Jan Garavaglia
Encyclopedia
Jan Carla Garavaglia better known as "Dr. G", serves as the Chief Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola counties in Orlando, Florida
. She stars in the hit series Dr. G: Medical Examiner
on the Discovery Health Channel
which first aired in July 2004 and is currently on its seventh season. The show is ranked No. 1 for Discovery Health
and is also broadcast in Australia, Europe, South America and South Africa. Garavaglia has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
, Larry King Live
, The Rachael Ray Show
, The Doctors
and The Dr. Oz Show
, graduating in 1974. Garavaglia received her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine
and completed an internship in internal medicine
and residency in anatomic/clinical pathology
at Saint Louis University Hospitals. She also completed a fellowship
in forensic pathology
at the Dade County Medical Examiner's Office in Miami. She is board-certified in combined anatomic and clinical pathology and forensic pathology.
and gave birth to her first son. Garavaglia and her family moved to Georgia in 1991 where she took a job as Associate Medical Examiner for the next two years. In 1993, the family moved once again to San Antonio
, Texas
where Garavaglia spent the next ten years as a Medical Examiner in the Bexar County
Forensic Science Center. Her second son was born during this time in 1994. Dr. Garavaglia and her first husband later divorced in 2006, and in 2007 she married her second husband, Dr. Mark Wallace, whom she had met years earlier while attending medical school. Wallace has made several appearances on Dr. G: Medical Examiner
as an expert in infectious disease and internal medicine. The couple reside in Winter Springs, Florida.
, in which thirty-seven bodies - many in advanced stages of decomposition
- were found in a funeral home
. After several caskets that the funeral director had buried were exhumed, Garavaglia determined that the director had placed multiple persons in single caskets, and pocketed the money he received.
On December 11, 2008, the remains of a small child, confirmed to be those of missing Caylee Anthony
, were found near the Anthony residence in Orlando. As the location fell within Garavaglia's jurisdiction, it became Garavaglia who was the one who examined the remains and made the determination.
In 2008, Garavaglia authored How Not to Die, in which she relates some of her own experiences as a medical examiner to educate readers how to better care for their health and avoid premature death.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. She stars in the hit series Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner is a reality television series shown on the Discovery Fit & Health. Dr. G, or Dr. Jan Garavaglia, is the Chief Medical Examiner with Florida's District Nine Medical Examiner's office in Orlando, Florida.This series features Dr...
on the Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel is a website owned by Discovery Communications, created for people interested in health and wellness. Until December 31, 2010, it was a U.S. cable television specialty channel dedicated to television programming that highlights various aspects of health and wellness...
which first aired in July 2004 and is currently on its seventh season. The show is ranked No. 1 for Discovery Health
Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel is a website owned by Discovery Communications, created for people interested in health and wellness. Until December 31, 2010, it was a U.S. cable television specialty channel dedicated to television programming that highlights various aspects of health and wellness...
and is also broadcast in Australia, Europe, South America and South Africa. Garavaglia has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, The Rachael Ray Show
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
and The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
Early life and education
Garavaglia was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, to Charles and Jennie Garavaglia. Her father worked as a butcher, and her mother worked briefly as a secretary and shoe model. Garavaglia has two brothers. She attended Concord Elementary School and Lindbergh High SchoolLindbergh High School (St. Louis, Missouri)
Lindbergh High School is the high school of the Lindbergh School District and is located at 4900 South Lindbergh Boulevard in St. Louis County, Missouri. Each year the high school graduates over 420 students. The school district encompasses Crestwood, Sunset Hills, Concord, and parts of Fenton,...
, graduating in 1974. Garavaglia received her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, American medical school within Saint Louis University.It was established in 1836 as the Medical Department of the university and had the distinction, in 1839, of awarding the first M.D. degree granted west of the Mississippi River...
and completed an internship in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
and residency in anatomic/clinical pathology
Clinical pathology
Clinical pathology , Laboratory Medicine , Clinical analysis or Clinical/Medical Biology , is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, such as...
at Saint Louis University Hospitals. She also completed a fellowship
Fellowship (medicine)
A fellowship is the period of medical training in the United States and Canada that a physician may undertake after completing a specialty training program . During this time , the physician is known as a fellow...
in forensic pathology
Forensic pathology
Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a corpse. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner or medical examiner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some...
at the Dade County Medical Examiner's Office in Miami. She is board-certified in combined anatomic and clinical pathology and forensic pathology.
Family
Garavaglia married her first husband in 1980. In 1988, she got her first job as an Associate Medical Examiner in Duval County, Jacksonville, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and gave birth to her first son. Garavaglia and her family moved to Georgia in 1991 where she took a job as Associate Medical Examiner for the next two years. In 1993, the family moved once again to San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
where Garavaglia spent the next ten years as a Medical Examiner in the Bexar County
Bexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
Forensic Science Center. Her second son was born during this time in 1994. Dr. Garavaglia and her first husband later divorced in 2006, and in 2007 she married her second husband, Dr. Mark Wallace, whom she had met years earlier while attending medical school. Wallace has made several appearances on Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner is a reality television series shown on the Discovery Fit & Health. Dr. G, or Dr. Jan Garavaglia, is the Chief Medical Examiner with Florida's District Nine Medical Examiner's office in Orlando, Florida.This series features Dr...
as an expert in infectious disease and internal medicine. The couple reside in Winter Springs, Florida.
Career
One of the first cases Garavaglia worked on as a medical examiner was Morning Glory Funeral Home scandalMorning Glory Funeral Home scandal
The Morning Glory Funeral Home scandal took place at the Howell Morning Glory Chapel in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1988, and involved improper disposal and burial of bodies by the funeral home's owner, Lewis J. Howell...
, in which thirty-seven bodies - many in advanced stages of decomposition
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
- were found in a funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
. After several caskets that the funeral director had buried were exhumed, Garavaglia determined that the director had placed multiple persons in single caskets, and pocketed the money he received.
On December 11, 2008, the remains of a small child, confirmed to be those of missing Caylee Anthony
Caylee Anthony homicide
Caylee Marie Anthony was an American two-year-old girl who was reported missing in Orlando, Florida, in July 2008, and whose remains were found in a wooded area near her home in December 2008. Her then 22-year-old mother, Casey Marie Anthony, was tried for the first degree murder of Caylee but was...
, were found near the Anthony residence in Orlando. As the location fell within Garavaglia's jurisdiction, it became Garavaglia who was the one who examined the remains and made the determination.
In 2008, Garavaglia authored How Not to Die, in which she relates some of her own experiences as a medical examiner to educate readers how to better care for their health and avoid premature death.