Contact Information
Phone: 334-791-2422
Email: CoronerByrd@HoustonCountyAL.gov
Mission Statement
To provide professional death investigation using advanced forensic science and provide timely information with compassion for families and communities. To work collaboratively with first responders and public safety officials to gather information and reduce preventable deaths.
Responsibilities
Death Certificates
Please contact the Houston County Health Department https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/houston/vital-records.html or call 334-678-2800 for completed death certificates.
FOR FUNERAL HOMES
In accordance with the STATE OF ALABAMA REQUIREMENTS FOR CREMATION (Section 22-9A-16), the following procedure has been established for receiving authorization for cremation from the Houston County Coroner's Office.
Authorization for Final Disposition
(a)The funeral director or person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall, prior to final disposition of the body, or prior to removal of the dead body from the state, obtain authorization for final disposition of the body or removal of the body from the state. The completion of the medical certification of cause of death on the death certificate by the physician, county medical examiner, state medical examiner, or coroner shall constitute authorization. If the body is to be cremated or buried at sea, additional authorization shall be obtained from the county medical examiner, state medical examiner, or coroner.
(1) Obtain assurance from the attending physician that death is from natural causes and that the physician will assume responsibility for certifying the cause of death and receive permission to remove the body from the place of death.
FUNERAL HOME PROCEDURE FOR CREMATION APPROVAL
Whenever a death occurs in an institution under the care of a physician (inpatient hospital, nursing home, or hospice situations) the coroner's office does not have the information necessary to know cause and manner of death; therefore, one of the following options must be submitted to the Houston County Coroner's Office:
1) a certified copy of the death certificate stating the cause and manner of death (if the death certificate has not been certified, you can print the Cause of Death Tab to PDF from the EVERS Portal that has been filled in by the doctor and email the PDF to coronerbyrd@houstoncountyal.gov.)
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
2) or you may call the institution where death occurred. If death occurred inpatient at a hospital you may call and request a discharge summary or history and physical from hospital medical records. In the case of a hospice death or nursing home death, you may request a patient history or email coronerbyrd@houstoncountyal.gov.
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
3) If the Houston County Coroner's Office is responsible for certifying the death certificate, no medical records are needed.
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
Phone: 334-791-2422
Email: CoronerByrd@HoustonCountyAL.gov
Mission Statement
To provide professional death investigation using advanced forensic science and provide timely information with compassion for families and communities. To work collaboratively with first responders and public safety officials to gather information and reduce preventable deaths.
Responsibilities
- To assist families with autopsy and toxicology reports and additional information as needed.
- To work with law enforcement, public safety officials, the District Attorney's Office (334-677-4895) and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences https://adfs.alabama.gov/labs/labs-montgomery in determining the cause and manner of death.
- To sign death certificates and send them to the Houston County Health Department https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/houston/vital-records.html
- To provide speaking engagements and topics for educating the general public on public safety dangers including, but not limited to, drinking and driving, texting and driving, co-sleeping with infants and children, and any other unsafe practices.
- To collect data on Houston County death statistics.
Death Certificates
Please contact the Houston County Health Department https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/houston/vital-records.html or call 334-678-2800 for completed death certificates.
FOR FUNERAL HOMES
In accordance with the STATE OF ALABAMA REQUIREMENTS FOR CREMATION (Section 22-9A-16), the following procedure has been established for receiving authorization for cremation from the Houston County Coroner's Office.
Authorization for Final Disposition
(a)The funeral director or person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall, prior to final disposition of the body, or prior to removal of the dead body from the state, obtain authorization for final disposition of the body or removal of the body from the state. The completion of the medical certification of cause of death on the death certificate by the physician, county medical examiner, state medical examiner, or coroner shall constitute authorization. If the body is to be cremated or buried at sea, additional authorization shall be obtained from the county medical examiner, state medical examiner, or coroner.
(1) Obtain assurance from the attending physician that death is from natural causes and that the physician will assume responsibility for certifying the cause of death and receive permission to remove the body from the place of death.
FUNERAL HOME PROCEDURE FOR CREMATION APPROVAL
Whenever a death occurs in an institution under the care of a physician (inpatient hospital, nursing home, or hospice situations) the coroner's office does not have the information necessary to know cause and manner of death; therefore, one of the following options must be submitted to the Houston County Coroner's Office:
1) a certified copy of the death certificate stating the cause and manner of death (if the death certificate has not been certified, you can print the Cause of Death Tab to PDF from the EVERS Portal that has been filled in by the doctor and email the PDF to coronerbyrd@houstoncountyal.gov.)
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
2) or you may call the institution where death occurred. If death occurred inpatient at a hospital you may call and request a discharge summary or history and physical from hospital medical records. In the case of a hospice death or nursing home death, you may request a patient history or email coronerbyrd@houstoncountyal.gov.
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
3) If the Houston County Coroner's Office is responsible for certifying the death certificate, no medical records are needed.
You submit and digitally sign the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization
