SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 4, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/10/23
In this edition:
*RIP Julia Dodds
*RIP Keith Ruff
*Labor Last Week
*Parent’s Rights
*Medical Examiner Info
*Did You Know?
*RIP Julia Dodds
I was sad to learn of the passing of Julia Dodds on September 26. Julia spent several years as a Clerk in the Johnson County Public Health Department before transferring to the Planning, Development, and Sustainability Department, where she served ten more years.
Julia had a great sly sense of humor, and I appreciated the fact that she was a fellow foster parent. My condolences to all who cared about her. RIP, Julia.
*RIP Keith Ruff
I lost a friend recently with the passing of Keith Ruff of Iowa City. Keith was born with cerebral palsy and the resulting physical disabilities. Keith moved to Iowa City for the graduate program in Rehabilitation Counseling. He used a wheelchair – don’t EVER say he was “confined” to a wheelchair – and became a familiar and well-liked figure about town.
During his four decades in Iowa City, Keith worked to improve opportunities for people with disabilities. For many years, he worked for Access 2 Independence (formerly the Evert Connor Center), a federally funded independent living center. Keith participated in many service system improvement efforts. He chaired Iowa’s Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, a statewide advocacy body composed of state officials, people with disabilities and their family members.
Keith served on our local MH/DD Planning Council, and was a tireless advocate. He spent hours of his time wheeling through our Health and Human Services Building as it was being built, ensuring that wheelchairs had adequate room. Keith co-hosted a disability-themed talk show, “This is Us” on Public Access TV. Keith also authored a book, “Wheeling Through The Years,” in 2018.
Keith was my friend through all of that. He was also my boss! Keith was part of the Board that hired me to serve as the Executive Director of the Arc of Johnson County (now the Arc of Southeast Iowa) way back in the 1990s. Keith and I had some great discussions (often over a beer at the Mill) about the ways in which the people with power would try to pit people with physical disabilities against people with brain diseases against people with intellectual disabilities. Keith was adamant that we needed to stick together. He was correct!
RIP, Ruff n’ Ready! The Pearly Gates had better have an automatic opener!
*Labor Last Week
Last week I wrote a piece about how labor fits into the progressive movement in this country. The response was crickets. And frankly, that makes me angry.
It’s not that I require feedback on everything I write. I really don’t. As a matter of fact, sometimes responding to the feedback can be a pain.
It’s just that the whole point of the piece – how labor is not viewed as a progressive issue in the same ways race, gender, or the environment are – is sort of proven by the big shoulder shrug.
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior once said, “If you are comfortable in your coalition, your coalition is too small.” On the bright side, I guess I don’t need to worry about that! Economic justice matters, damn it!
*Parent’s Rights
I wrote the following on a friend’s Facebook post recently: “Parent’s Rights is the new State’s Rights. Same old shit, different name.”
Why is it so many of these movements with “Rights” in their name are dedicated to taking away the rights of others? Astroturf! Good old-fashioned marketing, baby! Let powerful words work for you, even if you misappropriated them.
Here is the dirty little secret with “parent’s rights.” You have ALWAYS had the right to keep your kid out of a certain activity or lesson. What you do NOT have a right to do is cancel that lesson for my kid.
I’ll have more on this next week. For now, just know that “Parent’s Rights” is bullshit.
*Medical Examiner Info
The following is the intro from the annual report of the Johnson County Medical Examiner Department (JCME). I have taken the liberty of editing out a bit of the piece; the report in its entirety is available on the ME page of the Johnson Country website.
JCME achieved full accreditation by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) in 2019, and re-accredited in 2020, 2021, and 2022. This significant accomplishment demonstrates that JCME adheres to the highest standards of medicolegal death investigation.
The primary statutory function of JCME is to determine a scientifically based cause and manner of death for every death within the jurisdiction. Cause of death is defined as the disease or injury process that initiated the sequence of events that resulted in death (e.g., “atherosclerotic heart disease” or “gunshot wound of the head”). Manner of death is a public health statistic that classifies the circumstances under which death occurred (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined). The cause of death and the manner of death are the core medical components of the death certificate.
