[1:50] The August 25th, 2026 meeting of the
[1:52] Human Services Committee will now come
[1:53] to order.
[1:54] Will the clerk please call the roll.
[1:56] Mr.
[1:57] >> Here.
[1:58] >> Mr. Blankley is present. Ms. Bonner?
[2:00] >> Here.
[2:00] >> Ms. Bonner is present. Mr. Cruz?
[2:02] >> Presente.
[2:03] >> Mr. Cruz is present. Mr. Donderfer?
[2:05] >> Here.
[2:06] >> Mr. Donderfer is present. Ms. Hasman?
[2:08] >> Here.
[2:08] >> Ms. Hasman is present. Mr. McCabe? Mr.
[2:11] McCabe is present. Mr. Milne?
[2:12] >> Here.
[2:13] >> Mr. Milne [music] is present. Ms. Smith?
[2:15] is present. Ms. Vasquez
[2:16] Simmons?
[2:17] >> Here.
[2:18] >> Ms. Vasquez Simmons is present.
[2:20] Is there anyone signed up for the public
[2:21] forum?
[2:22] >> There is not.
[2:23] >> Is there anyone present who has not
[2:25] signed up to speak who would like to
[2:26] address the committee at this time?
[2:28] Seeing none.
[2:30] The next item on the agenda is the
[2:31] approval of minutes. You have the July
[2:33] 28th, [music] 2026 minutes before you.
[2:36] They will stand approved unless the
[2:37] clerk is notified of any changes by the
[2:39] end of the day.
[2:40] Next item on the agenda is new business.
[2:42] Madam Clerk?
[2:44] >> Referral number 26-0255, [music]
[2:47] authorize contracts for the provision of
[2:49] forensic pathology services to the
[2:51] Monroe County Office of the Medical
[2:52] Examiner.
[2:54] >> Move it.
[2:55] >> Second.
[2:56] >> Moved by Legislator Vasquez Simmons,
[2:58] seconded by Legislator Blankley. Is
[2:59] there any discussion? Yes, Legislator
[3:01] Milne.
[3:02] >> Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Just a
[3:04] couple of questions through you to the
[3:05] administration.
[3:07] Um what are the current wait times or
[3:10] backlog in the Medical Examiner's
[3:12] Office?
[3:19] » Uh good evening and through the chair,
[3:20] Bob Zerby, Chief Investigator with the
[3:22] Medical Examiner's Office. Uh the
[3:24] current backlogs it varies at this
[3:26] point. With our incumbent physicians,
[3:28] there's two.
[3:29] Theirs is approximately 11 months. There
[3:32] were doctors that served basically solo
[3:34] terms while we were trying to build up
[3:36] staff. Uh we do have a third sitting
[3:39] whose
[3:40] times are amazing. She's essentially
[3:42] completing 90% of her cases within 90
[3:44] days, which is essentially the the
[3:45] guidelines for the national standards by
[3:47] the National Association of Medical
[3:48] Examiners.
[3:51] » Thank you. And a follow-up question if I
[3:54] may, again through the chair to the
[3:56] administration. Um
[3:58] You know, it's
[4:00] And I mean, I don't mean this in a
[4:01] negative way. It seems like my years on
[4:04] this legislature, we've been asking one
[4:06] of these same questions every year and we understand you're working on it,
[4:10] but through the chair, what steps is the
[4:13] office of the medical examiner taking to
[4:16] ensure that these additional forensic
[4:18] pathology
[4:19] positions are filled? And And do we feel
[4:21] like we're making any progress? You
[4:24] know, sometimes in business, right? All
[4:26] of a sudden, there'll be a a rash of
[4:28] people that are looking for work or have
[4:30] passed a class or whatever. Are we
[4:32] making any progress in your opinion?
[4:34] >> Uh through the chair, absolutely.
[4:36] Uh we again, Dr. Melito, our newest
[4:39] doctor with um 90% of cases completed in
[4:41] 90 days is outstanding.
[4:43] Um in October, we're set to seat a new
[4:45] forensic pathologist. Um new [music] in
[4:47] the sense of she's completing her
[4:48] training and she'll be joining our team
[4:50] in October. Um that leaves one vacant
[4:52] spot
[4:53] >> [music]
[4:53] >> and we're we're hopeful. Uh universally,
[4:56] you you probably noticed that no one
[4:58] essentially is going into medicine
[5:00] anymore. They're short physicians, even,
[5:02] you know, everyday physicians,
[5:03] hospitals, and whatnot. Um nurses, you
[5:06] know, technical people, people just
[5:07] aren't going into medicine. Um forensic
[5:10] pathology experiences the same. And it's a national shortage. Uh roughly
[5:14] 1,200 doctor spots for forensic
[5:17] pathologists, the doctors that are
[5:18] medical examiners across the US with
[5:21] anywhere between six to 800 people to
[5:22] fill those seats. Um what makes it
[5:25] really difficult for Monroe is because
[5:27] we were short for so long. And it's not
[5:29] just Monroe. I mean, this is Erie, this
[5:30] is Onondaga, this is most offices. Um
[5:33] you you want to be accredited.
[5:34] Accreditation standards through NAME
[5:36] call for doing no more than 325 cases
[5:39] per doctor. Um with with three doctors
[5:41] and 1,500 autopsy cases, that's 500.
[5:44] We're well above the limit. So, when you
[5:46] try to woo someone to come to your
[5:47] office, it's like, "Hey, we're going to
[5:48] pay you this much money, but you might
[5:49] be doing 500 cases." They're going to go
[5:51] to an accredited office where they know
[5:52] the ceiling is 300 and a quarter. They
[5:54] know what their salary is. They can do
[5:56] basic math and figure out essentially
[5:57] it's this much per case. So, once we get
[6:00] the doctor four in here, it's going to
[6:01] make it significantly better because our
[6:04] other doctors can focus on their
[6:05] backlogs, bringing their average time
[6:07] down. The doctors that are new with no
[6:08] backlog will be steaming along at good
[6:10] speed. And if we can identify that third
[6:13] doctor who does have no backlog, uh
[6:15] we're we're going to be golden and look
[6:16] only for improvement after that through
[6:18] the chair.
[6:19] >> Thank you very much. I I do appreciate
[6:21] your candor with those answers. And and
[6:23] I also want to say that I appreciate
[6:25] [music] the work that you and your team
[6:26] do. Thank you.
[6:27] >> Through the chair, thank you.
[6:29] >> Legislator McCabe.
[6:30] >> Yes, ma'am. Chairman, through you to um
[6:33] Chief Zerbe.
[6:35] Some states, I know, have hired like
[6:37] they're doing PAs or doing forensic
[6:40] pathology. Now, is that
[6:42] even allowable in New York State at the
[6:43] current time?
[6:45] >> So, so in in New York, the county law is
[6:48] the New York law that covers medical
[6:49] examiners and coroners.
[6:51] Uh there's actually specific ruling that
[6:54] a physician's assistant can't stand in
[6:55] for the work of a medical examiner. Uh
[6:58] county law as it relates to medical
[7:00] examiners and coroners is wildly
[7:02] archaic. Um it just it doesn't get
[7:04] reviewed frequently, so it's it's very
[7:06] old and
[7:07] there wasn't such a thing when the law
[7:09] was written. Um as times are tougher,
[7:11] something has to give somewhere. Um if I may and and please do recognize
[7:16] that New York is actually recognizing
[7:18] death investigation as a significant
[7:20] thing. Um as you may or may not know, um
[7:23] Monroe County has a medical examiner
[7:24] system. Most of the state enjoys a
[7:26] coroner system. Um coroners are elected
[7:29] official, and essentially if any of you
[7:30] are over the age 18 and lived in one of
[7:32] those counties, you could run for
[7:33] coroner. Absolutely zero requirement for
[7:35] any qualifications about death
[7:37] investigation whatsoever. It's it's a
[7:38] horribly weak system. Um so, what New
[7:41] York recently did is they actually
[7:43] recognized that, "Hey, you know
[7:44] something? Going forward, this is
[7:45] important." And they put a continuing
[7:46] education requirement. So, even if you
[7:48] don't know anything, through by your
[7:50] third year and going forward, you have
[7:51] to have at least I I think it's 30
[7:53] credit hours um in in your term to
[7:56] actually sustain your position as a
[7:57] coroner. So, I mean, it's a start.
