The Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) Program within the Epidemiology and Resource Center (ERC) at the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) is accepting applications for a Senior NHSN Epidemiologist (E6).

Purpose of Position/Summary:
In coordination with HAI/AR program, this position will be responsible and accountable for the coordination and/or implementation of NHSN activities and communications with CDC on NHSN activities. Position will act as the primary liaison between jurisdictions and state health departments, HAI/AR program, Antibiotic Stewardship team, healthcare facilities, CDC, professional societies, and other community partners with regards to NHSN activities. The NHSN lead will be responsible for ensuring appropriate processes are followed for Indiana and prioritize patient safety and quality improvement. Position provides technical assistance to facilities regarding NHSN enrollment and reporting, particularly to long term care facilities (LTCF) and other facilities eligible to report to NHSN. This position will oversee four positions.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:
•Manage a team which may consist of epidemiologists, public health investigators, data scientists and data entry staff. Must be able to analyze infectious disease data collected through routine surveillance, public health investigations, and applied epidemiologic studies;
•Report the analyzed data collected through routine for other IDOH divisions as necessary;
•Provide epidemiologic consultation and technical assistance with team which also may include local health departments, health care providers, veterinarians, and the general public with respect to infectious diseases or other assigned projects within IDOH;
•Demonstrate and communicate subject matter knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of infectious diseases;
•Conduct routine epidemiologic surveillance for infectious diseases;
•Assist in the development of program logic models and quality improvement projects
•Use leadership and systems thinking in epidemiologic planning and policy development
•Prepare and disseminate written and oral reports and presentations that communicate necessary information to internal and external partners;
•Conduct educational presentations and/or trainings for a variety of audiences, including local health departments, health care providers, veterinarians, and the general public;
•Participate in writing grants and other funding proposals;
•Serve as an agency spokesperson at the invitation and direction of the ISDH Office of Public Affairs;
•Evaluate the impact of legislation or policy proposals at the invitation and direction of the IDOH Director of Legislative Affairs;
•Serve as a backup to other infectious disease epidemiologists;
•Perform related duties as assigned.
Job Requirements:
•Education:
oA master's degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, biological sciences, or social sciences) and = 4 years' relevant public health experience OR
oA master's degree or higher in a non-relevant field and = 5 years' relevant public health experience OR
oA doctoral-level degree in epidemiology or other relevant field and = 2 years' relevant public health experience OR
oA graduate or professional degree in a health-related field (e.g., RN, MD/DO, DDS/DMD, DVM, PhD, RS) with specific epidemiology training (e.g., MPH degree, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service, or CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship) and = 2 years' relevant public health experience OR
oA bachelor's degree in a relevant field and = 6 years' relevant public health experience OR
oA bachelor's degree in a non-relevant field and = 8 years' relevant public health experience.
oCurrent employee promotion requirement: Internal candidate should be a high-performing Epidemiologist E7 or other internal role based on demonstrated ability, competency attainment, and/or performance feedback
oAt least 1 year experience working with the NHSN application in healthcare or public health.
•Knowledge, skills, and abilities:
oDemonstrate ability to manage a team with multiple priorities and complex projects involving critical thinking and decision-making
oKnowledge of NHSN;
oKnowledge of state laws and regulations as well as federal public health guidance documents pertaining to infectious diseases;
oSkill in identification of public health problems pertinent to Indiana residents;
oSkill in conducting public health investigations of individual cases and/or outbreaks of infectious diseases;
oSkill in managing large datasets, performing complex data analyses, and identifying key findings;
oAbility to work cooperatively with a wide variety of individuals and groups including field staff, health care providers, and local health departments.
oAbility to interpret information relative to epidemiologic investigations and prepare reports based on analysis of the information
oEffectively train staff on information relative to epidemiologic investigations

Supervisory
Supervises 4 staff

Personal Work Relationships
Contacts and relationships include Indiana Department of Health staff, hospital infection control personnel, long-term care and ambulatory surgical center staff, private health care practitioners, and local health department staff (including nurses and health officers). Contacts also include federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and professional associations such as the Indiana Hospital Association, the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and the Indiana Department of Education. The public and other contacts outside the medical profession are made in order to convey uniform and accurate disease information.

Physical Effort
Must sit for extended periods of time working on computer

Working Conditions
Working conditions of the position are typically an office environment. During emergencies, field visits and extended work hours may be necessary. Occasional overnight travel may be required.

Required/Desired Skills
Skill Required /Desired Amount of Experience Master's degree in Public Health w/4 yrs. exp. in public health preferred, will accept bachelor's degree with > 8 years public health exp. Required 0 At least 1 year experience in healthcare and/or public health in HAI, AR, IPC, program implementation, or patient safety. Required 0 Knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of infectious diseases; Required 0 Knowledge of state laws and regulations as well as federal public health guidance documents pertaining to infectious diseases; Required 0
Questions
No. Question Question1 Absences greater than two weeks MUST be approved by CAI management in advance, and contact information must be provided to CAI so that the resource can be reached during his or her absence. The Client has the right to dismiss the resource if he or she does not return to work by the agreed upon date. Do you accept this requirement? Question2 Please list candidate's email address. Question3 Please list the city and state where candidate currently resides. Question4 Candidate must be paid $32.45 if selected for engagement. The provider markup for this position is 30%. Do you accept this requirement? Question5 Position may become contract to hire. Do you accept this requirement? Question6 Position will require 6 weeks of on-site training. Following training position may become remote 3 days per week. Do you accept this requirement?