Medical examiner jurisdiction is described by Iowa Code § 331.802 as deaths which affect the “public interest.” Common examples are deaths that occur unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause; trauma deaths in the context of an accident, suicide, or homicide; deaths unattended by a physician; and deaths of children under the age of two.
In 2022, there were 1117 deaths reported to JCME. Of these, 526 were accepted as medical examiner jurisdiction deaths. Each of these deaths were investigated and certified by JCME. After review of each of the remaining 591 reported deaths, jurisdiction was declined because each death was determined to not be in the “public interest” as defined above. Each of these deaths were certified by the decedent’s physician. The total number of deaths investigated (jurisdiction accepted) or reviewed (jurisdiction declined) by JCME comprised 52% of the 2144 deaths that occurred in Johnson County in 2022.
Of the 526 deaths accepted and investigated by JCME, 243 decedents were Johnson County residents and 214 were residents of other counties in Iowa. Additionally, there were 19 decedents who were in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections at the time of death and 50 decedents were out-of- state residents. As a result, 46% of deaths accepted and investigated by JCME consisted of Johnson County residents.
Of the 526 deaths accepted and investigated by JCME, all decedents were identified. Eight decedents were unclaimed by family or friends and final disposition was arranged by JCME.
Of the 526 deaths accepted and investigated by JCME, the manner of death was classified as accident for 253, natural for 214, suicide for 37, undetermined for 11 and homicide for 11.
In 2022, there were 47 drug-related deaths investigated by JCME. Of this total, 32 involved illicit drugs only, 5 involved over-the-counter drugs only, 6 involved prescription drugs only and 4 involved a mixture of drug types. Of the 4 mixed drug-related deaths, 3 involved a mixture of illicit (fentanyl, heroin, ketamine, and rocuronium), over-the-counter, and prescription drugs and 1 involved a mixture of illicit (fentanyl) and prescription drugs. Of the remaining 32 illicit drug-related deaths, 24 involved methamphetamine, 8 involved fentanyl, 5 involved cocaine, 1 involved heroin, and 1 involved hydromorphone. Of the 47 drug-related deaths, 40 were classified as accident, 6 as suicide, and 1 as undetermined.
Of the 1117 deaths reported to JCME in 2022, 123 decedents were determined to have died from COVID-19. Of these 123 decedents, the sex distribution was 72 males to 51 females with the most common age range of 70-79 years (38 decedents) followed by 60-69 years (26 decedents). Thirty-five decedents were Johnson County residents and 70 were residents of other Iowa Counties. Additionally, 2 decedents were in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections at the time of death and 16 decedents who were out-of-state residents.
Iowa law requires that a medical examiner issue a cremation permit prior to cremation. This practice is to ensure that deaths are properly certified and that deaths within the jurisdiction of the medical examiner are not unreported (“missed cases”). JCME issued 1386 cremation permits to funeral service providers in 2022.
JCME has an essential role in the coordination of organ and tissue donation. In 2022, 16 accepted JCME cases became organ donors. From these 16 individuals, the Iowa Donor Network coordinated the recovery of 26 kidneys, 10 livers, 9 hearts, 16 lungs, and 3 pancreases for transplant. Thirty-four accepted JCME cases became tissue donors with the recovery of bone, skin, heart valves, saphenous veins, femoral veins, adipose tissue, and/or joints. One tissue donor can enhance the lives of more than 300 people. JCME fully supports organ and tissue donation and, by policy, JCME refers all out-of- hospital deaths to the Iowa Donor Network.
JCME requires its investigative employees to be certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) within two years of starting employment. In 2022, JCME had two Board Certified Death Investigators (Advanced): Clayton Schuneman and Kate Bengtson, and four Registry Certified Death Investigators (Basic): Amanda Gellhaus, Kora LaVoy, Anna Posthumus, and Kristen Long. Additionally, the three forensic pathologist medical examiners, Dennis Firchau, MD, Stephanie Stauffer, MD, and Marcus Nashelsky, MD, are certified in Anatomic, Clinical, and Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology.
*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa has just under 36 million acres of land. Over 31 million of those acres are farmed.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:17 PM
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