Northampton County Coroner Zach Lysek advised Northampton County Council yesterday that he'd like another full-time Deputy Coroner. He's been pretty busy. Deaths in the county have increased from 1,460 in 2006 to a projected death count of 2,593 in 2017. And the way he was looking at me yesterday, I think he wanted to make it 2,594.
Unfortunately, there has been a sharp increase in drug overdose deaths. The number has tripled from 31 in 2014 to 91 this year. "It's unbelievable the number of cases we're getting," Lysek said.
To counter the opiate epidemic, Lysek and his deputies now seize all drugs that were prescribed to a decedent Over the past year, they've collected 407 pounds of drugs.
Lysek also broke down deaths that are suicides, accidental and homicide. Though homicides are thankfully rare, accidental deaths have sharply risen since 2014 as you can see in the graph below.
This corresponds roughly with the increase in drug overdose deaths.
Lysek's office conducts an average of 216 death investigations monthly, and the number of autopsies is on the rise. There have been 252 autopsies in 2017 so far, compared to just 95 in 2008.
Lysek has no morgue, nor is there one at St. Luke's hospital. He said he usually is looking for places to store seven or eight bodies at a time.
In his 25 years as a coroner, Lysek has buried only one body at taxpayer expense. He said that if he is unable to locate relatives, he has been successful in donating the bodies to science.
Finding next of kin has grown increasingly difficult for his staff, and Lysek indicated that relatives sometimes have to be embarrassed into assuming responsibility for a deceased relative. "We've become a throw away society," he said.
