UVIS Information Guide_NYC

A system for identifying victims in a catastrophe is already deployed in the City of New York. The Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS), developed by Connecticut-based Sapphire International, Inc, is a disaster management system that manages and coordinates all of the activities related to missing persons reporting and victim identification. In concert with the City’s 311-call center, UVIS enables a centralized communications and data collection processes to support the family assistance center (FAC). This coordinated system is essential to developing an accurate manifest of potential victims – a critical step in victim identification. Most importantly, the coordinated UVIS-311 call center system keeps the lines of communication open to the families, friends and associates of possible victims. Such a resource is invaluable in the chaos that follows any tragic event.

What is UVIS?

The Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS) is a web browser-based application that can greatly enhance the victim identification process. UVIS was developed from knowledge gained during responses to major catastrophes, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, the American Airlines Flight 587 crash in addition to lessons learned from national and international disasters. The City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner, the largest Medical Examiner operation in the nation, its Department of Forensic Biology, the New York Police Department (NYPD), the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the NYC Mayor’s Office and other agencies throughout the City provided direct input into its development.

Today, UVIS is ready to assist in the event of a terrorist attack, hurricane, earthquake, pandemic flu event or other mass fatality incident. UVIS can deal with both open and closed manifest incidents (i.e., when there are no decedent/missing person’s lists, and when a decedent/missing persons list is available) and includes a built-in Dental Identification Module (UDIM).

UVIS is designed to handle multiple types of scenarios, and can manage up to 156 simultaneous events if needed. For example a terrorist operation may target different discrete areas of a large city (multiple incidents), as was the case on July 7th 2005 when a series of coordinated bomb blasts hit London’s public transport system during the morning rush hour resulting in more that 121,000 call center reports.

Most importantly, UVIS enables the OCME to meet its primary objectives following a catastrophic incident. They include:

• Investigate, Recover & Process Decedents in a Dignified and Respectful Manner

• Accurately Determine Cause & Manner of Death

• Perform Accurate & Efficient Identification of Victims

• Provide Families with Factual & Timely Information in a Compassionate Manner

• Conduct Rapid Return of Victims to their Legal Next of Kin