The county is going to make its deadline for accepting dead bodies.
According to county safety coordinator David Britton, the new county morgue will be operational today, July 1, the day River Park said it would stop accepting bodies of people who die outside the hospital.
“We are prepared to fully meet our commitment to the hospital and begin accepting bodies July 1,” said Britton. “There may be a few scratches that need to be touched up, but we will be in operation that day.”
Britton said the morgue won’t be fully operational Wednesday, but the plan is to have it at full capacity by the end of the week. He said a two-person cooler is currently usable if the need should arise today. He said a larger cooler is not hooked up to its electrical connection but is expected to be finished with its wiring today.
The larger cooler will store three rolling tables during normal operation. In the event of a catastrophe, the larger cooler could hold a number of bodies if necessary.
The facility has been named Warren County Temporary Morgue in large part because bodies are not meant to be kept there for long. It will be a place for automobile wreck victims and people who die at their home to be stored until funeral home arrangements can be made.
Britton said based on numbers in recent years, he expects the morgue to handle in the range of 30 bodies a year.