W. Va. Code R. § 64-84-4 - Training, Certification, and Standards of Practice of CoME and CoCo

4.1. A CoME:

4.1.1. Shall be trained and certified in the practice of medico-legal death investigation prior to his or her appointment;

4.1.1.a. In order to qualify a person shall complete and pass a course of medico-legal death investigation training accredited by the ABMDI or equivalent which shall include an examination of competency;

4.1.1.b. Any person who holds a prior CoME appointment which has expired may recertify by successful completion of the examination for certification within one year of the expiration;

4.1.1.c. A person who fails the examination for certification shall complete a second accredited training program that satisfies the requirements of this subdivision before taking the examination again;

4.1.2. Shall be certified in the practice of medico-legal death investigation if he or she passes an examination for certification in the practice of medico-legal death investigation administered by the OCME, or as part of any medico-legal training program accredited by the ABMDI or equivalent;

4.1.3. Shall meet the standards of practice as stipulated in the 2007 Edition of the West Virginia Handbook for Performance of Death Investigation and Certification.

4.1.3.a. Noncompliance with the standards of practice as outlined in the 2007 Edition of the West Virginia Handbook for the Performance of Death Investigation and Certification may result in corrective notice, up to and including the suspension of appointment and discontinuation of service as a CoME in the following manner:

4.1.3.a.1. The first identified occurrence of noncompliance with the standards of practice as outlined in the 2007 Edition of the West Virginia Handbook for the Performance of Death Investigation and Certification shall result in a written corrective notice. Evidence of continued noncompliance with the same or similar performance-related issues shall result in a second written corrective notice;

4.1.3.a.2. If a person receives two written corrective notices within one year, that person shall be subject to suspension of appointment and discontinuation of services as a CoME for a period of time to be determined by the CME.

4.1.3.b. A CoME may appeal the suspension of appointment and discontinuation of services to the Commissioner or his or her designee in writing within five days of the suspension.

4.2. A CoCo:

4.2.1. Shall be trained and certified in the practice of medico-legal death investigation prior to his or her appointment by the county commission.

4.2.2. Shall meet the same requirements as a CoME for training, certification, and standards of practice, as described in subsection 4.1. of this section, and subject to discontinuation of service under certain circumstances at the discretion of the CME.

4.3. The OCME shall offer a training course that meets the requirements in this rule at least once each year and shall assess a reasonable fee, established by the CME, to cover the cost of the training.

4.4. Certification in the practice of medico-legal death investigation provided by the State of West Virginia to CoME, ACoME, and CoCo expires after three years and requires recertification as described in paragraph 4.1.1.b. of this section.

4.5. The OCME shall establish a call-out schedule for CoME, ACoME, and CoCo based on certification, appointment, and demonstration of competency by continued successful adherence to performance guidelines established in the 2007 Edition_of the West Virginia Handbook for the Performance for Death Investigation and Certification. A hotline number shall be distributed to all county dispatch centers for the purpose of death reporting.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 64-84-4