The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners approved the employment agreement and the operating agreement between Dr. Deanna A. Oleske and District One Medical Examiner Support, Inc., pursuant to Florida statutes 406.06(3) and 406.08(1), on Nov. 5, 2020. This action gets Dr. Oleske one step closer to becoming the next District 1 medical examiner. On Friday, Nov. 6, the State Medical Examiners Commission will vote and take final action to forward Dr. Oleske’s name to the governor for appointment as the next District 1 medical examiner.
“I am honored to have made it through this round of approvals from the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners,” said Dr. Oleske. “Serving the residents of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties has been very rewarding as an associate medical examiner. I am eager to bring transparency, integrity and compassion in my new role as the next District 1 medical examiner.â€
The District 1 medical examiner position has been vacant since Oct. 1, 2019. Upon being notified of the vacancy, State Attorney of the First Judicial Circuit Bill Eddins convened a medical examiner selection committee comprised of representatives from the four counties of District 1 (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton), including law enforcement, funeral homes and the medical community. The committee reviewed resumes and held interviews with several candidates throughout the process. On Aug. 19, 2020, the selection committee made a unanimous decision to nominate Dr. Deanna A. Oleske to be the District 1 medical examiner.
Dr. Oleske holds active medical licenses in Florida and Texas. She earned a medical doctorate from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington. Dr. Oleske is double board certified in forensic pathology and anatomic pathology. She is currently a deputy medical examiner at the Fort Bend medical examiner’s office in Rosenberg, Texas and an associate medical examiner at the District 1 medical examiner’s office in Pensacola. From December 2016 to May 2020, she was an associate medical examiner at the District 23 medical examiner’s office in St. Augustine. Dr. Oleske is also an assistant clinical professor of pathology and the forensic pathology clerkship site director at the University of Central Florida.