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Helen McKay Piper '07

When I began my work in the OCME, I was often asked if I "see bodies" and once the COVID-19 pandemic began my answer changed from "I only do DNA testing and sometimes fingernails" to "Yes, I've seen plenty of bodies".
1. Full Name: Helen McKay Piper

2. Class Year: Class of 2007

3. Job Title: Criminalist III

4. Employer: Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) NYC

5. Years worked in this industry (If applicable): 5+ years
 
6.  How has your role and your day to day responsibilities changed since the COVID-19 Pandemic? 

I am a DNA analyst in the Forensic Biology (FBIO) department where I examine the evidence for the presence of biological materials, perform DNA testing, write reports, and testify in court. In the lab, we always wear face masks mostly to protect our evidence from our own DNA, so that part of my PPE has not really changed. Add a lab coat, hair net, and gloves and we're ready for the lab. When the pandemic began, other departments within the OCME were overwhelmed by the volume of work required to handle the number of deaths occurring, and in mid-March, I was assigned to the morgues as a Forensic Quality Specialist (FQS). When I began my work in the OCME, I was often asked if I “see bodies” and once the COVID-19 pandemic began my answer changed from “I only do DNA testing and sometimes see fingernails” to “Yes, I’ve seen plenty of bodies”. 

The primary responsibilities of an FQS is to do quality checks and release decedents to funeral homes. In order to do that properly, we have to review all communications about the case to ensure the right decedent is going to the right funeral home or for city burial, and that all documentation is completed before releasing. We check for potential disagreements among family members, and that the identification of the decedent has been completed. We check that the photos from the death scene at check-in and check out at the morgue are consistent. We also have to ensure that all documents for the decedent are complete, attached to the case in our system and that the funeral director picking up has the correct paperwork. The final step is to check the tags on the decedents and their body bags as well as their face/ID photos against the remains before releasing them. 
 
Normally I work in Manhattan, but now I have worked at the morgues in Queens and in Brooklyn. Eventually, all mortuary operations were moved to a new Disaster Portable Morgue Unit (DPMU) set up in abandoned warehouses in Brooklyn with the FDNY, the US Army's Mortuary Affairs Unit, the National Guard, and Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT). From a professional perspective, never in my wildest dreams did I think my job would include me knowing so many funeral homes or funeral directors by name, by face, or that I would read so many death certificates. 

7.  What are some of the challenges you and your colleagues are facing due to the pandemic?

We were DNA analysts working 9-5ish type jobs in a lab and office, occasionally going to court, and then almost overnight most of us were given not just new tasks, but an entirely different temporary job and job site. These new tasks have been accompanied with almost daily protocol and shift changes including 10-12 hours shifts as well as day, night and all times in between shifts.  
 
In addition to our assignments as FQS, some of my colleagues worked in various departments documenting information from hospitals, families and first responders as medico-legal investigators, on communications teams, on our outreach teams, and in our identification department. Some became part of the IT department both onsite and remotely. Others worked as technicians in the morgues where they checked into and out of our tracking systems. As the number of deaths at home decreased, others were going with teams of military personnel to hospitals to pick up decedents to help alleviate overwhelmed hospital morgue storage. 

8.  With this shift in your personal and professional life, how are you practicing self-care?

Since we spent the majority of the time that we were awake at work, to be honest, a lot of my normal more time-consuming self-care went out the window for a while. We definitely had to lighten things up while we were there with our pictures of fantastic memes about essential works and pictures of windows (since there were none in our office) showing mountains and beaches. Some days you just need to laugh. We gave ourselves walkie-talkie code names, and we
 had afternoon “fire drills” where we took the walkie-talkies outside the warehouses to enjoy some sunshine between releases. I also was able to read some good books on my kindle app and play some Words with Friends between releases.  
 
Some days you just sort of having to walk past the trailers and shipping containers and remind yourself this is not normal, but it is what is, it's temporary and we're just going to keep moving forward. On the last day at the DPMU, when we said goodbye to our new friends in the mortuary and special operations departments, we felt like we weren’t simply saying “goodbye” or “see you at the holiday party”, we were saying “see you for the second wave” in a tone that’s indescribable 
 
When things began to slow down again, and we returned to the DNA lab, most of us took a couple of mental health sick days. I was able to take a nice long weekend and go camping as well as take a day during the week to go to the beach. We have a hefty workload in the lab, but I am finally getting back into my morning or lunchtime yoga routine when I work from home, and I either bike or walk home from work instead of taking the train. 

9.    What advice or words of wisdom would you like to give to our Spartan community?

I have to start with wash your hands, wear a mask, and listen to scientists who are trained to understand scientific papers and study design. And look at this as an ongoing process and not just 'wait until it's over' to do something you want to do. Adapt, be open to a new normal, and keep moving forward. For those deciding on a career path, it is okay if yours isn't straight and has some twists and turns. Life is what happens after you make plans. 
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