Brazos County recently celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Medical Examiner’s Office, a 20,000 SF, single-story facility, for which Vaughn serves as construction manager-at-risk. The building will serve counties within a 100-mile radius as a forensics education and training space for law enforcement and medical students.
"This is a prime location because it is easily accessible from College Station and the surrounding counties,” stated Brazos County Judge Duane Peters. “We collaborated with the Texas A&M University School of Medicine to design a medical examiner's office that focuses on educating doctors about forensics. This initiative sets our county apart from others because we will [be able to] move through our cases quicker. But more importantly, families will know their loved one’s cause of death during some of the worst times of their lives.”
The new facility's key feature will be its partnership with Texas A&M University’s School of Medicine. Medical students can take electives at the office, gaining hands-on experience while contributing to the county’s efforts. There are only 500 practicing forensic pathologists in the United States, less than half of the estimated need for 1,100 professionals.
Dean of the Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Dr. Amy Waer, M.D., highlighted the importance of the new office due to the state’s shortage of medical examiners. “Texas ranks last in the number of coroners per capita…we do not want to be last,” Dr. Waer said. “This initiative is more than bricks and mortar. It is about serving the living by honoring the dignity of those who have passed. For families facing the unimaginable loss of a loved one, the wait for answers can stretch very long. This new facility will dramatically reduce those timelines and provide families with closure, clarity, and access to survivor benefits more quickly than before.”
"The building will serve the people in this county who have been requesting it for many years,” said a Vaughn assistant project manager. “Our collaboration with Brazos County marks our first project together, giving us the opportunity to WOW the client and establish a strong relationship. This new facility will offer valuable resources and create an efficient system for managing death investigations', a challenging yet essential work."
The new Brazos County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to open in the spring of 2026.