Disaster and then Disease

By Elizabeth Batt

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, describes a natural disaster as a “sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources.”

The earthquake in Haiti that occurred on January 12, 2010, caused death and destruction, the extent of which has yet to be realized. Sadly, Haiti’s problems might be only just beginning. Often following the initial aftermath of any natural disaster there follows a second wave of deaths, caused by disease.

Types of Disease Prevalent in the Aftermath of a Natural Disaster
When a natural disaster strikes to the extent that it did in Haiti, the infrastructure of a country is decimated. Fresh water supplies, sewage disposal and power is destroyed or severely interrupted. What remains is often contaminated, initiating a vicious cycle that cultivates communicable diseases. In a third world country like Haiti, where resources are already stretched thin and immunizations are not standard practice, the loss of life is certain to be much higher because they’re simply not equipped to deal with an incident of this magnitude.

The study, “Management of dead bodies in disaster situations.” PAHO; 2004, indicates that little threat for communicative disease outbreak is posed by actual human remains. The threat comes from the survivors themselves, the destruction of their surroundings and an inevitable crowding situation caused by displacement. Without a continuous fresh water supply, survivors are forced to drink polluted water just to stay alive. Aided by the lack of adequate sanitary conditions, these pollutants are ingested and then defecated back into the water source. It becomes a breeding ground for communicable diseases.

Water-related Diseases
Water-related diseases include infectious diarrhea or norovirus, salmonella and cholera. Noroviruses are transmitted through the fecal-oral route after the ingestion of contaminated food and water. Once infected, a person-to-person transmission can occur. Noroviruses cause diarrhea and vomiting that without adequate sanitization amenities, continue to perpetuate.

Salmonella is often referred to as food poisoning. It causes the same symptoms as norovirus and can be present in almost any type of food. Salmonella is transmitted through infected feces that come into contact with a food source. People can become carriers of salmonella, transmitting the disease for life.

Cholera, transmitted by the fecal-oral route has an extremely brief incubation period of just 2-5 days. It can cause acute diarrhea, dehydration and kidney failure. Of all water-related diseases, cholera is perhaps the most insidious and can kill an adult within hours.

Crowding-related Diseases
The three most common crowding-related diseases are meningitis, measles and acute respiratory failure (ARF). Meningitis causes an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord and can lead to permanent neurological damage. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause seizures and coma. The complications of measles can include blindness and brain inflammation. ARF has a high morbidity rate of 50-70% in both children and adults. Caused by inadequate gas exchange, oxygen levels drop and carbon dioxide levels rise. An effect of displacement, over-crowding issues and poor nutrition, ARF is a major cause of death.

Vectorborne Diseases
Vectorborne diseases are caused by “vectors” such as mosquitoes that carry malaria. Earthquakes and other natural disasters can change a habitat, as evidenced in Saenz R, Bissell RA, Paniagua F. "Post-disaster malaria in Costa Rica." Prehospital Disaster Med. 1995;10:154–60. This change in habitat can create conditions that are ripe for breeding, causing an upsurge in outbreaks of malaria. Children are particularly at risk of contracting malaria, a virus that in its most dangerous form, can affect the brain and kidneys. Dengue, also carried by mosquitoes, can develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever. The spread of dengue can be directly related to inadequate solid waste disposal and water storage. Without treatment, fatality rates can exceed 20%.

Haiti's challenges are far from over and despite aid being sent to this ravaged country, the death toll as it stands now, is certain to rise.

Mobile Firm Cleans Up Some of the Area’s Most Disturbing Messes

When Jessica Townsend was a little girl, she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up. She says she just wanted to help people. Though her career plans changed, the profession she ultimately chose allows her to do just that, but in a rather unconventional way.

As the owner of Gulf Coast Bio Clean, a company she founded nearly six years ago, she and her team of crime scene cleaners try to erase the blood and gore left behind after someone passes away – by their own hand or the hand of others, or just from natural causes.

“Most people assume police or EMS personnel clean crime scenes, they do not. Trauma can occur if a family member is forced to clean after the death of a loved one. We perform the cleaning, with care to the family’s property, as well as their feelings at this time of loss. This will probably be the most traumatic time in their lives, and I am glad we are there to help them,” Townsend explains in her company bio.

A combination of her education and professional background led her to what most people consider a fairly odd job.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and I worked on the ambulance for a while, so I knew I could pretty much handle anything. I didn’t want to sit behind a desk, so I knew this was a way I could help people.”

But it’s not as easy as just picking up a sponge and a pair of rubber gloves. There are classes you must attend to be certified by the American Biorecovery Association. There are schools in Ohio, Massachusetts and South Carolina.

“You apply and go to classes. You research all of the national, state and local guidelines. You learn what those are and you have to do an internship,” Townsend explained.

She said a crime scene cleaning company does not legally have to be certified to clean a private residence, and there are several in town who aren’t, but if the tragedy occurs in an apartment or other place that will be transferred to another person, the cleaners must have this certification.

One such guideline they learn while getting certified is that “extraction is not an effective means of decontamination.” Surprisingly, they don’t use any sort of shampooers, steamers or any other commercial cleaning machines, as one might expect. They simply remove the entire affected area using saws, Sawzalls, crowbars, flat bars, screwdrivers, carpet cutters or whatever tool it takes to get the area removed.

“You have to have some construction knowledge to do this job. If you are following fluid under a wall, you have to know whether or not that wall is a load-bearing wall before you tear into it,” she explained.

Even though the body has been removed by the time her team gets there, she says you also have to be able to stomach what’s left. Obviously, there is often blood and tissue. But there are also other eerie reminders that something sinister and/or sad has just occurred.

“If it’s a crime, we will see crime scene tape and finger print dust. If it’s a trauma, we see evidence of where the paramedics have tried to resuscitate them,” she explained.

Along with a strong constitution and basic building knowledge, Townsend requires her employees to be able to lift 75 lbs. over their heads, which is why she says the majority of her employees are male.

“This is a very physical job, we are often moving furniture, removing flooring, working over our heads for hours, removing sheetrock, and we spend the majority of our time meticulously looking for fluids to assure we have covered all areas that may have been involved, all while wearing respirators, biohazard suits and gloves,” she explained. Those suits are heavy, she says, and they get quite hot in the middle of a Port City summer.

“It’s just hard for people to be able to physically handle the job. Some people try, but they just can’t do it,” she said.

Once they remove all of the affected sheetrock, carpet, hardwood or other contaminated materials, they take it to Stericycle, a local company that specializes in disposing of biohazardous waste.

“When we leave the scene, it’s not as though nothing ever happened, it’s not completely back to normal, because there is carpet, flooring or sections of wall missing, but it’s safe,” she says. They use lights and certain chemicals to make sure everything is eradicated before they leave.

Most of their calls are to primary residences, but she says she occasionally gets calls to do cars or RVs.

The first time
With all of her training and background, Townsend said her first call was still very emotionally trying. “I was nervous, just because it was brand new, and as with any new job, you want everything to go perfectly.”

The victim was a young kid who had committed suicide in his bedroom.

Suicides, she says, especially those of young people, are still the most difficult for her to deal with emotionally.

“It’s just like they say, ‘it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem.’ And you think about the prospect of them having the rest of their lives in front of them, and it being cut short like that. For someone to take their own life, it just kills me.”

She says it’s hard to see a family going through this awful situation.

“It just devastates the family to no end, because they are always wondering if there was something they could have done.”

And as with this first case, she just tries to walk in with blinders on when on these types of calls. She doesn’t look at photos or the belongings of the victim. She just heads immediately to the scene and gets started, which makes it easier

“The first case really wasn’t that bad (as far as the clean-up), looking back on it now and comparing it to some of the jobs we have done, but I was nervous, and I just felt so bad for the family.”

However, dealing with his family and others is what made her realize she was in the right place.

“We try to take care of as much as we can for the families. Like one guy, his wife had been killed and he just couldn’t return to his house. He was like, ‘I just can’t go in there.’ But he had two dogs, and they lived out in the country. So I went out there and fed them until he was able to go back. And that just makes you feel good — to be able to help them like that.”

The worst time
Though the crew is usually called almost immediately to clean up a scene, there are times when bodies go days or weeks without being found. They call those situations “unattended deaths.”

She said it is interesting to see the difference between what is left at those kinds of scenes, as compared to the ones that are cleaned up almost immediately.

“Fifty-three days is the longest a body (had been decomposing) before we were called. That was a valuable learning experience. Two weeks versus 53 days, there’s a lot of difference in what you find and the methods you use.”

Though their biohazard suits protect them from the smell most of the time, it is usually impossible to avoid it entirely.

“You can’t smell it through the suit with the respirator, but you have to take a break (because the suits are so heavy and cumbersome), and when you take it off, you will get a whiff of it, and that’s all you need.”

CSI: Mobile
It is after crime scene investigators have dusted all of the surfaces and collected all of their samples when she comes in, but she has found stuff they have overlooked before, including a potential murder weapon. “We found a knife. It was very well hidden though. I was going up in the attic to see if it was a load-bearing wall (before they removed it) and the knife had been thrown up in the attic. If I hadn’t been checking for that, no one would have ever found it,” she said.

Meth Lab Decontamination They are also certified to clean up other undesirable situations, such as meth labs that have been busted. Townsend says they typically swab the area and send it to the lab, and await a report on the contamination level, which she says determines the extent of cleaning that must be performed.

“If the levels are not high, we can simply decon the property, but if they are high we remove everything in the property down to the studs of the walls.”

She added the only time she has ever been scared doing this job was while decontaminating one of these labs.

“The cooker had gotten out of jail fairly quickly and came back and wanted his stuff. We called the police and said ‘Hey, ya’ll need to get back down here because we’re cleaning up a meth lab and the cooker is back.” The police responded, and they were OK, but she said it was still frightening.

They are not only called after a meth lab has been busted but also by prospective homebuyers and tenants. “We are often approached by prospective home buyers wanting to have a residence tested before they purchase a property or by those looking to rent an apartment to assure the property is safe,” she said, especially in cases where this activity was suspected and had been disclosed to the potential owner/renter.

Animal Trauma
Townsend is an avid animal lover and has a tough time responding to these personally, but she has had calls to clean up blood after a pet has been traumatized in some way.

“I had this lady who had two pit bulls, and one attacked the other one in her home and killed it, and there was blood all over her house. That was too hard for me, as an animal lover, so I sent two of my employees, and we got it cleaned up for her.”

Hoarders
Another service they provide is performing cleaning services for hoarding situations. “This is where junk or trash is kept for a long period of time to the extent it has an impact on the hoarder’s health or they are living in unsanitary conditions. We work closely with family members and mental health care workers, if they are involved, to help remove clutter, junk and trash from, their home, yard or automobiles,” she said.

“We have people call us that the city has told them, ‘Clean this up or we are going to fine you.’ So they’ll hire us or a family member will hire us. Or a family member who is just concerned will call us,” she said. “We know it is a mental condition so we try to be as sensitive as we can, and we have their family member or psychiatrist with us.”

What do most people hoard?
“Books, magazines from 30 years ago or newspapers from last year. And just garbage. Their whole kitchen will just get full. It starts off innocently enough with one garbage can, and that will get full and then they’ll just put a bag of garbage beside it and on and on and on. It starts off innocently and then it just keeps escalating,” she says.

Freezer Failure
If a restaurant or home’s freezers fail and there is rotting food, they will also remove it. “With restaurants, they have to have us come and use a food-safe product to decontaminate their freezers, before they can start back up.”

Coverage
Townsend serves Mobile and Baldwin counties and from about Montgomery south in Alabama and about the same area in Mississippi, and they have worked for a variety of people across the socioeconomic spectrum.

“We’ve done jobs for judges and jobs for garbage men and jobs for people who don’t work and are on disability.”

Homeowners or renters insurance covers about 90 percent of the claims. She just instructs the families to call their companies and let them know what has happened and then the adjustor calls her, and she handles it from there. Though Jessica Townsend isn’t nursing people back to health, as she once thought she would, she still gets an enormous amount of satisfaction out of her unorthodox career and the services she gets to provide to people in their times of need.

“We are there when people need us most,” she says.

Crime Scene Leftovers Pose Problem For Sanitation

Call it the Case of the Bloody Mattress.

City sanitation workers in southwestern Kentucky were recently left with the problem of how to dispose of a bloody mattress put out with the trash.

The mattress came from a home where police say a 37-year-old man appears to have died from self-inflicted stab wounds. The problem came when trash collectors realized they couldn't pick up a potential biohazard, but didn't want to leave it by the side of the road in a residential neighborhood in Hopkinsville.

"This was an area of concern for us because blood is considered a biohazard and not only can our trash trucks not pick it up, but it could be dangerous for people in the community," said George Hampton, a route supervisor for Hopkinsville Solid Waste Authority.

The Kentucky New Era reports that the mattress disappeared by midweek, but sanitation officials didn't take it and were still trying to make sure it was properly disposed of. The location of the mattress remained a mystery at week's end.

Hopkinsville sanitation workers received an anonymous call reporting a mattress, possibly covered in blood, that had been set on a curb outside of a home. That was the concern of the anonymous caller, Hampton said, who said children in the neighborhood could start to play on the mattress and come into contact with the dried blood that might have diseases.

Because there was blood on the mattress, sanitation workers couldn't haul it off with the rest of the trash.

"It raises a question for us about where we take it from here," Hampton said. "Someone has to clean up messes like these and we can't do it."

Solid Waste Superintendent Bill Bailey said sanitation workers aren't allowed to pick up possible biohazards, including blood, from the side of the road. Instead, Bailey said, the department needs to call other landfills to see who will pick up and take the items.

"Sometimes we can process and wrap it in plastic and dispose of it that way. But other times we have to contact a company that deals with disposing of medical waste."

Charlotte Write, a spokeswoman for Stericycle, a national company that specializes in medical waste disposal, said medical waste is generally burned to kill pathogens that can live in dried blood.

"It is important to dispose of all medical waste, especially waste that comes from the body, so as not to spread diseases," Write said.

Hopkinsville Police Chief Guy Howie said the families must clean up the scene of a murder or suicide or pay to have it done.

"It doesn't sound very friendly, I know, but that's just how it has to be handled," Howie said. "Someone has to clean it up and someone has to dispose of all of this, it's just a matter of figuring out who. It's amazing that just one mattress on a curb can raise so many questions."

Someone solved sanitation's problem by taking the mattress from in front of the home. Bailey said sanitation workers didn't remove it, but finding out what became of the mattress is important. It had to be properly sterilized and disposed of.

"We can't just stick it in our landfill and be done with it," Bailey said. "Whether it's on that curb or not, it's still hazardous material."

Double homicide in Mobile

Derica Williams
Charissa Cowart
Photojournalist, Kevin Sullivan

MOBILE, Ala. - A cleaning crew tackled the crime scene at Janet Penn's home on Eagle Drive. Just hours before, police said they found Penn and her boyfriend Demetrius Powe shot.

Officer Christopher Levy told FOX10 News, "We know she had multiple gun shot wounds to her torso and he appeared to have at least one gun shot wound possibly to the head."

The suspect is Penn's estranged husband Derrick Penn. Police said Janet, Penn's 19-year-old daughter, was also inside the home at the time of the shootings. Police said she ran outside for help. She flagged down police and they called for back up.

"Set up a perimeter around the residence. Derrick Penn actually exited the rear of the residence and they took him into custody," said Levy.

Demetrius Powe was pronounced dead on the scene. Janet Penn was taken to USA Medical Center, where she died. Neighbor Jaracia Williams said, "It's heartbreaking. That's the heartbreaking part that her daughter has to remember that about her mother."

Jeffrey Hickbottom added, "I just hope they get to the bottom of it and find out what's the real situation and what really happened."

In the past, police said there were reported incidents of domestic violence between the Penns. In 2004 Derrick Penn was actually arrested for domestic violence.

"He's got several arrests ranging from assault and menacing to harassment. He does have a pretty good criminal arrest history, most of which happened to be violent crimes," Levy said. Neighbors said it's just sad.

Williams added, "Totally not the way to handle it. Use words, not guns." Derrick Penn faces two counts of murder.

Crime Scene Cleanup: What It Involves

A crime scene cleanup service is not without its complications. Crime scene cleaning encompasses restoring the crime scene to its original state. When a crime is usually discovered, crime scene cleaners are not called until after officers of the law, like the crime scene investigators, have done their jobs first and have given the go ahead for the cleaners to come in. If you intend to hire a crime scene cleanup company, you must make sure that they are well equipped and fit right to get the job done. A crime scene presents challenging conditions.

The Use Of Protective Gears:
Crime scenes can very well involve the use of hazardous or deadly substances. For safety reasons then, it has become imperative that crime scene cleaners use protective clothing, in addition to protective tools and gadgets. You must see to it that they have all the necessary protective gears and gadgets. The protective clothing can consist of disposable gloves and suits. A disposable gear is preferred nowadays since it offers the best protection against contamination. You use it one time and get rid of it. That way, the dangers of contamination is virtually brought down to zero percent. Protective clothing extends to respirators and the use of heavy-duty industrial or chemical-spill protective boots.

