The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) seeks an experienced professional to serve as a Field Epidemiologist based out of our Marlborough location. Field Epidemiologists in Massachusetts are responsible for disease intervention activities, as well as data collection and quality improvement activities. The position involves extensive travel throughout the Central MA region of the Commonwealth, and significant time spent in clinical settings.

The Field Epidemiologist will follow-up on cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV, and will assist patients with obtaining STI/HIV medical care and support services. This evolving sector of public health response includes contact tracing, which involves working with diagnosed individuals to ascertain information about their sex and/or drug-injection partners, notifying partners of the STI/HIV exposure, and facilitating access to infectious disease testing and to medical care for partners that test positive. The Field Epidemiologist will also conduct interviews for HIV-positive persons identified as out-of-care or sub-optimally engaged in care, to re-engage patients with the healthcare system.

Additional activities may include providing referrals to case management and human services programs, such as to substance use disorder treatment or housing specialists, and performing field phlebotomy and other specimen collection as needed.

Data collection and data entry are core components of the Field Epidemiologist position. The Field Epidemiologist will enter data collected from patient and provider interviews into a surveillance and case management database system in real time, as cases are being worked.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Contact healthcare providers to collect information related to a patient’s STI/HIV diagnosis. Offer guidance and technical assistance to providers related to CDC STI/HIV guidelines and best practices, as needed. Candidate may also retrieve information from medical records systems and may be embedded in a clinical setting as the DPH DSTDP liaison for that organization.
• Communicate with patients by phone and in person, to provide partner services, which includes collecting information about sex and/or injection drug use behaviors, providing counseling and health education, and eliciting details about patients’ sex and/or drug-injection partners for the purpose of conducting confidential exposure notifications. Activities may also include providing referrals to facilitate linkage-to-medical care and other relevant support services.
• Confidentially notify sex and/or drug-injection partners about STI/HIV exposures and other infectious diseases of public health importance as needed, and collect demographic, risk, and other relevant information.
• Document data collected from patient and provider interviews in an electronic surveillance and case management database. Extract and analyze data reports for case management purposes.
• Perform phlebotomy, and other specimen collection as needed, in field-based settings to facilitate completion of infectious disease laboratory tests. Deliver medication to clinics on an as-needed basis.
• Collect, analyze, and clearly communicate information to stakeholders at meetings and in other clinical settings to support program objectives.
• Participate on quality improvement teams and in quality assurance special projects.
• Aforementioned duties require travel throughout the Central MA region of the Commonwealth in personal vehicle, for which mileage is reimbursed at the negotiated rate of the bargaining unit.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience analyzing and interpreting epidemiologic data to draw conclusions and make appropriate recommendations related to disease intervention.
• Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
• Capacity to work independently in field settings, including in clinics and in the community.
• A strong understanding of social determinants of health and a commitment to health equity, particularly racial equity.
• Means to communicate effectively in oral expression and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Availability of a personal automobile for work use.
• Multi-lingual capacity prioritized.
• Experience in health care environment and familiarity with diverse populations preferred.

About the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences (BIDLS):

The DPH Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences (BIDLS), predominantly located in Jamaica Plain, provides public health response to infectious disease. These services include programmatic and epidemiologic response, as well as laboratory testing through the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL).

Infectious disease response services address concerns of the general public as well as those disproportionately affected by infectious disease through a variety of risk factors. BIDLS administers ongoing disease reporting for over 90 reportable diseases in the state. Disease reporting review and follow-up with clinical providers and local boards of health is a central function of the bureau. Surveillance activity is complemented by an extensive contracted service system. These services are funded through state and federal resources and include prevention education, community outreach screening for infectious disease, immunization services, health service navigation, medical case management, insurance enrollment, housing assistance, and referral and linkage to infectious disease treatment.

The SPHL provides scientific expertise and capacity to identify infectious agents, chemical agents, and other toxins that cause human disease. The SPHL is an active partner in joint activities with other bureaus/agencies such as environmental health, food and drug, agriculture, disease prevention and health promotion programs, and public safety. The SPHL is a reference laboratory of the national Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and is a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Select Agent laboratory. SPHL staff work closely with laboratory and disease prevention programs at the CDC, and partners with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

About the Department of Public Health:

The mission of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is to prevent illness, injury, and premature death, to assure access to high quality public health and health care services, and to promote wellness and health equity for all people in the Commonwealth. We envision a Commonwealth in which all people enjoy optimal health. Massachusetts ranks among the healthiest of states according to comparative analyses, but we face numerous challenges, including chronic and infectious disease, substance abuse, violence, preventable hospitalizations, and health disparities.

DPH coordinates programs and policies to address specific diseases and conditions and offer services to address the needs of vulnerable populations. We also develop, implement, promote, and enforce regulations and policies to assure that the conditions under which people live are most conducive to health and enable people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families. We license health professionals, healthcare facilities and a variety of businesses that impact public health. We operate the state laboratory and four public health hospitals. We monitor health status and manage vital records including births, marriages and deaths. We educate people about public health issues and work closely with local boards of health and community partners to identify and solve public health problems.

More information can be found at: MA Department of Public Health

Pre-Hire Process:

A criminal background check will be completed on the recommended candidate as required by the regulations set forth by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services prior to the candidate being hired. For more information, please visit http://www.mass.gov/hhs/cori

Education, licensure, and certifications will be verified in accordance with the Human Resources Division’s Hiring Guidelines.

Education and license/certification information provided by the selected candidate(s) is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law and may be published on the Commonwealth’s website.

If you require assistance with the application/interview process and would like to request an ADA accommodation, please click on the link and complete the Reasonable Accommodation Online Request Form

For questions regarding this requisition, please contact the Executive Office of Health and Human Services Human Resources at 1-800- 510-4122 Ext. #

Comprehensive Benefits

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

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