EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso County celebrated the groundbreaking of a new Office of the Medical Examiner facility, a project county officials say is another milestone tied to projects approved by voters through the 2024 General Obligation Bond.

On Tuesday, county leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of the new facility, which county officials said will include more than 26,000 square feet of space, nearly doubling the existing facility.

The new Office of the Medical Examiner also plans to include administrative offices and specialized areas designed to support the medical examiner’s primary functions and associated activities.

Speaking to KFOX14/CBS4 on Tuesday, Mario Rascon, chief medical examiner of El Paso County, said, “This is definitely something this community needed.”

Comm. Jackie Butler of East El Paso said, “This new office is going to bring a much bigger capacity to the medical examiner’s office. More state-of-the-art labs, it’s gonna bring training space, it’s going to bring dignified, comforting spaces for families that don’t exist currently.”

Through Proposition B, El Paso County voters approved about $26.7 million for the Office of the Medical Examiner project, including funding for land acquisition and the construction, improvement, and equipping of a new facility.

The Office of the Medical Examiner conducts medicolegal death investigations and determines the cause and manner of death in sudden, unexpected or unexplained deaths. Services include forensic scene investigation, forensic pathology, morgue services, forensic imaging, forensic odontology, forensic anthropology, and forensic toxicology.

County officials said the new facility is expected to provide additional space and enhanced capabilities to support staff and the specialized work they perform, while adding capacity to serve El Paso County as the community continues to grow.

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