Among the gadgets that a crime scene cleaning company must have are special brushes, special sprayers, and wet vacuum. These special tools ensure added protection against getting into contact with the hazard could very well be present in the crime scene. There is large, special equipment such as a mounted steam injection tool that is designed to sanitize dried up biohazard materials such as scattered flesh and brain. You would also need to check if they have the specialized tank for chemical treatments and industrial strength waste containers to collect biohazard waste.

Of course, any crime scene clean up must have the usual cleaning supplies common to all cleaning service companies. There are the buckets, mops, brushes and spray bottles. For cleaning products, you should check if they use industrial cleaning products. A crime scene cleaning company must have these on their lists:

1 - Disinfectants including hydrogen peroxide and bleaches - The kinds that the hospitals used are commonly acceptable.

2 - Enzyme solvers for cleaning blood stains. It also kills viruses and bacteria.

3 - Odor removers such as foggers, ozone machines, and deodorizers

4 - Handy tools for breaking and extending such as saws, sledgehammers, and ladders

Established crime scene operators also equip themselves with cameras and take pictures of the crime scene before commencing work which. The pictures taken may prove useful for legal matters and insurance purposes. You never know which.

Needless to say, a specially fitted form of transportation and proper waste disposal is also needed. These requirements are specific. As you can imagine, crime scene cleaning is in a different category on its own. A home cleaning or janitorial service company may not be able to cope up with the demands of a crime scene. A crime scene cleanup service requires many special gears and tools that a home cleaning or a janitorial service company does not usually have or does not require. Crime scene cleaning if not done correctly can expose the public to untold hazards.

What Else To Look For In A Crime Scene Cleanup Company
You may also want to hire a company that has established itself. An experienced company with a strong reputation is always a plus but it could be expensive too. You will do well to balance your needs with what is your budget. There are several companies that offer specific prices such as for death scene clean up categories and suicide clean up categories. Most companies own a website and have round the clock customer service as receptionists.

When looking for a suitable crime scene cleaning service, among the first things you need to do is to scout for price quotes. Crime scene cleanup services usually provide quote after they have examined the crime scene and then they give you a definite quote. Factors that are usually considered include the number of personnel that will be needed to get the job done. It also includes the amount of time that might be needed. The nature and amount of the waste materials that need to be disposed will also be factored in. You can be sure that the more sophisticated equipments needed the more expensive it will get.

Crime Scene Cleanup And Your Insurance
For homeowners, the best approach is always to make sure that crime scene cleanup services clauses and provisions are written down on the contracts or policies. The inclusion of crime cleanup services clauses is very common and has become standard clause in most homeowner’s policy. Make sure that you are covered for this unforeseen event. Make sure that your policy directs the crime scene cleaning company to transact directly with the homeowner insurance company. A crime scene cleaning service is usually a standard clause in many homeowners’ insurance clause. These companies often do the paperwork in behalf of clients.

If for some reason you do not have such coverage by any policies relating to crime scene cleanup on your home, there are ways to keep your expenses controlled.

Finding the right company can be very taxing, especially that you have to deal with the emotional stress stemming from the crime itself, especially with a crime scene involving death.

There are many crime scene cleanup companies in operation nowadays. There are reliable professionals that you can hire and prices are relatively competitive. As of recently, crime-scene cleanup services can cost up to $600 for an hour of their service. A homicide case alone involving a single room and a huge amount of blood can cost about $1,000 to $3,000.

In recent years, crime scene cleaning has come to be known as, "Crime and Trauma Scene Decontamination or CTS. Basically, CTS is a special form of crime scene cleaning focusing on decontamination of the crime scene from hazardous substances such as those resulting from violent crimes or those involving chemical contaminations such as methamphetamine labs or anthrax production. This type of service is particularly common when violent crimes are committed in a home. It is rare that the residents move out of the home after it has become a scene of a crime. Most often, the residents just opt to have it cleaned up. That is why, it is very important to hire the best crime scene cleaning company out there. The place needs to be totally free from contamination of any kind. You have to make sure that the company is able to remove all traces of the violent crime that took place. This includes cleaning biohazards that are sometimes invisible to the untrained eye.

Legally speaking, federal laws state that all bodily fluids are deemed biohazards and you should make sure that the cleanup service company you hire understands this and includes it in the cleanup. These things appear as blood or tissue splattered on a crime scene. You must be able to hire a company that is equipped with special knowledge to safely handle biohazard materials. The company must have the knowledge what to search for in any give biohazard crime scene. For instance, the company should be able to tell clues such that if there is a bloodstain the size of a thumbnail on a carpet, you can bet that there is about a huge bloodstain underneath. Federal and State laws have their own laws in terms of transport and disposal of biohazard waste. Make sure that the company you hire has all the permits necessary.

