July 19, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County has a new Medical Examiner/Director.
During Thursday night’s committee of the whole meeting, County Mayor Matt Adcock informed the county commission that he has appointed Dr. Caleb Cantrell to succeed Dr. Denise Dingle subject to the approval of the commission.
Cantrell, who was at the meeting Thursday night, introduced himself to the commissioners. “I was born and raised in DeKalb County. My dad is Blake Cantrell. I was an undergrad at Tennessee Tech and in med school at UT Memphis. For the last three years I have been at Mobile, Alabama. I am excited to come back and serve the town I grew up in here,” said Cantrell.
Off duty ambulance service staff, trained and willing, will be on a call list to perform deputy medical examiner investigation duties working under Dr. Cantrell when there is an ambulance call involving a death. EMS Director Hoyte Hale will serve as the backup if no staff member is available at the time.
The new EMS operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year includes provisions for payment to EMS staff for these extra duties: The budget includes a total of $5,000 including $2,000 (for payment) in the medical personnel salary line item and $3,000 for overtime. Director Hale is to make quarterly reports to the county’s Health, Education, and Public Welfare Committee on how this new plan is working.