Two candidates in the general election are seeking to become the next Champaign County coroner.

Dr. Steven Tornik’s name will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot as the Republican nominee after winning the March primary.

Dr. Kaleb Deam’s name will be on the ballot as an Independent candidate.

The winner of the November general election will be sworn in as the new coroner in January of 2025. Current Champaign County Coroner Dr. Joshua Richards will be retiring after 36 years of service in the position, spanning nine four-year terms.

Tornik and Deam were surveyed with a list of questions by the Urbana Daily Citizen. The completed surveys appear below, in alphabetical order of surname:

Dr. Kaleb Deam

Biography: I am a 32-year-old, Champaign County native who currently resides outside of Woodstock with my wife and family. My wife, Amy, has a degree as an intervention specialist but currently has the most important job in the world, raising our three children.

I was a Triad Cardinal K-12 prior to becoming a Buckeye at The Ohio State University where I graduated in 2015 and earned a degree in Biology. Next, I ventured off to Pennsylvania for medical school at LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine), earning my D.O. degree in 2019. For my family medicine residency, I came home to Ohio and trained for three years at Wright State. I finished my residency in 2022 with honors including Chief Resident and Resident Teacher of the Year. After completing my medical training, my wife and I decided to plant roots back in Champaign County and I am now a practicing family physician.

Through my personal and professional life I have experienced death in many ways. From these life experiences, I have developed a heart for the hurting and grieving. This passion coupled with my desire to serve my local community have led me to run for Champaign County coroner.

Please explain the mission, purpose and importance to the community of the county coroner’s office

I believe the mission of the county coroner’s office is to serve and protect the well-being of the surrounding community by providing accurate, thorough, timely medicolegal investigations related to the cause and manner of death under circumstances that are sudden, unexpected, unnatural, suspicious or violent. This is carried out with the highest standard of professionalism and integrity in order to provide dignity and respect to the deceased and compassion and peace to the living.

The job of the coroner is a vital part of a safe and thriving community. Champaign County has been blessed with the amazing service of Dr. Joshua Richards for over three decades. He has discovered answers and provided peace for hundreds of our community’s families. This peace that the coroner has the ability to provide comes through accurate and timely investigations surrounding the cause of death and delivering the news to family members in an empathetic way.

What level of staffing and financial appropriations would you request from the county commissioners to continue serving the county at the level currently provided by the coroner’s office? How does your projected request compare to what Dr. Richards currently uses?

When discussing with Dr. Richards about his current budget, he is proud of how conservative he has been able to maintain it. Champaign County is lucky enough to be a very safe county to live in. However, deaths happen. With overdoses, suicides and vehicular fatalities being major contributing factors, the total number of coroner cases has risen from around 30 to over 60 (annually) in the three decades since Dr. Richards began serving as county coroner. This has led him to add a sub-contracted position just over a year ago — a well qualified death investigator. With the growing deaths and the large rural area which Champaign County covers, I believe the death investigator position is vital and it will remain. Outside of the coroner position itself and the death investigator, the coroner’s office employs only one other sub-contracted position for helping with paperwork and logistical needs. This position will likely need to remain as well, however, it will hinge slightly on the addition of some modernization with report writing.

Dr. Richards is one of the few family physicians still with paper charts and he runs the coroner’s office in a similar manner, which works well for him. He is aware of the modernization that is likely needed, however. This will include the request of a web based program, used by most coroner’s offices currently, to aid in fulfilling our above mentioned mission a the highest standard.

Another way the budget can maintain its lean state while providing excellent care is by doing autopsies only when absolutely necessary. Autopsies make up the largest portion of the budget and are not always necessary. This is where knowing and communicating well with the family, local primary care providers, law enforcement and first responders can benefit during the investigation process to identify natural deaths and avoid unneeded autopsies.

How would you propose to work collaboratively with the vast array of local first-responder agencies (who are widely scattered geographically) and with law enforcement officers to staff and process the death scenes to which you are called?

Collaboration with the local first responders, law enforcement and surrounding primary care providers is vital to carry out the overall mission of the county coroner’s office. I believe this starts with being available, approachable and personable.

The coroner along with any death investigators have to be ready to be on scene or have conversations with other parts of the team when needed. This has been more achievable in the last year here in Champaign County with the addition of a death investigator and, according to discussion with the current coroner Dr. Richards, it has served the community well. The response time of the coroner’s office directly impacts first responders and law enforcement. The quicker the response time, the faster the first responders and law enforcement officers can get back to serving the county in other ways.

The Coroner also has to be approachable. This allows for open and honest conversations that ultimately result in multiple minds, backgrounds and levels of expertise coming together for a single cause; to provide accurate, thorough, yet timely medicolegal investigations.