[7:59] They're actually seeing that this is
[8:00] something and they're paying attention
[8:01] to it. That may turn things around for
[8:03] us through the chair.
[8:04] >> All right. Thank you. I appreciate I
[8:05] yield. Thank you.
[8:06] >> Any other discussion?
[8:08] All those in favor, please signify by
[8:10] saying I.
[8:11] >> I.
[8:11] >> Any opposed?
[8:12] >> [music]
[8:12] >> Item carries. Next item, please.
[8:15] >> Referral number 26-0256.
[8:17] Authorize a contract with UR Medicine
[8:19] Home Care Licensed Services Inc. DBA
[8:22] Visiting Nursing Nurse Signature Care
[8:24] for support of the Nurse Family
[8:26] Partnership Program.
[8:27] >> Move it.
[8:28] >> Second.
[8:29] >> Moved by Legislator Askew-Simmons,
[8:30] seconded by Legislator Blakely. Is there
[8:32] any discussion?
[8:34] Legislator Askew-Simmons.
[8:35] >> Thank you. Through you to the
[8:37] administration,
[8:38] is this contract uh funded via grant or
[8:41] is it part of the 2026 operating budget?
[8:48] » Through the chair, this is grant-funded.
[8:53] » Okay, great. Thank you. I yield.
[8:55] >> Um I wait, Madam Clerk. I would like to
[8:57] declare my interest in this.
[8:58] >> Noted. Thank you.
[8:59] >> Thank you. And I have a question as
[9:00] well. Um this is such a wonderful
[9:02] program. I was wondering if you have a
[9:04] list of accomplishments, outcomes that
[9:06] you can share with us to date.
[9:09] >> I can pull together a list of
[9:12] accomplishments and have that ready
[9:14] within the next day or so.
[9:16] >> That would be wonderful. Thank you. Any
[9:18] other discussion?
[9:19] All those in favor, please signify by
[9:21] saying I.
[9:22] >> I.
[9:22] Any opposed?
[9:24] Item carries. Next item, please.
[9:26] >> Referral number 26-0257.
[9:29] Acceptance of a grant from Health
[9:30] Research Inc. for the Public Health
[9:32] Emergency Preparedness Program.
[9:34] >> Move it.
[9:35] >> Second.
[9:36] >> Moved by Legislator Askew-Simmons,
[9:37] seconded Blankly. Is there any
[9:39] discussion?
[9:41] Seeing none, all those in favor please
[9:43] signify by saying I.
[9:44] >> I.
[9:45] >> Any opposed? Item carries.
[9:50] Are there any other matters to come
[9:51] before this committee?
[9:53] >> Madam
[9:54] >> Oh, yes, Legislator
[9:56] Cruz.
[9:57] >> Um, yes, Madam Chair, do you and uh
[10:00] please correct me um if I'm wrong,
[10:03] through our parliamentarian.
[10:05] I just I'm I'm seeing the subject of the
[10:07] uh renewal of the contract with item
[10:09] 26-0256.
[10:12] Seeing how we kind of just
[10:14] have had conversation about these sort
[10:16] of contracts not coming back to the
[10:19] legislative body if there is some sort
[10:20] of issue with the agency that we're
[10:22] contracting with.
[10:24] Is there any Is this too late to put any
[10:26] sort of stipulations to these sort of
[10:28] contracts?
[10:29] Um especially with this being a Visiting
[10:31] Nurse Signature [music] Care
[10:33] organization.
[10:35] Similar to what we kind of experienced,
[10:37] something wrong happens, but we don't
[10:39] get to see the renewal of the contract
[10:42] when it comes up. It doesn't go through
[10:44] the legislative body.
