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KITTITAS COUNTY CORONER'S OFFICE MORRIS SORENSEN BUILDING 507 North Nanum Street, Suite 113 A Ellensburg, WA 98926 Phone: (509) 933-8200 * Pas: (509) 933-8224 * ernail: coroner(y),co.kittitasma.us Subject: Collective Concerns Regarding Office Leadership, Policies, and Working Conditions Dear Coroner McKean, We, the undersigned Deputy Coroners of Kittitas County, are writing to formally express our collective concerns regarding the direction, management, and policies of the Coroner's Office under your leadership. This letter represents the unified voice of your deputy coroners and is intended to open a path toward collaborative resolution,not confrontation. We want to be clear that we are committed to maintaining IACME accreditation,professional standards, and serving our community with excellence.However,the way changes have been introduced,the tone of recent policies, and the breakdown in communication have created an untenable working environment. We respectfully request that you consider our concerns and work with us to build an office culture based on mutual respect, adequate training, and progressive discipline rather than threats. We have been informed that we are now expected to perform fingerprinting, blood draws, and X- rays as part of our duties.Yet many of us have not received formal training on these procedures. Deputy Coroners were told to perform X-rays without dosimeters until one of us raised the issue. Apart from Deputy Coroner Schroeder, we still have not received formal training on the X-ray machine, and there is no proficiency verification process in place. Blood draws and fingerprinting have been added to our expected duties,yet no formal training has been provided. Policy now dictates how we perform them,but we have not been shown how to do so.Additionally, the manual process will soon be digital, which will again change how we are expected to do something outlined in policy. At a team meeting, we were told not to perform tasks we have not been trained on.Yet we have also been'told that failure to meet new expectations could result in termination.These directives are contradictory and create an impossible standard. There have been many additional times when what you expect changes from week to week.This gives us the impression that things are being rushed rather than thoughtfully reviewed and considered. We would rather see things move more slowly than go back on something you just instituted. Sharps training, ionizing radiation safety, and radiation monitoring are regulated by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Without proper training and safety protocols, requiring these duties may violate state law. We would like to know whether L&I Page 1 f