Title
a. Authorize the Contracts and Purchasing Officer or her designee to execute an agreement with Amar Forensics, to provide forensic pathology services and autopsy reports, effective July 1, 2024 (retroactive) through June 30, 2027, in the amount of $1,800,000.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Authorize the Contracts and Purchasing Officer or her designee to execute an agreement with Amar Forensics, to provide forensic pathology services and autopsy reports, effective July 1, 2024 (retroactive) through June 30, 2027, in the amount of $1,800,000.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
This agreement is late due to the volume and complexity of some of the contracts that the Sheriff's office was trying to complete prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) has been utilizing Amar Forensics (previously Venus Azar) since February of 2013.
The Sheriff performs the duties of the coroner through a combined Sheriff-Coroner's Office and is therefore responsible for provision and supervision of the coroner function. The Sheriff fulfills the coroner's duties by utilizing the services of the independent contractor who performs the forensic pathologist function for Monterey County. The coroner, who is charged with the investigation and determination of manner of death, utilizes the Forensic Pathologist to perform forensic post-mortem examinations (including autopsies and external examinations) as well as medical file reviews of any reportable or inexplicable deaths to determine the cause of death and provide input on the manner of the death. The pathologist performs necessary internal dissections and microscopic examinations. The forensic pathologists' findings are then compiled into an autopsy report. Currently the Coroner's Office processes approximately 40 decedents a month. As part of this agreement a new provision has been added to financially penalize the forensic pathologist for the unti...
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