The following is a news release from the Lubbock County Commissioners Court:
The Lubbock County Commissioners Court has executed a contract with NAAG Pathology Labs P.C. for the operation and management of the Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Lubbock County is required to provide death investigation services under the Texas Code of Criminal Procdure, Chapter 49. In response to the retirement of Dr. Sridhar Natarajan, former Lubbock County Chief Medical Examiner, the County began exploring methods of providing a continuity of service in Lubbock versus sending cases to Medical Examiner Offices across the State.
The solution to this question for Lubbock County was NAAG Pathology Labs P. C., a professional medical corporation headquartered in San Diego, CA. NAAG and their staff will perform all forensic pathology services needed by Lubbock County under Texas law, and will employ the professionals and staff necessary to carry out the functions in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations here in Lubbock.
This unique private/public partnership will cut the budget for the overall operation of the Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office by approximately 12% or $330,871 for the FY 2018-2019 fiscal year. Additionally, it will streamline the operation of the Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office by greatly reducing the number of outside forensic pathologists, outside services and vendors previously utilized by Lubbock County for the performance of toxicology, forensic pathology, anthropology, and medical waste services. With Dr. Sam Andrews acting as Chief Medical Examiner, Lubbock County will realize not only cost savings from the contract with NAAG, but will have the services of a highly skilled Forensic Pathologist avaliable in Lubbock, as an alternative to sending bodies across the state.
Lubbock County currently offers forensic pathology services to 19 counties across West Texas. These county partners help offset the overhead to Lubbock County of operating the Medical Examiner’s Office, and benefit from having a facility here rather than having to wait and coordinate with a medical examiner from across the state.
The Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court understands the difficulties faced by family members when a loved one passes away and believes in the power of private industry to best serve these families and guide them through the process of obtaining a death certificate and timely completed autopsy.
(News release from the Lubbock County Commissioners Court)
