What are the responsibilities and job description for the Decedent Care Representative position at Duke?
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About Duke University Hospital
Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States and is the number one hospital in North Carolina, according to U.S. News and World Report for 2023-2024. Duke University Hospital is the largest of Duke Health's three hospitals and features 1048 patient beds, 65 operating rooms, as well as comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.
Occ Summary
Perform various duties to assist families and staff regarding the disposition of all matters of decedent care.
Duties and Responsibilities of this Level
Coordinate with physicians and nurses to determine the appropriate time to approach the family regarding the disposition of all matters of decedent care. Meet with next of kin, and assist in completing all necessary paperwork. Arrange for body viewing as appropriate. Screen all deaths for medical examiner's jurisdiction in compliance with the state law. Request autopsy consent on all non-medical legal deaths. Complete all appropriate decedent care paperwork (i.e. all forms, documents and authorizations), in compliance with state and federal laws. Provide autopsy information to family members, medical and research personnel and others in compliance with departmental guidelines.
Act as primary liaison between Duke Hospital and funeral homes. Provide information to funeral homes, transporters, patient families, staff and security officers regarding decedent care and the hospital death policy. Release body to funeral home.
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Transport bodies, charts, and unclaimed belong to the morgue. Store and maintain the body in a cooler. Mix and prepare preservative solutions as required. Perform incisions, evisceration of the body and special dissection techniques. File, store, and retrieve tissue specimens. Assist with disposal of tissue.
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Inform appropriate organ banks or the anatomy department if consent for tissue donations was obtained. Assist the various tissue and organ banks by requesting all tissue donations at one time.
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Maintain instruments and supplies. Clean, and disinfect all suites, instruments and equipment. Perform other duties to maintain supplies and equipment.
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Maintain mortuary records and autopsy record logs.
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Assist in training and scheduling lower-level employees.
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Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
MAINTAIN INVENTORY LAB PROCEDURES STERILE TECHNIQUE
Minimum Qualifications
Education
Work requires knowledge of basic mortuary science and communications education principles normally acquired through two years of post-secondary
Experience
Three years of related experience to acquire the necessary skills. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
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Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.