It will also be a huge plus if you could hire people who not only has the special trainings but also who have the nature to be sympathetic. If you are close to the victim and have the cleaning done at the behest of the victim’s relatives, it would matter that the cleaners tread the site with some level of respect. It is a common site that family members and loved ones are often there at scene. In general, when looking for a suitable crime scene cleaners, you would take into considerations the kind of situation that the crimes scene presents and the demands that it require. Crime scene cleaning companies handle a wide variety of crime scenes and prices may vary from one to the other crime scene and one to the other company.

Each type of scene requires its own particular demands not only to make the crime scene look clean and neat on the surface but to make it germ free, and clean inside and to make it free from all deadly and infectious substances. The cleanup cost for biohazards may vary depending on degree of the bio hazard(s) on the scene. There may even be a category that changes the cleanup pricing which usually involves decomposing bodies and carcasses. Likewise, a cleanup of chemical hazards vary, depending on the amount of chemical hazards as well as the grades i.e. how hazardous the substance is in terms of human contact. Prices are also determined by the number of hours and personnel that it would to get the crime scene cleaned. In addition, the "gross factor" from crime scene involving death and gore needs to be taken under consideration regarding the chemicals that will be used as opposed to those crimes' that do not have gore involved.

Traumatic Grief

By Nancy Crump

Since the late 1980’s, we have seen an increase in interest and research on the effects of trauma on the grief process. We have learned that the grief process from the sudden, unexpected, and often violent deaths of suicide, homicide, auto accidents, natural disasters, and other types of deaths, is very different from the grief process of those who have died from natural causes, old age, or long-termed illness. Many, if not all, of the deaths faced by Bio Technicians fall into the category of traumatic. Those family members who hire you have usually been touched by the trauma of the death. Understanding the traumatic grief process and its differences from other types of grief may be of some help to you as you deal with these family members.

There are several key elements that make the responses by family members to a traumatic death difficult. First is the suddenness of the death. Family members usually did not have time to prepare themselves for the death and to make the psychological adjustments to cope with the news of the death. Also, the suddenness of the death does not give the family an opportunity to say goodbye to the victim before their death. Second, the violence of the death may leave the family with horrific memories and nightmares that often interfere with the grief process. Third, many of these types of deaths require police intervention and the family is often not given the support, information, and compassion they need at the time. Another element can be the presence of the media at the time of the death, as well as weeks and months later if legal issues follow the death. Most traumatic deaths involve young people who’s parents, grandparents, and siblings may still live. Certainly, the death of a child or young person is very difficult to cope with.

Reactions to a traumatic death can be very different, more intense, and longer lasting than other types of death. The emotions following a traumatic death are often conflicting and intense. There is a tendency to relive the death event over and over in an attempt to make it real. Intrusive thoughts and nightmares are very common. Intense physical responses such as inability to eat or sleep, stomach aches and headaches, muscle tension, high blood pressure and a decrease in the autoimmune system are also common. Many times, the survivors must deal with intense feelings of guilt or remorse, feeling that they were somehow responsible or could have prevented the death “if only”. Family members have the need to tell the story of the death over and over again in an attempt to gain a sense of the reality of the death. They often have an overwhelming need to learn all they can about the circumstances of the death - how the person died, whether they were in pain, did they know they were dying, what were their last words, who saw what happened, and in cases of homicide, who committed the murder. All of these reactions are ways the survivors use to grasp the reality of the death and to begin the grief process.

As Bio Technicians, you are often called by family members or meet them upon arrival to the scene. Understanding some of the dynamics of trauma on the grief process may help as you help the family. Understanding the “normalcy” of the reactions you may see can help you feel more competent and assured to speak with family members without wondering whether or not you are saying the “right” thing. Some suggestions are listed below, but the most important thing is to convey sincerity and compassion to the family. They are very vulnerable and sensitive to words, expressions, and body language. Just make sure that what you say and do is congruent with how you feel or you will come across as insincere and uncaring.

Soon after a traumatic death, most survivors simply need to tell the story to anyone who will listen. It is important for their recovery to be able to do this. If you have time to listen, do so. They are not necessarily looking for any input from you; they just need someone to listen.

