Hill Construction Completes New Medical Examiner Facility
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
The Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Oxford will be dedicated during a July 30 ribbon-cutting ceremony. The specialized forensic facility was recently completed by Water Valley-based Hill Construction LLC.
OXFORD – A new Mississippi Department of Public Safety facility is expected to strengthen death investigations across North Mississippi by bringing forensic pathology services closer to the region.
Water Valley-based Hill Construction LLC recently completed the $6.6 million Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Oxford. The facility joins Mississippi’s regional medical examiner system, providing a location for autopsies and death investigations involving homicides, suicides, accidents, unexplained deaths, child deaths and deaths in custody. The office supports coroners, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors throughout North Mississippi while reducing the need to transport many cases to other parts of the state. Hardy & Associates, Architect, PLLC, provided architectural design services for the project.
While Hill Construction has completed schools, hospitals, government facilities and other commercial projects over the past two decades, the Oxford project demanded a different level of planning and precision, said Steven Hill, vice president and managing member of Hill Construction LLC. Hill added that the medical examiner’s office stands among the most technically demanding facilities the company has completed.
The building required specialized systems for forensic work, including secure evidence storage, controlled-access areas, specialized plumbing and ventilation, and infrastructure supporting autopsies and other medical examiner operations.
The project transformed an existing medical office building into the new facility. Crews removed the original roof and exterior brick, constructed additions, completely reconfigured the interior, upgraded electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems, installed backup power, created secure evidence areas and completed extensive structural improvements.
Hill said construction moved forward under an aggressive schedule, but weather proved to be one of the biggest obstacles.
“We had six months of weather days,” Hill said. “So when the sun was shining, we were working.”
Hill credited the success of the project to the dedication of the company’s employees and subcontractors, noting that projects of this complexity require careful coordination from start to finish.
One employee who reflects the company’s long-term commitment to developing its workforce is project superintendent Jonathan Moya of Water Valley.
Moya joined Hill Construction more than 10 years ago as a laborer and steadily advanced through the company before becoming a superintendent responsible for overseeing major commercial construction projects.
“He started as a laborer and worked his way completely to the top,” Hill said.
