The Carbon County coroner’s office will now have medical office space in a local hospital to provide a place for staff to complete reports that are necessary following a death.

On Thursday, the county commissioners approved a one-year lease agreement with St. Luke’s Hospital, Lehighton, for approximately 794 square feet of office space within the property that will be used for coroner services. The lease will automatically renew next year as long as coroner services continue in that space.

County Coroner Mark Smith said that this is a monumental time because there has never been a centralized location for the coroner’s office and staff like this. Previously, the coroner had a small office in the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency in Nesquehoning, but most deputy coroners and the coroner did the work from their homes.

“It wasn’t an efficient way to work, not with the way things have grown as far as maintaining records, maintaining evidence and securing property,” Smith said. “(This space) will mean a lot.

“It’s also awesome to be able to create relationships like this because they see the need,” he added. “It’s kind of a win-win. We get the space they need and put the technology in there that we need and they have close access to us.”

Smith said that his office does routine death report writing, as well as meet with law enforcement and a deceased’s family to go over results of the death findings.

“We want to have a nice place where you sit down with families who would like to review the results and testing we have done on their loved ones,” Smith said, noting that it also will expand the infrastructure as far as IT goes because the office will be able to access additional things. “It’s going to be huge.”

There is no fee for the county for the use of the office space at St. Luke’s.

The Carbon County coroner investigates the manner of death and determines whether an autopsy be conducted.