[10:46] Should I rephrase?
[10:48] >> I'm sorry, I'm unclear what the question
[10:49] is, actually.
[10:49] >> Yeah,
[10:50] >> [music]
[10:50] >> me too. I'm sorry. I'm making it up,
[10:51] that's how it goes.
[10:53] There is a renewal of contract for item
[10:55] 26-0256,
[10:57] right? We've had similar conversations
[10:59] in the past recently where the renewal
[11:01] of these contracts don't come back to
[11:03] the legislative body. They just renew
[11:05] when the time for renewal was up. In
[11:07] this particular case,
[11:09] uh
[11:12] where is it?
[11:13] >> Point of order.
[11:15] >> Uh this says
[11:17] uh authorized contract in amount
[11:21] Sorry.
[11:21] >> You have the floor. You put a point of
[11:23] order. What was the point of order?
[11:24] >> The point of order is we've we should do
[11:26] a motion to reconsider. We've already
[11:27] voted on this matter.
[11:28] >> That's why I'm asking if I'm
[11:29] >> And we should do a point of order, do a
[11:31] motion to reconsider to bring it back to
[11:33] the table if we're going to do that.
[11:34] >> on a second. Is that what you're asking?
[11:35] >> Is that what you're asking? To bring it
[11:37] back to the table?
[11:38] >> Yes, if I'm able to to discuss it. I was
[11:40] going to ask the question, but
[11:42] everything flew so fast.
[11:44] >> Well, you you could we could vote to
[11:47] or you could allow him to ask a question
[11:49] of the administration
[11:51] just as a matter of
[11:52] without it being associated with the
[11:53] motion. It's up to you.
[11:55] >> Um
[11:56] I will allow the question.
[11:57] >> All right, so I guess my question is
[11:59] just seeing how there is a renewal of
[12:00] contract um for 1 year for a 1 year
[12:03] period.
[12:05] Does that get Does that come back to the
[12:07] legislative body at all? Or is it just
[12:09] when that year is up, they renew? Does
[12:11] this um
[12:13] agency get to automatically renew?
[12:16] Like in past practice.
[12:17] >> Through the chair.
[12:18] I apologize.
[12:20] >> asking if
[12:20] >> Does the contract renew without it
[12:22] having to come back to the legislative
[12:23] body?
[12:24] >> You're asking if we vote on this
[12:25] annually?
[12:26] >> I guess so, yeah.
[12:29] On the renewal of contract.
[12:33] » Yes.
[12:34] >> Uh through the chair. No, the the way
[12:36] that this uh proposed legislation is
[12:38] written, it is a uh 1-year contract uh
[12:41] with four additional 1-year renewals
[12:45] uh up to four additional 1-year
[12:46] renewals.
[12:47] Um those renewals uh would not need to
[12:49] come back to the legislature um
[12:52] to to be accomplished.
[12:54] >> Thank you. Um sorry for the butchering
[12:56] of the question. I was I was trying to
[12:58] piece it together. [music]
[12:59] Um I just wanted to voice that
[13:02] due to in lieu of recent events that is concerning and just looking
[13:06] forward to be able to amend some
[13:08] language in the future concerning
[13:09] [music] the the the construct of these
[13:11] contracts of renewal in case something
[13:14] happens with the provider so we could at
[13:17] least review it prior for them getting
[13:20] another year of renewal.
[13:21] >> satisfied with that or do you want to
[13:22] bring it up again?
[13:24] >> I'm satisfied with that answer. Thank
[13:25] [music] you.
[13:27] >> Okay.
[13:30] So, there being no other So, close
[13:33] it now? Okay, thank you. Thank you to
[13:35] our parliamentarian. There being no
[13:37] other matters, the August 25th, 2026
[13:39] meeting of the Human Services Committee
[13:41] stands adjourned. The next meeting of
[13:42] the Human Services Committee will be
[13:43] held on Tuesday, September 29th, 2026 at
[13:46] 5:00 p.m.