Luzerne County Coroner Francis Hacken was visibly distressed in his Hanover Township office last week as he presented folders of statistics supporting his argument that more staffing and funding are warranted.
He pointed to numerous other counties that provide greater resources to their coroner’s offices, factoring in caseloads.
“We need help,” said Hacken, a retired Pennsylvania State Police captain who was appointed coroner in October 2019.
During budget discussions last fall, Hacken had publicly pushed council to provide funding for two additional field investigators at $32,000 each plus benefits. Then-acting county manager Romilda Crocamo told council she had eliminated his additional staffing request from her proposed budget as part of her decision to avoid seeking a tax hike that a council majority appeared to be unwilling to pass.
With no action by council, Hacken again unsuccessfully made the plea for two more investigators in December.
He repeated many of the same concerns last week, saying he and his chief deputy and field investigator routinely work more than 50 hours per week without additional compensation. They often must respond alone in the field and are tasked with moving the deceased without assistance, he said.
Speaking out despite political risks
Hacken said he has decided to speak out, at the risk of upsetting council, because he believes the public should be aware of the challenges facing an office that has been working to professionally handle a task that is inherently stressful.
The three workers are projected to lose vacation and personal time this year because they do not have the resources to cover the work with one absent, he said.
Staff in some other county departments are able to receive and use compensatory time for extra hours, but that is not possible in the coroner’s office, he said.
The chief deputy and field investigator are supposed to work 37.5 hours per week and do not receive overtime, he said. He presented a report on the total extra hours the two workers put in during the six pay periods from June 24 to July 29, ranging from 34 hours to 58 hours extra per period. The two put in a combined 81 extra hours the pay period involving the recent Nescopeck fatal fire, he said.
Hacken said he works every day and is currently behind completing reports on approximately 200 cases due to the lack of resources.
“Staff cannot be expected to work, be available for calls and respond 24/7 every day of the year. This causes mental and physical burnout,” he said. “Our staff needs time away from death so that staff can be part of life.”
Robertson: Options being explored
County Manager Randy Robertson, who started working in the county June 13, said he is fully aware Hacken and his staff have had “terribly tough” recent weeks due to an Aug. 5 fatal house fire in Nescopeck that left 10 dead and a subsequent murder/suicide in Dallas Township resulting in the death of a 4-year-old.
While budgetary issues countywide will be hashed out in the proposed 2023 budget that must be submitted in October, Robertson said the administration is exploring whether a portion of upcoming opioid litigation settlement funding can be allocated to the coroner’s office to help address funding needs.
The county is expected to receive $25.4 million in compensation from litigation against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors, officials have said.
Council had approved a $662,419 budget for the coroner’s office this year.
Hacken said the office receives some appreciated assistance from funeral directors, known as per diems, willing to handle death calls in their areas for a flat $100 and another $75 to $125 to transport the deceased to the county morgue.
Luzerne is the only similarly-sized third-class county that still uses per diems, he said.
“Without per diems, we would collapse,” he said.
Rising cases
Hacken said he has worked to “raise the bar” on office performance.
He obtained cameras and instituted a requirement to photograph and document written observations at death scenes for official records.
Discovering the office relied on spreadsheets when he was hired, Hacken helped convince the state to provide $40,000 for a computerized system to track cases. The state agreed because Luzerne was the only third-class county not complying with reporting standards, he said.
Enhanced protocols have caused the coroner’s office to get involved in more cases, with the workload rising from 1,272 “jurisdictional” cases in 2019 to 1,665 in 2020 and 1,753 in 2021, he said. These figures don’t include COVID-19 deaths that must be handled by the office.
Autopsies also rose from 59 in 2019 to 89 in 2020 and 95 in 2021, he said. There were 80 autopsies performed through Aug. 16 this year to date, he said.
Hacken first tries to obtain answers on the cause and manner of death from other sources, such as toxicology testing or medical records his office now routinely secures through subpoenas.
However, autopsies are sometimes necessary, he said, citing an example of a young man found to have a medical condition also unknowingly present in other family members that can be addressed through early detection and treatment.
Despite an increase in autopsies, Hacken said his office is still criticized by police, families and medical providers for not performing enough of them.
Hacken said he wants to focus on the positive work of his office but is concerned the pressure has gone beyond solving through a “pat on the back or a thank you.”
“The staff is motivated, but without support, this motivation cannot be sustained,” he said.