PATRICIA (Patty) ROSS D-ABMDI

Patricia Ross, (D-ABMDI) serves as the current Blair County Coroner; she began working in the office in 1992 and has been serving as the elected official since 1998.

Coroner Ross has over 10,000 hours of continuing education training including the Diplomat of American Boards of Medical Legal Death Investigations (D-ABMDI), Certification in Blood Splatter.  Coroner Ross has served as Emergency Medical Technician for over 28 years and is currently a licensed practical nurse of over 26 years.  She is the life time member of two fire departments and an international member of Altrusa.  Additionally, she serves as an instructor for the Academy of Pediatrics including programs such as Front Porch Trainer, SCAN programs, SUIDI training and CPR instructor. Recently, she has been appointed by the Governor for Maternal Death Investigation

Coroner Ross is a past president of the Pennsylvania State Coroner’s Association, and continues to hold the executive position of vice president of the region, additionally, she served as secretary for the PA Association of Elected County Officials (PSAECO) of which she currently serves on the executive board.

Coroner Ross is dedicated to her community and strives for education and prevention of child abuse and neglect.  She serves on several boards within the community including Co-chair of the Blair County Child Death Review Team, Board member of Blair County Suicide Awareness, Operation Our Town, Blair County Drug Task Force, and board member/past president for the Blair County Respiratory Disease Society.

Patty is a mother of five children and grandmother of seven.  In her spare time, she enjoys her family, nature, crochet and reading. Her favorite saying is take time to heal your soul and be kind to yourself.

Deputies: All deputies have received ABMDI Accreditation or are currently working on accreditation by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.  They also have many hours continuing education and come from many backgrounds including but not limited to nursing, police, EMS, and fire.

Role of Coroner and Deputy Coroners: Coroners investigate certain kinds of deaths in order to determine the identity of the deceased and the date, place, circumstances and medical cause of death.  Deputies are appointed by the Coroner and serve as assistants to the coroner; performing many duties in the Coroner's stead. The office works with many other agencies and participates in the Child Death Review Team, Suicide Awareness, and the Drug Task Force. 

"To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth" - Voltaire

Contact

BLAIR COUNTY CORONER

1414 4th Street
Altoona, Pa. 16601

(814) 940-5938

CORONER:

Patricia M. Ross D-AMBDI

CHIEF DEPUTY:

Paul A. Kerns

FIRST DEPUTY:

William Forsht

OFFICE MANAGER/DEPUTY:

Rachel Derby

DEPUTIES:

Samantha Adams

Richard Brant

Lawrence Cardone Jr.

Robert Craig

Travis Mills

Brian Reidy

Jessica Walk

Marcus Whiteford