Office of Chief Medical Examiner Recognizes Year of Accomplishments in Support of Public Health and Safety

December 19, 2025

Largest Medical Examiner's Office in the Country Upholds Mission to Serve Communities During Times of Profound Need While Introducing Innovations That Can Save Lives.

New York, NY - The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) concludes 2025 with a record of accomplishments at the intersection of public health and safety. During the past year and throughout the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, OCME maintained its core mission to support communities in profound need with the highest quality forensic science and medicine while introducing innovations in service that can save lives.

"We took office with a simple promise: to 'Get Stuff Done,' and, four years later, our administration can say we delivered that every day for working-class New Yorkers," said Mayor Eric Adams. "We drove shootings to record lows and pushed jobs and small businesses to record highs. We rewrote the playbook on homelessness and mental health to finally get New Yorkers living on our streets the help they need, and, after decades of half-measures, passed historic housing legislation to turn New York into a 'City of Yes.' We overhauled the way our students learn to read and do math, cut the cost of child care, and forgave medical debt. We eliminated taxes for low-income families, launched free universal after-school programming, and created the first-in-the-nation DA gun crimes unit at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, made new identifications to 9/11 families, and established the Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group to offer direct support and referral services for family members who have lost a loved one to an opioid overdose, reaching more than 4,000 individuals. We got scaffolding off our buildings, trash bags off our streets, and opened up new public spaces for New Yorkers to enjoy. The haters may have doubted us, but the results are clear. On issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the better; it will stand the test of time because we made New York City the best place to live and raise a family."

"As this impactful year concludes, we reflect on the accomplishments made possible by the dedicated employees of OCME and our outstanding partners across the city," said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. "Our teams sustained progress on the most pressing public health and safety challenges while advancing the vision of how a medical examiner's office can support communities with the introduction of innovative services. The core values of our agency - Commitment, Accountability, Resilience, Excellence, and Service - resonated throughout our work in 2025 to show New Yorkers in times of profound need that OCME CARES."

Notable accomplishments of OCME in 2025 and during the past four years of the Adams administration include the following.

Innovation to Prevent Sudden and Unexpected Deaths
OCME established the Genetic Intervention Family Testing Services (GIFTS) program to screen at-risk family members of those who die from inherited conditions at no cost, helping to close a critical gap in services and connect loved ones to treatment that can save lives. GIFTS marks the first instance of a medical examiner's office testing living patients and the next step in the evolution of the agency's first-of-its-kind Molecular Genetics Laboratory, which currently can test decedents for a range of diseases including cardiovascular and neurological conditions such as cardiac arrythmia syndromes and epilepsy to help surviving family members understand what happened to their loved one.

Alleviating the Fatal Overdose Crisis
Bolstered by investments from the Adams administration, OCME contributed to the reduction of overdose deaths citywide, the first substantial decrease following a nearly 10-year period of increasing overdose deaths in the five boroughs, by halving the turnaround time for analysis of fatal drug overdose cases in the forensic toxicology laboratory, and establishing the Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group. a unit staffed by trained social workers and public health professionals to offer direct support and referral services for family members who lose a loved one to overdose, reaching more than 4,000 individuals to date.

Elevating Service in Forensic Pathology
OCME continues to use advanced forensic science and technology to meet the evolving needs of the individuals and communities served. OCME elevated standards in diagnostic service by implementing post-mortem CT scanning technology at all forensic pathology locations citywide to enhance diagnostic capacities of medical examiners and facilitate family objections to autopsy, elevating the level of service to communities.

Bringing Hope to Families of Missing Persons
OCME upheld its pledge to use the most advanced forensic science to make identifications of missing persons, no matter how long it takes, to help bring closure for families. The agency and partners hosted four installments of NYC Missing Persons Day over the past year, including first-ever events in the Bronx and Queens, to bring free services and support to dozens of loved ones of long-term missing persons and contribute to identifications.

Promoting Equity of Access to Information for the Criminal Justice System
Many cases involving an autopsy at OCME require microscopic examination of organs and body tissues, known as histology, as standard procedure in the practice of forensic medicine. Histology findings help medical examiners determine the cause and manner of death, contributing to the formulation of public health policy and the outcome of justice proceedings. Thanks to the bold investments by the Adams administration, OCME has fully integrated digital imaging technologies in processing histology slides, making this crucial, primary diagnostic information more readily available for reference by stakeholders throughout the justice system. This vast improvement for quality, accuracy, and equity of access makes OCME one of the first medical examiner's offices in the country to achieve this milestone.

Keeping the Promise to 9/11 Families
Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, the agency's commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones is stronger than ever. OCME made three new identifications of victims from the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and linked dozens of remains to previously identified individuals, upholding the solemn promise made to families in 2001. Ryan Fitzgerald, Barbara Keating, and an adult woman whose name is being withheld at the request of family are the 1651st, 1652nd, and 1653rd persons identified through family outreach and advanced DNA analysis of remains recovered from the attack that took the lives of 2,753 people.

Adopting Core Values of OCME CARES to Guide Our Performance
OCME adopted a set of core values in 2024 to guide our actions and behavior toward one another and all the stakeholders we serve during times of most profound need. These OCME CARES values of Commitment, Accountability, Resilience, Excellence, and Service inform our work every day and drive our progress into the future.

Improving Quality of Life for Employees and Enhancing Visitor Experience
As part of the Adams administration's "Get Sheds Down" initiative to remove long-standing sidewalk sheds, OCME achieved the removal of the oldest permitted sidewalk shed at a city-owned building which had obscured the front of the Manhattan Forensic Pathology and Family Services Center in Kips Bay for nearly 15 years.

Contributing to a More Affordable City
While OCME continues to cope with the national shortage of medical examiners, the Adams administration supported retention and recruitment by reaching a tentative five-year contract agreement with the Doctors Council Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that includes wage increases and bonuses for these highly skilled physicians serving families during the most difficult moments. The agreement will help OCME retain and recruit medical examiners who work at the intersection of public health and safety in New York City.