In the same sense that a family physician has to be personable to build rapport with their patients, the coroner must be personable in order to help build rapport with the entire team. I am blessed to have been born and raised in Champaign County which has led me to make numerous relationships with local first responders, law enforcement and primary care providers. With this foundation and by building ongoing relationships with the entire community, I believe I am primed to serve Champaign County well as your next coroner.

Along with the above, implementing a quarterly review committee with the health department and local law enforcement for overdose, suicide and motor vehicle deaths will reveal trends in order to see where more resources are needed.

How can local residents maintain a current relationship with an attending physician (primary care provider) in order to help the coroner’s office in its handling of workload? The coroner handles an increasing number of local death cases among people who have no doctor.

Having a family physician helps significantly with the investigation process. One of the first calls after someone is found deceased outside of the hospital is to the primary care provider or PCP. The PCP is then able to give more insight, which often expedites the investigation process and prevents the need for an autopsy. Without having at least a yearly relationship with a PCP, it is much more difficult to determine the cause of death.

However, having a PCP is more important than this. As a family physician myself, I strongly believe that seeing your doctor at least once a year to have an annual check up, review labs and go over preventative screenings is a key part of staying healthy. A large majority of diseases can be improved or even cured with lifestyle changes alone. Our job is to find disease processes early, treat them and minimize suffering. Your job is to take a break from the daily grind, call a doctor’s office and set up an appointment, after the crops are off of course. I grew up on a dairy farm and know all to well how hard it is to make time to see your doctor. But it really is no joking matter. Make the time and put yourself first so that you can continue to live the life you want to live for many years to come.

What is the top challenge facing a coroner in a rural area such as Champaign County?

The biggest challenge facing a coroner in a rural county such as Champaign is the area needed to cover with limited resources, compared to other counties. Resources are limited because they are not needed most of the time. With a larger, more dense population, such as Clark County, they have more resources for a similar area to cover, but they are processing many more cases a year. Dr. Richards addressed this challenge by adding a death investigator. This has helped tremendously and is meeting the current needs of the county well.

Closing statement:

First, a huge thank you from all of Champaign County to Dr. Richards for his humble and steadfast service for over three decades. Secondly, I would like to thank everyone who makes this county what it is today. From the local teachers, janitors and administrators that fill our amazing schools to the law enforcement, firefighters and first responders that keep the community safe, we thank you for your service to this county. I am honored to be considered for the position of Champaign County coroner and, if elected, look forward to humbly serving you all with compassion and empathy.

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Dr. Steven Tornik

Biography: I am honored to be running as the Republican candidate for Champaign County coroner in the upcoming November 2024 election. I am a board certified Family Physician with a private practice in Plain City. I have been in the medical field for over 24 years.

I am originally from Plain City, and I live in Cable with my wife Erica, and my four daughters, Nadia, Eva, Elena and Samantha. My father was a chiropractor in west central Ohio for many years. Growing up, my parents instilled in me the ideals for fiscal responsibility and community service.

I graduated from Jonathan Alder High school in Plain City, went on to Ohio Dominican College prior to attending the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. After completing internship and residency, I opened my own family practice in Plain City.

Please explain the mission, purpose and importance to the community of the county coroner’s office

With the experience of being both a business owner and physician, I have an excellent understanding of how to run a cost effective and efficient office.

If elected as the Champaign County coroner, I plan to work closely with all local first-responder agencies to investigate deaths within Champaign County. I would also work closely with local physicians and members of the community to determine proper courses of action when a death occurs.

What level of staffing and financial appropriations would you request from the county commissioners to continue serving the county at the level currently provided by the coroner’s office? How does your projected request compare to what Dr. Richards currently uses?

The current coroner’s office, under Dr. Joshua Richards, has provided an excellent service to the community, as well as has functioned extremely well for many years. I plan to continue along the same path while assessing and adapting to future growth, and issues that may arise in the coming years.

How can local residents maintain a current relationship with an attending physician (primary care provider) in order to help the coroner’s office in its handling of workload? The coroner handles an increasing number of local death cases among people who have no doctor.

Considering the growing nature of Champaign County, in an effort to maintain reasonable costs, I would encourage all residents to maintain a relationship with a primary care provider. Residents having a relationship with a primary care provider can help with efficiency and lower cost by simplifying the investigative process.

Closing statement:

Becoming coroner of Champaign County is important to me because I have a strong sense for community service and patriotism.

I care deeply about our first responders, our community, and our veterans. Champaign County has provided my family and I with a wonderful community to raise our children in. It would be an honor to be able to give back to our community.