PROVIDENCE – The state hopes to move its Medical Examiner’s office to a vacant commercial site in Cumberland, using state funds as well as a portion of the federal money intended to defray impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Medical Examiner’s office, which shares a building with the Rhode Island state health laboratories, needs more space and its relocation will allow the state labs room for needed expansion, according to Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the R.I. Department of Health.
Her proposal, outlined in a hearing with the House finance committee last week, would involve $2.6 million for the purchase of the new facility and $5 million to retrofit the building for the state’s needs. The total amount would be defrayed by $800,000 in federal COVID response funds.
Alexander-Scott told legislators that the need is dire. The current medical examiner’s office, which handles autopsies and determines the cause of death for people who are suspected to have died of COVID-19, as well as homicides and suicidal deaths, is running out of space. And the facility itself is in poor shape and is inefficient. The utility costs alone are $500,000 a year, she said.
“The office of the state medical examiner desperately needs this relocation,” she said. “Built in 1978, the facilities are … beyond serviceable life and are in serious need of overhaul and replacement.”
The new location would be at 900 Highland Corporate Drive, in the Highland Corporate Park of Cumberland, according to state officials. The building eyed by the state has been vacant for a little more than a year, according to Michael Giuttari, whose company has the listing.
As for the existing medical examiners offices, Jonathan Womer, director of the R.I. Department of Management and Budget, said it is likely beyond repair. “It’s in such bad shape it’s not really possible to fix the building in a way to make it usable,” he said.
The Finance Committee is reviewing several capital budget amendments submitted by the administration of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, in preparation for approving a fiscal 2021 budget.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
