Environmental Public Health Physician

State of Maine•Augusta, ME

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Maine CDC’s Environmental Health Program (EHP) and use your medical expertise to make a direct impact on the health of Maine communities, especially for children. In this role, you’ll serve in two meaningful capacities: Lead the health team for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) and Serve as a medical expert on environmental chemical exposures. This is a managerial medical position in a public health setting, where your leadership, clinical insight, and collaboration will help protect and improve lives across the state. As the health team leader for CLPPP, you will guide and support a small but impactful team while helping to ensure children across Maine receive appropriate testing and care. This work will advance progress toward the goal of eradicating childhood lead poisoning in Maine. It is especially critical following recent changes to state law, including a new requirement that all children receive a blood lead test at ages 1 and 2. You will also play a key role in addressing environmental and chemical exposure concerns across the state, working with the Environmental Toxicology and Environmental Epidemiology Units within EHP.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited Medical or Osteopathic School in the United States (Graduates of foreign medical schools must present evidence of having passed FLEX or National Board Examinations or of current Maine licensure)
A Master’s Degree in Public Health or at least two (2) years of full-time experience in specialty area with the US Public Health Service, another state, accredited university, or Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO) accredited hospital.
Certificate of registration with the right to practice medicine and surgery in Maine as issued by the State Board of Registration of Medicine.

Nice To Haves

Experience or training in the fields of environmental medicine, occupational medicine, environmental health, or occupational health
Experience supervising staff and managing complex teams
Strong leadership and interpersonal skills
Strong oral and written communication skills
Experience working in a public health program or agency

Responsibilities

Supervise a team of two nursing staff
Oversee monitoring of children’s blood lead levels, including confirmatory and follow-up testing, based on current state and federal guidelines, best practices, and CLPPP standard operating protocols
Inform healthcare providers about blood lead testing requirements and protocols for the medical management of childhood lead poisoning cases
Collaborate with other state offices and state clinical organizations to perform education and outreach and to advance CLPPP priorities
Approve provider offices to conduct in-office blood lead testing
Partner with environmental specialists to determine when temporary relocation is needed for affected children
Provide medical guidance to toxicologists, epidemiologists, other state agencies, and Maine residents
Support responses to both routine and acute environmental, occupational, and chemical exposures
Support surveillance programs for notifiable environmental health conditions, including carbon monoxide poisoning and exposure to polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals”
Collaborate across disciplines, sometimes in time-sensitive situations, under the direction of the Senior Environmental Health Program Manager
Deliver presentations and grand rounds on childhood blood lead testing and lead exposure
Lead a weekly childhood lead poisoning team case review
Develop lead poisoning health case management protocols and procedures
Partner with managers and epidemiologists to monitor rates of blood lead testing in various populations
Assist with consultations and reporting related to carbon monoxide and PFAS exposures
Assist toxicologists in responding to community or individual concerns when environmental exposures approach clinical significance
On occasion, as needed, and as funding allows, support other Divisions within Maine CDC to provide medical expertise for other health conditions.
On occasion, if needed, provide on-call coverage or work outside of regular business hours for the timely and appropriate management of severe lead poisoning or other serious or environmental health outcomes.

Benefits

13 paid holidays
12 days of sick leave annually
3+ weeks of vacation leave annually
Personal leave (for overtime-exempt employees)
Health Insurance Coverage (State of Maine pays 85%-100% of employee-only premiums, $12,845.82 - $15,112.76 annual value)
Health Insurance Premium Credit (decreases employee-only premiums by 5%)
Dental Insurance (State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums, $395.72 annual value)
Retirement Plan (State contributes the equivalent of 14.11% of the employee's pay towards the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS))
Six weeks of fully paid parental leave (for all employees welcoming a child—including non-birthing and adoptive parents)
Additional, unpaid leave may also be available, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Extensive and highly competitive benefits package, covering many aspects of wellness.
Wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness.