Jefferson County coroner gearing up for new facility to open in 2025 [Video]

JEFFERSON Co., Ala. (WBRC) – The Jefferson County Coroner is about eight months away from moving into a brand new building.

Right now, his office is within the old Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Five Points South off 6th Avenue.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates says the office has been stationed there for almost 50 years.

County Manager Cal Markert says since the healthcare authority is building a new Cooper Green hospital right next door, the coroner’s office must move.

Yates says this is a good thing because their current office wasn’t even built for the extent of his work.

“Perfectly capable for handling the functions of a hospital autopsy,” explained Yates. “It does not have what is needed for a modern medical examiner’s office and so we have been making due since about 1980.”

So next summer, Yates and his team will be moving to a new building under construction right now …