St. Clair County Coroner

Republican

Andrew Colon

O’Fallon

Age: 65

Married

Children: 3

Job: Board certified physician assistant, retired Air Force medical officer

Phone: 618-567-3592

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E-mail: ColonforCoroner@msn.com

Education: Associate’s in applied science; B.S. in physician associate studies; M.S. in diplomacy; M.A. in education; Nationally board certified physician assistant

Qualifications: I have a depth of clinical and health care executive experience and education that will enhance the office of coroner and benefit the citizens of St. Clair County. More than three decades of clinical practice in family, emergency and occupational medicine, as a board certified physician assistant, licensed to practice in Illinois and New York. Nearly 20 years' experience as a health care executive in the military and in civilian health care systems, with proven leadership and managerial skills. Twice a medical squadron commander, deputy and commander of the fourth largest hospital in the Air Force, and I served as the inspector general for the 375th Air Base Wing, Scott Air Force Base. As a military health care executive I oversaw and managed multimillion-dollar budgets, led and managed health care providers to include physicians, pathologist, mid-level providers and a multitude of ancillary services. As an inspector general I presided over all investigations involving airmen assigned to the Wing. After I retired from the Air Force I took a position as a senior operations officer for the second-largest community health care organization in Illinois and oversaw and managed several divisions to include clinical OSHA, clinical quality management, and clinical provider recruitment and retention and facility management. The citizens of St. Clair County deserve a coroner who possesses a medical education backed by 30 years of experience and a coroner with proven leadership and a broad managerial experience as a health care executive.

Top issues: Communication, dignity, and professionalism for families interacting with the coroner’s office are my key issues. Also, I will be an effective steward of the taxpayers’ dollars and I will ensure that the resources that are entrusted to me by the citizens of St. Clair are used appropriately. I will build relationships with other county and state agencies, and create a culture of professionalism that puts service before politics. In order to provide the best service to the citizens of St. Clair County I will work tirelessly to ensure that the coroner’s staff receives the best training and equipment to complete their tasks.