Remember that there are two basic rules for grieving people – you don’t hurt yourself or someone else. If, during the conversation, you hear comments that indicate the person is thinking of either, you might suggest they go talk to someone else before making a decision to do something like this. Create a list of counselors, therapists, or mental health centers to hand out at times like these. Take comments about thoughts of suicide seriously and offer to call a friend or family member to be with the person and get them help. Suicide rates often increase after a sudden, traumatic death of a loved one. These are very difficult situations for you as a caregiver, but you need to set limits as to what you can and cannot do. Listening and having resources available are all you need. The survivor needs to take some responsibility for them, and others who are better trained to handle these situations need to be contacted.

Although many reactions may look and feel “crazy”, most are normal reactions to the situation. Again, as long as they don’t hurt themselves or someone else, they are probably reacting normally to an abnormal situation. Helping normalize these reactions is very helpful to the survivor. Encouraging the survivor to talk and to express what they are experiencing is also helpful. Making a simple statement such as, “I think I’d feel the same way if this happened to me”, helps the survivor feel less out of control.

There are many support groups available to survivors that would make a good resource for them. Creating a list of those in your community or in nearby communities is a great gift for survivors. They may not want to attend a support group, but usually someone from the group is always willing to talk to them by telephone or offer assistance.

In the work you do, you may find yourself in situations of dealing with survivors who have needs you do not feel comfortable or competent in dealing with. That’s okay as it is not your responsibility to be all things to all people. However, there are these simple steps you can take to help your families in a meaningful way. You can listen. You can refer. You can offer resources. Having some general knowledge of the traumatic grief process may make you feel more competent in dealing with your families and knowing that you are being supportive and helpful in a meaningful way.

Below are some national organizations that offer support groups in almost every locality. They are specific to either the type of death or the relationship to the person who died and are more appropriate to traumatic deaths. They all have web sites or central telephone numbers that can be contacted for local information.

The Compassionate Friends – for parents’ whose child has died of any cause.
MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Drivers offer support for parents who a drunk driver killed child
Widowed Persons Service – sponsored by AARP for spousal death
SOS – Survivors of Suicide support groups
POMC – Parents of Murdered Children and other victims of homicide.

These and many other groups may be listed at your county’s Victim Assistance Office usually located in the office of the District Attorney. Also, check with your local hospices or hospitals. They offer support groups that are open to the public. Some local churches may also host support groups. As you create your list, don’t try to keep up with the dates and times of group meetings as they change frequently. All you need is the name of the group, a telephone number, and possibly a contact person. Leave it to the survivors to take the responsibility to make the calls on their own behalf.

RELEASE: Statement from Town and Gown Players

ATHENS (MyFOX ATLANTA) - The three people we lost yesterday were a part of the rich 50-year history of this theater and, more than that, were vital members of the Town and Gown family.

Ben Teague, loving husband of UGA's Dr. Fran Teague for more than 40 years, was not only a friend but also a father figure to all at the theater. One would be hard pressed to find a Town and Gowner who had not learned at least one life lesson from this wise and kind hearted man. His wife wishes to say, "Yesterday Ben was murdered, which is hard to comprehend and impossible to accept. It was a beautiful day, however, and he was in his favorite place with the people he loved." Ben was a translator of German, Russian and English.

Marie Bruce was the binding force that held the Town and Gown community together. Having worked with Town and Gown for over 20 years, at one time or another she served in every capacity at the theater, artistically and administratively, from leading lady to president of the board to chief cook and bottle washer. A local attorney, Marie was the mother of two young children.

A gentle presence, Tom Tanner breathed life into every corner of Town and Gown through his quiet diligence and astounding creativity - most would call him genius. Father of an equally amazing daughter, Tom would tell you that while he enjoyed his work as director of the Regional Dynamics Economic Modeling Laboratory at Clemson University, his heart lived and thrived in the theater.

Ben, Marie and Tom were a part of our family, and as painful as their loss is for us, we know it is even more painful for their families. We want to extend our deepest sympathy to their immediate family and close friends outside the theater community. There are no words we can use to adequately express our grief.

We would like to thank the Athens Police department and the media for their respectful treatment of this tragedy. We want to thank the American Bio Recovery Association and A1 BIO-Clean Service for the generous donation of their services in our time of need. We also want to thank the Athens Community for their support. This tragedy effects everyone in the community in some way, and we know you share in our loss. We ask that the media continue to be respectful of our privacy during this difficult time.