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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN HONOR OF PONNI ARUNKUMAR, MD, FCAP, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2003, Dr. Ponni Arunkumar was hired as a Fellow Pathologist and subsequently became an Assistant Medical Examiner; and
WHEREAS, in September 2012, Dr. Arunkumar became the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for Cook County; and
WHEREAS, on July 13, 2016, Dr. Arunkumar was appointed the Chief Medical Examiner for Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ponni Arunkumar graduated from Bangalore Medical School, in India. She is Board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and in Forensic Pathology. She has 15 years of forensic pathology experience, has conducted close to 6,500 postmortem examinations, and testified in court and depositions over 150 times. She teaches at RUSH University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Northwestern University. She has presented at various national conferences and published articles in the field of forensic pathology. She is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the National Association of Medical Examiners, the College of American Pathologists, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
WHEREAS, Dr. Arunkumar was recognized for her efforts in organ and tissue donation by receiving the Gift of Hope 2017 Lifesaving Partners Award; and
WHEREAS, in 2017 she was recognized with an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for a Medical Examiner online data portal that provides up-to-date information about Cook County's deaths, including those caused by gun violence and the opioid epidemic and;
WHEREAS, Dr. Arunkumar hosted the first Missing Persons Day in Illinois to help those with missing friends and family have the ability to submit DNA samples, medical records, pictures and other records to aide in the search of their loved ones; and
WHEREAS, the National Association of Medical Examiner's (NAME) is the national professional organization of physician medical examiners, medic...
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