Communicable Disease Investigator

Cuyahoga County Board of Health • Parma, OH

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Communicable Disease Investigator is responsible for investigating reportable infectious diseases, managing case information, monitoring surveillance systems, and responding to public inquiries. This role involves interviewing individuals, assessing transmission risks, providing restriction instructions, conducting statistical analyses, and collaborating with various health entities. The investigator also plays a role in public health emergency preparedness and may be required to operate agency vehicles.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in either the biological sciences, environmental health, nursing, or public health.
• Curriculum must include at least one epidemiology course.
• Graduate-level epidemiology coursework required annually.
• Completion of a 'Principals of Epidemiology' course within first six months of employment.
• Minimum of two years of public health or equivalent experience under the supervision of an epidemiologist (with Bachelor’s degree) OR no experience necessary (with Master’s degree).
• Valid driver’s license and insurance at time of appointment.
• Basic knowledge of local, state, and federal guidelines related to infectious disease transmission, prevention, and epidemiology principles.
• Ability to efficiently multi-task daily.
• Proficiency with use of PC hardware & basic software (i.e., Microsoft office), email, and office equipment (i.e., copier, fax, scanner, telephone, etc.).
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
• Good customer service, verbal and written communication skills, and effective presentation skills.
• Good interpersonal relationship skills including cultural sensitivity & competence.
• Proficiency with use of databases and for data querying and reporting.
• Mathematical aptitude necessary to perform statistical analysis.
• All new hires will need to meet vaccination requirements or request an exemption and submit a TB Baseline as outlined in the CCBH Vaccination Policy.
• All applicants are required to upload a resume and include a cover letter with their application.
• All employees hired for a position must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship for employment visa status now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual Applicants Welcome

Responsibilities

• Investigates reportable infectious diseases as guided by the Ohio Infectious Disease Control Manual.
• Receives and enters infection case information into the Ohio Disease Reporting System (ODRS).
• Monitors various infectious disease surveillance systems for significant disease trends and early detection of emerging infectious diseases in sensitive areas.
• Investigates, coordinates, and/or assists with all reported disease outbreaks or illness clusters.
• Reviews findings and identifies appropriate internal partners for follow-up.
• Contacts healthcare providers as needed to gather additional information.
• Collects and analyzes reportable infectious disease data for the quarterly and annual disease reports.
• Responds to public inquiries from schools, institutions, businesses, individuals, etc. regarding infectious disease concerns.
• Collaborate with other health departments, hospitals, and healthcare providers.
• Educates institutions on outbreak handling procedures and gathers outbreak information where necessary.
• Interviews and re-interviews persons infected with or suspected of having a communicable or infectious disease to determine the source of the transmission.
• Assesses and communicates restriction instructions to infected individuals and employers in alignment with the Ohio Infectious Disease Control Manual.
• Conducts basic statistical analyses (e.g., univariate, bi-variate, and stratified) using software such as SPSS, SAS, Epi Info, etc.
• Serves as the primary contact for Class A diseases reported outside of normal business hours.
• Leads the agency Health Alert Network and reviews/updates the Health Alert Network Standard Operating Guidelines.
• Interprets and implements local, state, and federal guidelines related to infectious disease control.
• Develops and extracts reports from databases (i.e., Enterprise, etc.) for delivery to internal and external customers.
• Gathers and organizes documents to satisfy public records requests or other reporting obligations.
• Participates in public health emergency activities as needed.
• Serves as a first responder of the outbreak investigation team.
• Collaborates with internal and external partners on special projects as assigned.
• May be required to operate agency-owned fleet vehicles at offsite service locations.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical (full time employees responsible for 10% of premium)
• Dental (full time employees responsible for 10% of premium)
• Vision
• Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)
• Deferred Compensation
• FSA Health and Dependent Care
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Holidays (14 paid per year)
• Vacation Time (13 paid days per year for new service PERS members)
• Sick Time (15 paid days per year)
• Personal Days (up to 3 paid per year)
• Agency paid Life Insurance
• Additional Voluntary Life Insurance
• Voluntary Identity Theft Protection
• Voluntary Critical Illness
• Voluntary Accident Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free Parking
• Onsite
• Remote work from home available up to two days per week with approval after the completion of a minimum of 60 days of employment.
• Alternate work schedule or changes in work schedule available after initial training period with approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level