IRON MOUNTAIN — An agreement reached Thursday will give county authorities temporary access to the morgue and autopsy room at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital while an alternative site is pursued.

The deal resolves a dispute that began last month when the hospital decided to no longer accommodate on-site autopsies, leaving the county without a facility for its county medical examiner. The county will continue to look for a permanent solution, but Commissioner Joe Stevens and Sheriff Scott Rutter also encouraged the hospital to reconsider its decision to discontinue autopsies.

The temporary agreement will run through Jan. 14 and can be extended, hospital officials said.

The hospital is outsourcing pathology services to Medical Lab Associates of Marquette and has ended its contract with in-house pathologist Dr. Martin Cristanelli, who still holds the position of county medical examiner.

At the time of its decision, DCHS pointed out it had no contract to provide pathology services for the county and was under no obligation to house the medical examiner.

Rutter, meanwhile, had voiced alarm that law enforcement was left out of the hospital’s plans.

“This could have been handled better and it wasn’t,” acknowledged Margaret Minerick, chairwoman of the Dickinson County Healthcare System Board.

Cristanelli said one problem in finding a new site is the need for a morgue, although mobile coolers possibly could be purchased.

Fees charged by the hospital for county autopsies — numbering about 20 to 30 a year — essentially will stay the same, Controller Brian Bousley said. The facility fee is $300, plus additional charges for diagnostic and technical assistance.

Until the county comes up with a new site or agreement, neighboring counties that have used Dickinson Memorial for autopsies will have to find alternatives — only cases under the jurisdiction of Dickinson County law enforcement will be permitted.

For Florence County, Wis., that might mean transporting bodies as far away as Madison or Fond du Lac, while Menominee County would rely on Marquette.

About 25 to 30 cases a year come from outside Dickinson County, Cristanelli said.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.