WARRICK CO., IN (WFIE) -
32 counties use the Vanderburgh County morgue, but Warrick County officials say they'd like their own to curb finances and make it more convenient.
The Warrick Wellness Trail is the hub for medical expansion projects in the county. Coroner Eddie Goff says the growing amount of hospital facilities and nursing homes means an increase in the number of cases the county handles.
Goff sent more than 30 bodies to the morgue last year. Morgue fees are $100 per body, so his office was billed $3,200.
"Right now pricing at the Vanderburgh County morgue is very reasonable and we are very happy with that, but we don't know what's coming down the road and what the future lies for Vanderburgh County or for Warrick County so this is just another way for us to control our destiny at this point in time," Goff said.
Should Warrick County get a new facility, officials hope Spencer, Perry, Dubois and Pike counties may be interested in using the new facility.
"We're not out soliciting business, if somebody wants to use us they can, most counties in this area have a strong working relationship with Vanderburgh County and I anticipate most of those would maintain that," Goff said.
Vanderburgh Coroner Annie Groves isn't worried about losing business either.
"At the end of the day it's going to boil down to is who's your doctor, which kind of pathologist do you have," Groves said.
Groves said her office isn't worried about losing revenue from morgue fees, because it's so minimal.
"If your residents die here we can bill you back. We billed Warrick County for the autopsy the toxicology, every piece of our expense, so technically we earned more money in two cases than in his 32 cases," Groves said.
The Vanderburgh County morgue cost about $500,000 when it was built in 1991. The cost of a new building is estimated at well over $1,000,000.
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