to talk about, of course. Who wants to think about their loved ones dying? But we certainly need to have a respectful place and a caring place to have them and keep them until loved ones pick the final resting place."

Jordan said the morgue serves an important role as a place where families can temporarily keep the body of a deceased loved one while arranging funeral plans after an unexpected death.

"I always tell people, when the coroner gets involved, that's somebody's worst nightmare," she said. "The coroner shows up when the family's least suspecting something. … As a result, they're not prepared for the death, let alone arrangements for that person, and so, we take them into our care so the families can sort out what they want to do."

Inflation, supply shortages complicated the morgue's completion

The process of creating the new morgue began in January 2022 when the St. Joseph County Council approved $380,000 in American Rescue Plan money to pay for buildings and structures, improvements, and equipment needed for the morgue.

Council member Diana Hess said she supported funding the morgue thanks in part to Jordan's persuasiveness.

The morgue "had been a request for several years … and the coroner made a fairly persuasive argument to why it was necessary," Hess said. "We haven't had a physician who's the coroner, at least since I've been serving. She brought a different perspective to things."

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Because of inflation and supply chain issues, the coroner's office returned to the council this January, requesting $100,000 in additional ARP funds so it could complete the project without needing to request taxpayer dollars. The council approved the additional ARP money, which will go toward purchasing a cooler, electrical upgrades and other equipment.

"When we finally secured a building and were set to renovate and bring in the equipment we needed, this inflation hit," Jordan said. "Things are on backorder and whatnot, and it's been a bit of a challenge. But … I think we're going to be able to complete this task without too much of a delay."

Coroners have pushed for a morgue for more than 15 years

The new morgue has been a long time coming. Since at least 2008, coroners have advocated for a morgue in the county.

According to previous Tribune reports, in 2008, St. Joseph County was close to partnering with Elkhart County to build a morgue that would serve both counties. St. Joseph County earmarked about $700,000 in local income tax money, but the plan fell through amid the economic downturn. 

In 2015, St. Joseph County was ready to commit to a proposal by the South Bend Medical Foundation, under which the foundation would lease a morgue and forensic center, and the two counties, St. Joseph and Elkhart, would pay an annual flat fee to have autopsies conducted there. However, Elkhart County backed out of the plan after deciding the fees proposed by the medical foundation were too expensive.

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Jordan said she "can't even explain" the extent to which the county needs its own morgue. On average, she said, the coroner's office handles about 10 bodies at one time. Without a morgue, bodies are currently stored in cemetery coolers.

"It's very, very inconvenient," Jordan said. "It's not conducive for families to identify anybody. It's just very inadequate."

In the past, the coroner's office had been able to store bodies at local hospitals' morgues, but because of infectious disease risks, hospital morgues now store only those who have died in the hospital, Jordan said.

The new morgue, which will be able to store up to 20 bodies at a time, "provides an independent area for us to work … without reliance on any outside source," the coroner continued.

The new morgue will not perform autopsies … yet

Jordan said one of the biggest questions on everyone's mind regarding the new morgue is whether or not autopsies will be performed there.

Currently, autopsies of St. Joseph County deceased are conducted at the Western Michigan University Medical Hospital in Kalamazoo. South Bend Police Detective Bureau Captain Jason Biggs said the hospital is about an hour-to-90-minute drive from St. Joseph County.

For now, Jordan said, autopsies will continue to be conducted in Kalamazoo because St. Joseph County does not have a forensic pathologist to perform them. Forensic pathologists "are not easy to come by," she said, but the coroner's office is always looking for one.

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The new morgue could be further renovated to perform autopsies should the coroner's office hire a forensic pathologist, but these renovations would require additional money, Jordan said.

Both Jordan and Biggs would like to see a forensic pathologist hired and have autopsies conducted in the county.

"It would be great to have that here," Biggs said. "Obviously, we wouldn't have to travel to Kalamazoo, but for our community, we have a multitude of colleges and universities here. I think it would be a benefit for those who study (forensic science) to have that here."

Email Tribune staff writer Claire Reid at cereid@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Completion of St. Joe County's first ever morgue expected this spring