Death: catergorized and easily referenced

I started USF as a pre-med major. I wanted to be a cardiologist and save people with a broken heart (bad pun I guess). I realized toward the end of the second year of my studies that I didn't love medicine. I never wanted to be one of those doctors whose job, was just a job. The idea of death never bother me. We live, we make our mark on the world, and then we die. I never put much thought into what happens to the bodies we leave, once we cross over to the other side.

My public affairs class final field trip is the one I would deem the most memorable. We went to the local Medical Examiners office where Dr. Vernard Adams talked to us about the ME's role in society and then took my group on a tour of the facilities. The ME has two missions; to investigate unnatural death and dispose of unclaimed bodies. The ME's office is a business and its run just like that. Death is categorized for easy reference. For instance if you die due to a homicide your case file will have a red tab on it, white for natural causes, black for suicides, etc. Files are kept in the main administrative building, the bodies are kept in the next building over. Some unclaimed bodies will be donated to  the anatomical board for medical studies. The ME's office receives over 200 unclaimed bodies per year. Surprisingly only a couple of those bodies will be accepted by the anatomical board. Even they have stipulation. For example the bodies they accept can't be more than 10 days old, have no identifying marks, no mutilation, etc. As grotesque as it may sound, the anatomical board seeks out the "perfect" dead body. But what happens to the others? Well as a paid service by the county, the ME office must dispose of them. In an effort to save money, all bodies disposed of by the county are cremated. The ashes hitch a ride with a paying customer for crematory services and are dumped over the gulf.

In the file room there a stacks of case files dating back over 30 years. The information in the case files are public record as long as the case is not open as an active homicide. However, autopsy photos are no longer public records. Dr. Adams reminds us to make sure we ask for the entire case file during our journalist careers instead of just the autopsy report. Dr. Adams encourages us to get familiar with the ME's investigative offices. There we could look over files and check on the progress of cases (that are not open homicide of course). Typewritters are still used to fill out death certificates and other standard forms. I didn't know companies still manufacture type writers. The most startling fact I walked away with was that the ME sees about 150-200 suicides per year and about 80 homicide. Dealing with love, finances, family and friends are the things that make life so hard, but I never imagined the rate for suicide being higher than homicides.

After the tour of the administrative offices we went to the next building which was the toxicology lab. There we learned that the entire building does not circulate air. The air in the building is all pushed up and out through ventilaters in the ceiling. Of course they keep it pretty cool inside which explains having an electric bill of over $25,000 per month. Next stop, the morgue. Initially, Dr. Adams wasn't going to take us inside the morgue because an autopsy was being performed. When we saw the other group inside, he agreed to take us in. Dr. Adams warned us that if we couldn't stomach it, not to go inside. We all put our brave caps on and entered the morgue. The body on the table didn't look real. In fact it reminded me of the bad Halloween decor I'd seen at Busch Gardens once. The organs had already been removed and the blood was already drained out. I could see the inside of the cranium and the empty torso. The thought which kept runnig through my mind; God is so amazing to have created such complicated beings both inside and out. We also went into the freezer where the other bodies were kept. Dr. Adams explained that the office tried to complete autopsies within 24 hours of a body arriving but as long as its kept in the freezer it will not rapidly decompose. Another interesting fact, the more fat you have on your body, the faster you decompose because your body is more insulated.

Like I said the beginning, this was definitely the most memorable field trip. I enjoyed all parts of the field trip. Coming from a medical background and having a career focus on journalism the lecture on public records kept my attention as well as the tour of the medical facilities. But, if asked to take the tour around the facilities again, I would politely decline.