County gets $4.25 million from state to build regional forensic center

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett said today that the Governor's Office set aside $4.25 million in the upcoming budget to pay for a new regional forensic center that will be built in Knoxville.

The center will be designed to perform autopsies and provide crucial investigative information to law enforcement throughout East Tennessee.

The operation, which will relocate from the University of Tennessee Medical Center to a former surgery center on Sullins Street near downtown,should be up and running by the end of the year.

We reported about the overall matter, right smack here.

This is actually a pretty big deal as the county already spent $1 million for the property and needed the other $4.25 million to renovate.

“I appreciate Governor Haslam’s support of this important regional facility," Burchett said in a released statement. "When it’s finished, this center will serve several East Tennessee counties by providing access to forensic pathology resources and Knox County Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic’s expertise. I look forward to having the new center up and running by the end of this year.”

Dr. Mileusnic is one of a small group of just over 400 forensic pathologists in the United States.