|
Team Structure
Teams are composed of:
Forensic pathologists
Forensic dentists
Forensic anthropologists
Fingerprint specialists
Medicolegal investigators
Funeral directors/embalmers
Medical records technicians
X-ray technicians
Photographers
Dental assistants
Mental health specialists
Security and administrative personnel
Support personnel
DMORT partners with the HHS Logistics Section to operate and maintain the Disaster Portable Morgue Units (DPMU) which are stored in Maryland, Texas and California, containing equipment and supplies to outfit a complete morgue with designated workstations for each morgue station. The DPMU includes:
Equipment for forensic disciplines
Support equipment: such as generators and hot water heaters
Portable digital dental and full body x-ray
Morgue management software to manage antemortem and postmortem data
IT equipment: such as computers, copiers, faxes and radios
Partitions and supports
DMORT also provides targeted teams for some critical needs of a mass fatality response. These teams augment and provide specialized services to the regional teams.
These are:
Victim Identification Center Team (VIC): Manage collection of antemortem information
Weapons of Mass Destruction Team (WMD): Decontamination of chemically contaminated remains
Support and command teams also include HHS Logistics Response Assistance Teams (LRAT) and Incident Response Coordination Teams (IRCT)
The National Response Framework’s Emergency Support Function #8 (Public Health and Medical Services) Annex covers the DMORT response. It says:
“ESF #8, when requested by State, tribal, or local officials, in coordination with its partner organizations, will assist the jurisdictional medico-legal authority and law enforcement agencies in the tracking and documenting of human remains and associated personal effects; reducing the hazard presented by chemically, biologically, or radiologically contaminated human remains (when indicated and possible); establishing temporary morgue facilities; determining the cause and manner of death; collecting antemortem data in a compassionate and culturally competent fashion from authorized individuals; performing postmortem data collection and documentation; identifying human remains using scientific means (e.g., dental, pathology, anthropology, fingerprints, and, as indicated, DNA samples); and preparing, processing, and returning human remains and personal effects to the authorized person(s) when possible; and providing technical assistance and consultation on fatality management and mortuary affairs. In the event that caskets are displaced, ESF #8 assists in identifying the human remains, recasketing, and reburial in public cemeteries.”
|
