Job Description
Duties and Requirements Click to read more
Duties
Essential Job Functions
- Drives a County vehicle to locations throughout the County to recover and transport bodies, specimens, or records from hospitals, nursing home, or other death scenes to the Medical Examiner's facility.
- Maintains vehicles in operational condition.
- Keeps vehicle stocked with gurneys, stretchers, straps, sheets, and necessary supplies.
- Recovers, lifts, and transports bodies to Department of Medical Examiner or other facilities.
- Receives and processes bodies into Department of Medical Examiner facilities; places bodies on autopsy tables; prepares bodies for release; and releases bodies subsequent to post mortem examination.
- Collects and preserves physical and medical evidence.
- Performs case related data entry to Medical Examiner's computer system; keeps a log on morgue activities; writes receipts for bodies, clothing, personal property, and evidence; fingerprints bodies in accordance with departmental standards.
- Cleans autopsy room and sterilizes instruments and equipment; delivers soiled linen to laundry; returns clean linen to morgue and storage room.
- Assist the Medical Examiner Investigators in physical recovery and lifting of decedents bodies, as needed
- Assist in autopsy procedures, as needed.
- Perform other related duties, as needed.
Requirements
SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:
- Graduation from high school or possession of an equivalency diploma -AND- One (1) year of experience in a hospital, morgue or ambulance service moving or transporting patients or decedents.
LICENSE:
- A valid California Class C Driver License is required to perform job-related essential functions.
- Successful applicants for positions that require driving must obtain and present a copy of his/her driving record from the California State Department of Motor Vehicles before final appointment. Applicants should not present a copy of their driving history until asked to do so by the hiring department. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether an applicant’s driving history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job. License must not be currently suspended, restricted, or revoked.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
- One year of experience as an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professional, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), or Mortuary Removal Specialist.
- An Associate of Science (A.S.) Degree or higher, preferably in the following areas:
- Administration of Justice
- Health / Physical Sciences
- Nursing
PHYSICAL CLASS:
- 4 - Arduous. Positions within this class involves frequent heavy lifting over 25 pounds, often combined with bending, twisting, or working on irregular surfaces; and occasionally requires extraordinary physical activity.
APPOINTEE MUST BE WILLING TO:
- Perform a variety of physically demanding activities, such as frequent lifting and moving of decedents and heavy equipment, climbing down rocky cliffs, carrying a piece of equipment up steep hills, or removing corpses from the ocean.
- Work ANY shift, including nights, weekends, and/or holidays.
- Work overtime in order to meet the legal requirements and/or departmental needs associated with death investigations.
- Drive 75-100 miles one-way using a County vehicle or personal vehicle to various death scenes throughout the County of Los Angeles (mileage reimbursement is provided by the County).
- Assist in the physical recovery, packaging, lifting, and moving of decedents’ bodies including infants, children and bodies that may be fragmented, burned and/or in advanced stages of decomposition.
- Work in highly stressful situations.
- Develop and apply effective coping and self-care skills that maintain physical, mental, emotional well-being, a healthy perspective, and a clear and appropriate set of boundaries.
- Work in death scenes that present a variety of difficult environmental challenges, such as strong odors, extreme temperatures, dilapidated living conditions, and/or rugged terrain.
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Job Tags
Holiday work, Shift work, Night shift,