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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2016
Governor Mary Fallin Says Sublease Agreement for New Medical Examiner’s Office Is Vital Step in Winning Back Accreditation
Move
into Former Oklahoma City-County Health Department Building Set for Next Year
OKLAHOMA CITY - After nearly a decade of relocation
efforts, the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) will have a new
home.
The board of directors for the chief medical
examiner’s office on Monday approved a sublease agreement to move into the
first and second floors of the 921 Building, 921 N.E. 23rd St. in
Oklahoma City. The OCME lost accreditation with the National Association of
Medical Examiners in 2009 after being cited for deficiencies in its facilities.
“This agreement allows the state medical examiner’s office to move into
a new facility and out of its old, cramped and dilapidated building,” Governor
Mary Fallin said. “The medical examiner’s office lacks sufficient space for
staff and agency operations, and it can’t be expanded. This is a vital step in
winning back accreditation for the medical examiner’s office, which conducts
the important work of determining the cause of death for victims of violent or
suspicious deaths.”
The Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO) purchased
the 921 Building in 2015 to provide the OCME with Class A laboratory facilities
and office space. CLO will lease the property to 921 Building, LLC, which was
created by real estate developer Charles Wiggin. The building formerly housed
the Oklahoma City-County Health Department.
“This is a win-win for the state,” said Fallin. “With the CLO
owning the building, the lease payments it collects will go directly with other
funds it collects and distributes to public schools and higher education.”
“We are all thrilled at the prospect of moving
to the new facility, which will be state of the art,” said Chief Medical
Examiner Dr. Eric Pfeifer. “Our current building is derelict and unsafe, and
would not qualify for even veterinary medicine standards, and now we will be
able to practice with safety, professional dignity, and offer Oklahoma’s
decedents greater dignity in their care as well. Nearly every employee here at
the OCME has participated in some way with the design process, and we feel this
new building will exhibit our collective values.”
The floors that the OCME will occupy are to be gutted
and retrofitted with state-of-the-art equipment, and new lab spaces, plumbing,
electrical wiring, walls ceilings. Construction is set to begin in early 2017, with
a move-in date and commencement of the 25-year lease scheduled for Oct. 1,
2017.
“Leadership
from Governor Fallin, the Legislature, particularly Senate Appropriations Committee
Chairman Clark Jolley, and Finance, Administration and Information Technology Secretary
Preston Doerflinger were important in providing a sufficient and quality space for
an agency that is a vitally important part of state government,” said CLO Secretary
Harry Birdwell. “The medical examiner’s office has been trying for years to
find a solution and we are pleased to be able to help another state agency
while also generating revenue to support public education.”
The new sublease agreement was executed by the
Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES).
“OMES was pleased to partner with the Commissioners
of the Land Office to provide the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with a
facility that will enable them to continue to provide their vital services to
the citizens of Oklahoma,” said OMES Real Estate and Leasing Services Director
Melissa Milburn.
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Web: www.governor.ok.gov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GovernorMaryFallin
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