OPS BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST IV - 64853640

State of Florida•Saint Petersburg, FL

1d•$25 - $32•Onsite

About The Position

The Biological Scientist IV performs communicable disease surveillance, investigation, data entry, analysis, and follow-up to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), reportable diseases, foodborne and waterborne illnesses, other infectious diseases, and seasonal or pandemic influenza. The role uses Florida surveillance systems and other databases to monitor disease activity, investigate cases and outbreaks, recommend control measures, and maintain records. It collaborates with infection control practitioners and healthcare and community partners, and prepares reports, data summaries, graphs, and charts for dissemination or presentation. HAI epidemiology work includes coordinating infection control assessments and laboratory support, providing containment and transmission guidance for targeted multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), tracking outbreaks in Merlin, identifying local trends, and supporting prevention and outbreak detection in a range of healthcare and group-care settings. The position also delivers and supports training, participates in onsite outbreak investigations, submits reports, makes recommendations to facilities, and conducts follow-up assessments to evaluate implementation. The position is with the Department of Health in Pinellas County, at 205 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr St N, St. Petersburg, Florida. OPS employees may have access to the benefits listed in the posting, subject to eligibility where applicable. Incumbents may be required to perform emergency duty before, during, or beyond normal work hours or days.

Requirements

Valid driver’s license.
Knowledge of public health principles, communicable diseases, and disease control.
Knowledge of disease transmission modes, clinical indicators, and control measures.
Knowledge of public health surveillance systems and databases.
Skill in data analysis and creating graphs to illustrate data.
Skill in using Florida surveillance systems to track outbreaks.
Skill in coordinating infection control assessments.
Ability to conduct outbreak investigations.
Ability to work effectively with infection control practitioners.
Ability to interpret and apply CDC guidelines.
Ability to learn and communicate effectively in English, orally and in writing.

Nice To Haves

Certification in Infection Control.
Master’s degree in public health or a related field.
Registered Nurse (RN), BSN, MSN, or APRN.
One year of experience working in an applied epidemiology program.

Responsibilities

Investigate, enter data, and follow up on communicable diseases, including HAIs, reportable diseases, foodborne and waterborne illnesses, general infectious diseases, and influenza.
Conduct daily surveillance, data analysis, and data management using ESSENCE, Merlin, Epi Gateway, and other databases as needed.
Follow up on electronic laboratory and faxed reports for assigned HAIs; gather demographic and clinical information, confirm diagnoses, assess infection sources and transmission, determine spread, and recommend control measures.
Coordinate point prevalence surveys as needed and collect and transmit laboratory specimens for diagnostic study.
Monitor clients and susceptible clients during potentially infectious or probable onset periods to ensure appropriate follow-up on control measures.
Maintain records relevant to communicable disease investigations and issue alerts as needed to help contain disease spread.
Collaborate with infection control practitioners in hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities to identify, investigate, and control infectious diseases.
Prepare surveillance reports, data summaries, written documentation, graphs, and charts for publication, presentation, or dissemination.
Conduct studies and investigations related to outbreaks of public health significance.
Coordinate infection control assessments and laboratory support for testing and typing HAI-related specimens and isolates.
Provide containment and transmission guidance for novel or targeted MDROs and use Merlin to track outbreaks and investigations.
Serve as a subject matter expert on CDC guidance and provide local data to identify trends in targeted organisms.
Work with long-term care, dialysis, dental, outpatient, rehabilitation, and other facilities to improve prevention, outbreak detection, and reporting.
Provide quarterly infection prevention and control training to county health departments and support regional training with Project First Line Educators.
Participate onsite in MDRO and HAI outbreak investigations and regional outbreak-response training or drills.
Analyze Merlin data to identify opportunities to improve emerging-threat detection and recommend improvements for facilities based on surveillance data.
Coordinate with Project First Line Educators to provide onsite education in response to infection control gaps and meet the stated facility participation goal.
Submit completed reports into REDCap and save them in the appropriate HAI SharePoint folder.
Provide facilities with written assessment reports and recommendations within 72 hours, then conduct an onsite or telephone follow-up assessment within four weeks.
Work with identified county health department long-term care facility liaisons to assess concerns and outreach priorities.
Attend infection control meetings at assigned hospitals and exchange relevant information.
Provide information on infectious disease prevention, transmission, surveillance, and control to community members, clients, and healthcare professional groups.
Participate in training programs and educational conferences to stay informed about preparedness and epidemiological issues.
Perform other related duties as assigned.