Teams

The Michigan Mortuary Response Team (MI-MORT) was established to provide the State of Michigan a mass fatality resource that could be readily deployed to any location in the State in response to an incident in which the number of fatalities had exceeded local or regional resources.

The MI-MORT team consists of various professions including; forensic pathologists, forensic dentists, forensic anthropologists, funeral directors, radiologic technologists, many others. This team works to support the local Medical Examiner and ultimately the Local, Regional and State response by providing technical assistance and personnel to recover, identify and process deceased victims in a dignified manner.

TEAM MEMBER COMMITMENT

MI-MORT members have dedicated themselves and are committed to serving the needs of families throughout disaster events. MI-MORT members shall maintain a state of “readiness” during the non-activation periods. Team members are expected to pursue training in mass fatality related subjects, to register in the MI Volunteer Registry, and to be available for deployment on short notice. When Team members are activated/deployed, they shall adhere to the MI-MORT Code of Conduct and follow instructions regarding work assignments and policies as outlined.

MI-MORT APPLICATION PROCESS

Individuals with related disaster, forensic or mortuary experience may apply for MI-MORT membership by registering on the Michigan Volunteer Registry.

MI-MORT members are expected to keep their user profiles up to date in the Michigan Volunteer Registry to include:

  • Address
  • Contact information
  • Name change
  • Job changes or changes in licensure

MI-MORT MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

  • Applicant Member – any person who has completed a User Profile and seeks consideration for membership.
  • Active Member – Any person, whose MI-MORT application has been completed, reviewed by DEPR along with a background check, submitted the required ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 certificates and has been assigned to a MI-MORT Team in the MVR.
  • Inactive Member – Any person whose Active status has been suspended due to:
    • Voluntary request for such status.
    • Failure to maintain training requirements, etc.
    • Investigation of violation of Code of Conduct.

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Disaster response work is often very different from day-to-day tasks performed in normal occupations, even for forensic professionals. Members are not expected to know how to maximize the team effort of a MI-MORT mission without adequate training. For this reason, each member is expected to take part in:

  • Completion of the following independent study NIMS courses: IS100, IS200, IS700 & IS800. The IS300 and IS400 classes are a requirement for command staff and team leaders, and available classes are listed on MI TRAIN.
  • A minimum of one disaster-related exercise, disaster related training seminar, or disaster activation event in each two-year period in order to remain in Active status and ready for deployment. Failure to document such activity, or obtain an exemption granted by the Commander upon exigent circumstances, may be grounds for moving the member to Inactive status until the education requirement has been satisfied.
  • GO Team Leaders, members of the VIC Team, Odontology Team, DPMU Team and other members may be asked to participate in additional training sessions each year due to the depth of information to be learned.

MI-MORT Teams

Membership in MI-MORT is limited to qualified individuals in the forensic disaster/mortuary community who have a desire to serve their community in the time of need. These positions involve working with deceased human remains, to varying degrees. All members are classified by position according to their respective training, education, and experience backgrounds. The various teams are:

Administrative

Administrative staff work within the Administrative and Finance Section in Incident Command System and provide administrative support to all aspects of the MI-MORT team.

Anthropology

Anthropology searches for and examines bone and bone fragments, as part of the Operations Section.

Behavioral Health/Chaplain

Behavioral Health and Chaplains may staff the Family Assistance Center. They may also provide support to MI-MORT staff.

Command Staff

Command staff act as incident commend during a MI-MORT deployment.

Disaster Assistance Recovery Team (DART)

DART assists with the recovery of remains.

Dental / Odontology

Odontology examines dental remains and processes antemortem dental records for identification.

DNA

DNA collects and tests DNA to positively identify remains.

Disaster Portable Morgue Unit (DPMU)

The DPMU Team manages all equipment and logistics for MI-MORT.

Fingerprinting

Obtain print impressions from remains or antemortem prints for identification.

IT

The IT Team provides IT support to all aspects of the MI-MORT team.

Morgue Identification Center

Staff in the Morgue Identification Center enter data from the morgue and the Family Assistance Center, facilitating the identification of remains.

Victim Identification Center

Staff in the Victim Identification Center work in the Family Assistance Center to complete family interviews and gather antemortem data.

Pathology

Pathology examines recovered remains, details anatomic observations. Includes medical examiners, autopsy technicians and evidence specialists.

Public Information Officer (PIO)

The MI-MORT PIO works with the medical examiner’s office and emergency management to support public information efforts.

Planning

The Planning Section staff assist in the communication and coordination of response activities, completing Incident Action Plans, Situation Reports, etc. for MI-MORT.

Remains Management

Remains management tracks remains through all aspects from collection to identification.

Safety

A safety officer maintains a safe environment for all deployed volunteers and may provide PPE training as needed.

Security

A security officer ensures that the morgue and/or Family Assistance Center are secure.

X-Ray

X-ray personnel will X-rays recovered remains and may provide matches to antemortem data.

MI-MORT members are sorted into teams and then assigned positions within that team, based upon the level of expertise they have achieved through experience and education, as listed on our Membership Classifications page.