Epidemiologist II - Healthcare Associated Infections/Antibiotic Resistance

Full-time

Fairfax, VA

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

About the position

The Fairfax County Health Department is a progressive public health leader serving 1.2 million residents from diverse ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. With more than 100 years of leadership in the field, we are committed to promoting population health, protecting public health and the environment, and ensuring residents' equitable access to health services and information. This position works within the Division of Epidemiology and Population Health, and will be a member of the division's Acute Communicable and Emerging Diseases (ACED) team and HAI/AR unit. Duties will include leading HAI surveillance using multiple data sources. Identifies and investigating outbreaks of healthcare associated and selected drug resistant infections and making public health recommendations to reduce further transmission. Conducts and monitors case and outbreak investigations. Promotes and monitors disease prevention through infection control measures, antimicrobial stewardship, and other mitigation strategies. Leads quality assurance efforts; and developing and maintaining data visualization systems. May supervise part-time and contract staff working in infection prevention and control.

Responsibilities

• Lead HAI surveillance using multiple data sources.
• Identify and investigate outbreaks of healthcare associated and selected drug resistant infections.
• Make public health recommendations to reduce further transmission.
• Conduct and monitor case and outbreak investigations.
• Promote and monitor disease prevention through infection control measures and antimicrobial stewardship.
• Lead quality assurance efforts.
• Develop and maintain data visualization systems.
• Supervise part-time and contract staff working in infection prevention and control.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Public Health (MPH) or Master of Science (MS) with graduate work in epidemiology and/or biostatistics.
• Two years of experience in epidemiology-related work.
• Valid driver's license.
• AED certification required within 60 days of hire.
• CPR certification required within 60 days of hire.

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of public health principles and practices of healthcare-associated infections and/or antimicrobial stewardship.
• Knowledge in infection prevention and control guidelines and experience implementing best practices.
• Ability to work independently and communicate effectively using written, verbal, and electronic methods.
• Results driven, detail-oriented, and demonstrate effective and customer-oriented communication skills.
• Experience with data analysis and database management using statistical software.
• Experience in documentation standards and ability to fully document interactions with clients and other agencies.
• Ability to think quickly and apply public health knowledge to complex situations.
• Supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated use of quality improvement methodology to improve a public health outcome.
• Certification in Infection Control (CIC).
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office applications.