Request for deaths records (Sarasota County)

Dear Public Records Requestor:

Sarasota County received a public records request from you on 7/29/2020. Your request mentioned:

“We are requesting death records dating back to Jan. 1, 2020, with the following information for each case:

- decedent name
- case number
- decedent name
- date of death
- location of death
- race
- ethnicity
- age
- gender
- occupation/industry
- whether injury/infection occurred at work
- incident location (street address, city, state, ZIP where injury/infection occurred)
- incident date
- decedent residence (street address, city, state, ZIP)
- cause(s) of death (indicating if COVID related)
- contributing factors
- any other accessible, non-exempt information contained in electronic case records

This request is part of an ongoing collaboration involving the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, the MuckRock Foundation and partner newsrooms across the country. This request is part of a news-gathering process and is intended for educational, not commercial use.

We request expedited processing to the extent possible. This information is critical to the public’s understanding of the coronavirus pandemic and its local impact on public health. Let us know if we can help clarify this request in any way. Please also consider waiving any fees for producing the requested records.

Please provide the data in spreadsheet format as an e-mail attachment.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. We look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.”
The county has reviewed your request and has determined that we are not the custodian of this record(s). The custodian of record is the FL Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics (904) 359-6900 or VitalStats@flhealth.gov.

PLEASE NOTE: Florida Public Record’s Law does not require a governmental body to create new information or documents, to do legal research, or to answer questions.

Thank you.

Bethany Higgins
Public Records Specialist
Sarasota County Communications
1660 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236
Office: 941-861-5329
Email: publicrecords@scgov.net
Web: www.scgov.net<https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.scgov.net&data=02%7C01%7Cbhiggins%40scgov.net%7Cdf0df553b59b402e42ce08d6c276fef2%7C9ac90fa4ea4648d79114bbf2fc554d0e%7C1%7C0%7C636910213675106347&sdata=kjoA2fsm8LgbwKrhu%2BqYNXZAHdJq4D5SuR3VNEwVjeg%3D&reserved=0>

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PLEASE NOTE: This agency is a public entity and is subject to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, concerning public records. Email communications are covered under such laws; therefore, email sent or received on this entity's computer system, including your email address, may be disclosed to the public and media upon request. If you do not want your email address released to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone.

Matt:

In response to your request for death records for Sarasota County in 2020 with
- decedent name
- case number
- decedent name
- date of death
- location of death
- race
- ethnicity
- age
- gender
- occupation/industry
- whether injury/infection occurred at work
- incident location (street address, city, state, ZIP where injury/infection occurred)
- incident date
- decedent residence (street address, city, state, ZIP)
- cause(s) of death (indicating if COVID related)
- contributing factors
- any other accessible, non-exempt information contained in electronic case records

The Florida Department of Health's CHARTS does not contain this level of detail, nor do we have a report available such as this.
Data requests fall under F.S. 382.025 and this would be subject to that specific criteria.

Thank you,
DOH Communications

In response to your public records request for death records dating back to Jan. 1, 2020, with the following information for each case:
- decedent name
- case number
- decedent name
- date of death
- location of death
- race
- ethnicity
- age
- gender
- occupation/industry
- whether injury/infection occurred at work
- incident location (street address, city, state, ZIP where injury/infection occurred)
- incident date
- decedent residence (street address, city, state, ZIP)
- cause(s) of death (indicating if COVID related)
- contributing factors
- any other accessible, non-exempt information contained in electronic case records

The Florida Department of Health CHARTS does not contain this level of detail, nor do we have a report available such as this.
Data requests fall under F.S. 382.025 and this would be subject to that specific criteria.

Thank you,
DOH Communications