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New Polk County chief medical examiner seeks second pathologist, aims for accreditation and facility upgrades
Summary
Dr. Rory Diehl, the new Polk County chief medical examiner, presented a FY26 request (about $4.14 million operating expense), outlined staffing and accreditation goals and proposed a renovation to consolidate office operations to reduce turnaround times.
Dr. Rory Diehl, Polk County—s newly appointed chief medical examiner, told the Board of Supervisors he is seeking to staff the office to meet rising caseloads and accreditation goals while requesting an operating budget aligned with the current year. "I just took a new position as the chief medical examiner for Polk County," Diehl said, introducing his FY26 presentation.
Diehl said the office estimates $447,000 in revenue, requested expenses of $4,141,000 and 16 full-time equivalents; there are no decision packages in his request. He said the office projects a net revenue decrease of about $66,000 driven by fee trend adjustments but is seeking about $104,000 in personal-services increases for cost-of-living adjustments, steps, insurance and IPERS.
Describing recent workload and accomplishments, Diehl said Polk County completed roughly 1,585 death investigations in the prior year and signed approximately 2,760 cremation permits, and he expects case volume to increase with population growth and jurisdictional changes. To meet demand and the National Association of Medical Examiners—recommendations, Diehl said the office needs additional forensic pathology capacity: "They recommend that a forensic pathologist should strive to complete 250 exams per person," he said, adding that the chief medical examiner frequently has extra administrative duties.
Diehl outlined turnaround-time challenges and regional capacity limits: specialist testing can extend case resolution timelines and, for certain tissue examinations, he said families and funeral homes can wait months for results. He said the state has offered support and that Polk County would use contract pathologists or state assistance in peaks, but that an in-county forensic pathologist can prioritize cases locally to improve speed and service for families and law enforcement.
On facilities, Diehl described a planned renovation at the hospital location to consolidate agency functions, improve collaboration, and shorten turnaround time for decedents to be returned to families. He said the office is pursuing accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners and will recruit a second forensic pathologist to relieve individual workload strain.
Board members questioned the length of specialist testing and the per-autopsy fees the state charges; Diehl said the state charges around $2,000 per autopsy at a minimum and that additional testing increases costs and time. The presentation closed with the board asking for additional cost comparisons and more detail on hiring plans.
