will be discovered alive and able to get the care needed to survive the event. As time continues to pass following the incident, this hope may begin to fade with family members beginning to feel increasingly anxious, and dreadful, of the recovery of their loved one’s body. This recovery will take away any remaining hope they may have had and solidify the fatality of their loved one. However, this recovery will also be the first step of the healing process and establishing the family’s new normal. Many of these emotions will differ from those directors often witness of families they serve. Keeping the families abreast of updated information will greatly help with everchanging and evolving emotions. Other members of the death care industry will be needed following an MFI. When an event occurs within an area, it requires cooperation of many industry sectors. The participation and cooperation will be needed in the immediate aftermath, and the subsequent time to come. If the event primarily included victims whom were residents of the general area of the incident, there will be a vital need for coordination with local cemeteries and crematories. A great increase in the number of burials or cremations will require close coordination and cooperation between the all of those involved to properly serve the families. If the MFI primarily includes victims from other areas, such as a plane crash, there will be a need to coordinate with all of those who will be involved in returning the remains to their homes, including the suppliers of containers required for the transportation. A primary benefit of a family assistance center is that it serves as a respectful and private place to interview families for information that can assist in a variety of ways. Funeral directors who volunteer in the aftermath of an MFI are often asked to gather and collect antemortem data. In addition to the importance of gathering this information for identification purposes, the information can be used for potential future involvement of a funeral home. Many states require similar information for death certificates. DMORT has created a questionnaire that provides a universal set of questions for the interviews. In addition to vital statistics and other information requested on questionnaires, DNA samples or other resources may be required to help aid in identification. It is critical that those collecting this information ensure the family that it will remain strictly confidential. The antemortem data collected can be transmitted to the family’s selected funeral home. Volunteer funeral directors are often asked to serve in this area, which has been found to be an especially beneficial service to the families (Blakeney, 2002). As previously stated, those working to recover the victims’ bodies must be able to properly and officially identify the bodies. This identification is necessary in order to officially notify the family and before the body can be released to the family for services and final disposition. It is in the best interested of everyone involved to have the information and data available for the identification as soon as possible. It is imperative that the information collected from the family be detailed and accurate. The funeral directors, or experienced death investigators, should be well-briefed in the required information. An important component of this briefing is to ensure funeral directors understand the capacity in which they are serving as volunteers. Funeral directors will serve as representatives of the medical examiner’s or of the coroner’s office, and not as funeral directors. This is critical for several reasons. First, family members being interviewed may or
The training and skills of funeral service professionals provides the ability to serve in a number of areas. Specifically, directors are most often asked to serve by directly interacting with the victims’ families, most commonly within the family assistance center. Families will gather there to receive timely and factually accurate information, to provide vital information about the victims, for spiritual and mental health care, and other services. The first and most important task is to collect and record information from the families about the victims. This is important to assist with identification and for other reasons. With directors being familiar with gathering vital statistic information for death certificates and other arrangement information, this role tends to be a natural fit. Professional funeral directors compassionately support and assist grieving families every single day. In events that results in mass fatalities, the victims who lose their lives have families and friends who are devastated. A grieving family will always experience an array of emotions. These emotions can differ depending on the cause and manner of death, the age of the deceased, and the circumstances of the death. These emotions can be multiplied greatly and magnified when the death is a result of an MFI, for several reasons. The greatest concern for the families of victims, in many cases, is the condition of their loved one. When MFIs occur, often times funeral directors assist families who do not yet know for sure if their loved one is a survivor or a deceased victim. Especially in the initial hours and the first few days of the aftermath, families are holding on to any and all hope that they can. This most common hope is that their loved one Family assistance center Funeral directors are professionals at caring for the dead while also being experts in caring for the living left behind. In mass fatality incidents, the families and friends of the victims need care and support. The most appropriate place for these loved ones to receive support is a family assistance center. Following the mid-air explosion of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island in 1996, the assistance provided to the victims’ families gained nationwide attention. The Aviation Family Assistance Act tasked the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) to coordinate the assistance provided to the victims’ families in the aftermath of major aviation accidents. One of the requirements included in this act was for the NTSB to identify a human service organization to assist in coordinating mental health and spiritual care services for families. The American Red Cross (ARC) received that designation and has worked closely with the NTSB since that time. In this capacity, the ARC works to assist families affected by transportation- related disasters (LaDue, 2009). The American Red Cross has also been instrumental in the recovery and aftermath efforts of many other MFIs throughout the years. Whenever an MFI occurs, a family assistance center should be a top priority for those coordinating the efforts. It is only natural for family members and loved ones of the victims to rush to the site of the incident. There may be differing and conflicting intentions of those who arrive at the scene; the intentions can be expected to evolve and change as time progresses. The intentions may include trying to locate surviving victims, seeking information concerning victims, a desire to assist with the rescue and recovery efforts, or it may be as simple as not knowing where to go or what to do. Having a safe place for the victims’ loved ones to gather is of utmost importance. In addition to providing a safe place for friends and relatives, the family assistance center can provide a location for other vital roles needed in the aftermath efforts.
EliteLearning.com/Funeral
Book Code: FNJ0524
Page 12
Powered by FlippingBook