Mike Hensch hasn’t been able to take a weeklong vacation since he began working at the Johson County Medical Examiner’s Department.

He started seven years ago.

“We try really hard to have a lean staff and be respectful of the taxpayers’ money,” he said. “But being lean makes it pretty tough.”

Hensch, the county’s medical examiner administrator, told the Johnson County Board of Supervisors this month that his staff of two full-time investigators and four on-call investigators is dealing with a record numbers of cases.

“It is really an untold story in county government that the medical examiners are so busy in their office,” said Supervisor Terrence Neuzil.

Hensch said he finds himself very busy, very often. In fact, he’s planning to ask the county to hire another part-time medical examiner.

The small staff handled 531 cases and issued 527 cremation permits in 2008, the most recent year for which the most complete data are available.

The office examines suicides, homicides, accidents, and unusual deaths in order to determine the “cause and manner” of death.

People who are pronounced dead in Johnson County, regardless of where they come from, are the staff’s responsibility.

Cases come from as far as southwest Wisconsin to be treated in the UI Hospitals and Clinics’ level-one trauma center.

Hensch has seen the annual number of cases more than triple since 2002. And in 2009, he is expecting another record year.

“We are very lucky that we are not afraid to work,” he said.

Polk County — with more than three times the population of Johnson County — had 1,217 medical examiner cases last year.

Chris Dixon, the office coordinator for the Polk County medical examiner, said the number of cases varies from year to year and she has not seen an upward trend.

“We pretty much handle things well; if we need assistance, we will call backup,” she said.

Hensch said the case load has increased for a number of reasons.

Johnson County is one of few counties in Iowa with an expanding population, he noted.

From 2000 to 2007, Johnson County’s population increased more than 13 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The higher population simply equates to more deaths, Hensch said.

The rising number of cremations — which his office must verify — also add to the workload.

Hospitals in the area are seeing more patients, Hensch said. The UIHC alone has grown from seeing 26,628 patients in 2004 to more than 30,000 last year, said UIHC spokesman Tom Moore.

Overall, Neuzil said, the reason for these increases is predictable.

“We are the crossroads of America,” he said. “When you have that, along with three major hospitals, you have a lot of people unfortunately passing away.”