Description
Summary:
The Coroner’s Investigator will assist with the daily operations of the Coroner’s Office for both Administrative and Operations functions of the office. May include duties related to assisting with examinations and transportation of decedents.
This position requires availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This is an Essential Employee position. Essential employees are obligated to report to work as scheduled or remain at work during emergencies. Following is the Duty Statement for Essential Employees:
- “Carries out essential job functions or assigned emergency duties which may involve assignments within the Coroner’s Office, deployment to a field location to participate in emergency management activities, or other duties as required during periods of emergency. If received, emergency assignments may be performed under adverse conditions and continue for periods ranging from a few hours to several weeks”._
Essential Duties:
- Act in place of the Coroner, Chief Deputy Coroner and First Deputy Coroner as needed and directed when they are not available.
- Investigate and complete written narrative reports as necessary for cases and investigations assigned including scene investigations and phone investigations.
- Update case data as needed and verify creation of electronic files for new cases.
- Update case management system as needed.
- Issue pending death certificates in the electronic death registration system (EDRS).
- Locate and notify next of kin with death notifications including performing interviews for data collection.
- Secure records from various sources including but not limited to hospitals, primary care physicians, and specialists; may require issuing a subpoena.
- Collection of evidence; photograph and log, maintaining chain of custody.
- Collection of personal effects; photograph and log, maintaining chain of custody.
- Collection of medication; photograph and log count, maintaining chain of custody.
- Coordinate the proper disposal of the medications with the District Attorney’s Office.
- Assist in following up investigations for own cases and other investigators cases.
- Review records and reports to finalize cases and issue amendments for final death certificates.
- Review the monthly department schedule to fill in open shifts as needed.
- Initiate peer review process of their case reports.
- Issuance of cremation authorizations for all cremation requests occurring in Chester County, after obtaining ABMDI certification.
- Arrange for the transport and cremation of unclaimed bodies and fetuses with funeral homes and/or cremation services.
- Communicate with organ procurement team, reviewing case information with supervisor for approvals/declinations of harvest, arrange transportation and order photographs, diagnostic testing, and ME kits.
- Assist with liaison duties as assigned to the Department of Emergency Services (DES), County hospitals, Long-term Care Facilities and Funeral Homes for training, and death certificates or investigation issues.
- Assist with providing training and mentoring with new hires, as necessary.
- Assist with interns, providing shadowing opportunities in the office and on scenes.
- Testify in criminal and civil proceedings.
- Assist in obtaining and maintaining the National Accreditation of the Coroner's Office.
- Participate as a representative of the office in various task forces available.
- Facilitate and/or provide transportation of human remains, as needed.
- Assist with collection of toxicological and microbiology specimens for testing, as needed.
- Perform other duties, tasks and office functions as determined and assigned by the Coroner, Chief Deputy Coroner and First Deputy Coroner.
Provide back-up support for office staff to include competency of all office procedures, including but not limited to:
Receptionist or back-up receptionist duties: answer phones, make outgoing calls, direct calls, greet visitors.
- Maintain databases, logs, and spreadsheets.
- Release personal effects to next of kin, law enforcement and funeral homes, maintaining and documenting chain of custody.
- Release evidence to law enforcement, maintaining and documenting chain of custody.
- Communicate with Funeral Homes for jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional cases, release of remains, pending/final death certificate issuance, and cremation authorizations.
- Maintain spreadsheet and organize all unclaimed cremains in the evidence room.
- Coordinate the release of cremains to appropriate persons, maintaining and documenting chain of custody.
- Coordinate the burial of Veterans and non-veteran unclaimed decedents.
- Maintain inventory of investigator supplies in the office, gear bag and investigator vehicles and request an order when supplies are below threshold.
- Coordinate with various courier services for picking up and dropping off packages.
Optional Duties, Tasks: If desired, cross train as an autopsy technician with du