Michigan Mortuary Response Team. (MI-MORT)

MI-MORT’s Mission:

To assist local medical examiners with disaster recovery and victim identification in mass fatality incidents with the ultimate goal of returning the deceased to loved ones.

Purpose:
The rapid and accurate identification of mass fatality victims is of crucial importance to any disaster mitigation operation.
The investigative and identification process in a mass fatality incident is a multidisciplinary endeavor requiring multiple forensic and medical specialists to come together rapidly, often under adverse conditions.
MI-MORT professionals demonstrate dignity, respect and compassion throughout the antemortem and postmortem identification process.  Today, MI-MORT is staffed, equipped and trained to assist local medical examiners in managing an organized and effective mass fatality incident.

Requesting MI-MORT:
The local medical examiner maintains jurisdiction, even in a mass fatality incident. Components of the team or the entire team can be requested by the local medical examiner through the local emergency management system, then to the state.

Partnerships:
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Bureau of EMS, Trauma and Preparedness (BETP) and the Michigan Funeral Directors Association (MFDA) collaborated to develop a state level mass fatality resource that could be utilized when a federal response is not warranted or available. As the team has evolved, additional partnerships have been developed with the Michigan Dental Association Identification Team, Disaster Assistance Recovery Team (DART), Michigan State University’s Forensic Anthropology and Forensic DNA Departments.

Volunteering:

Individuals with related disaster, forensic or mortuary experience may apply for MI-MORT membership by registering on the Michigan Volunteer Registry. For more information on membership see our Membership page.