Newly appointed Franklin County Coroner, Dr. Nathaniel Overmire said he's ready to meet the challenges of his job.
A near-record number of overdoses, along with increasing suicides and people still dying of COVID are causing a great demand in services.
“I bring a lot of empathy,” said Overmire, an osteopathic family physician. “As a family physician, we need to maintain relationships with our patients and partner with them in their health. And so, I'm hoping to bring some of those skills and attributes to this office.”
Overmire, who took over after the retirement last year of Dr. Anahi Ortiz, said he's going on a listening tour throughout Franklin County. "There was a big meeting with some law enforcement, different agencies, and I'm looking forward to working with all the county agencies on public health to ensure that we can continue to solve this epidemic that we're seeing in Franklin County," said Overmire.
Overmire said he plans to hire two more pathologists to add to the six already on staff at the coroner's office. He said his office wants to be competitive in hiring and help prepare pathologists for the job. "What we don't want to do is simply transfer a pathologist from one Ohio county that does autopsies to another. There has to be a focus on workforce development. Getting more physicians into the field of forensic pathology, so we can meet the needs of our residents."
Overmire said he plans to run for a full-term in 2024.
