COVID-19 Severe Disease Surveillance Data Manager

PHMC is proud to be a leader in public health. PHMC requires that all employees are fully COVID-19 vaccinated by the first day of employment. 

PROGRAM AREA: Division of Disease Control, Acute Communicable Disease Program

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), through its Acute Communicable Disease Program (ACD), is responsible for the surveillance, investigation, prevention, and control of all reportable acute communicable diseases in Philadelphia with the exception of multidrug-resistant organisms, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases. The ACD program is made up of disease surveillance investigators, epidemiologists, and clinicians who coordinate regularly with local healthcare facilities, laboratories, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Philadelphia residents to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

The Severe Disease Data Manager will support the identification and monitoring of patients with severe COVID-19 and other respiratory virus infections including hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, deaths, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS). This position will coordinate electronic and traditional reporting from hospitals and manage related datasets. This position will work closely with the Acute Communicable Disease Program Manager, Respiratory Virus Surveillance Team, and Epidemiologists to conduct surveillance for severe COVID-19 and other respiratory virus infections.

The position is temporary and funded through June 2025. This position is full-time, Monday through Friday, with occasional work after hours and on weekends to support Program activities.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Coordinate severe COVID-19 disease and other respiratory virus reporting from hospitals via electronic and traditional reporting methods.

Maintain relationships with reporting sites (i.e., hospital infection preventionists) and work with hospital contacts to obtain complete information on severe COVID-19 and other respiratory virus infection reports.

Conduct data management activities for severe COVID-19 and other respiratory virus surveillance including data entry, case classification, and cleaning.

Conduct dataset comparisons and construct datasets for importation into the PDPH Communicable Disease Management System (surveillance database).

Develop, generate, and review reports to identify possible healthcare-associated infections and co-infections with other respiratory viruses or bacteria that cause invasive infections.

Maintain MIS-C reporting from pediatric hospitals and submission of cases to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Assist with review of MIS-C case report forms and as needed, conduct medical record abstractions to obtain case report form detail for MIS-C cases.

Work with health informatics staff to improve disease reporting and data transmission via electronic mechanisms including electronic case reporting.

Support other ACD data management tasks as needed.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in science or public health

Excellent communication and organizational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to organize and present information effectively

Candidates should have strong critical thinking skills and the ability to identify and troubleshoot data quality issues

Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Excel or other data management software (e.g., REDCap)

Knowledge of SAS software or previous data management experience is highly desirable

Flexibility, professionalism and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously are highly valued attributes

Equally comfortable working individually and within a team environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration in a dynamic urban health department

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Position duties will be conducted in an in-person, office setting and not remotely. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, walk, talk, and hear. This job may require moderate physical effort including lifting materials and equipment of less than 50 pounds and involves viewing a CRT or VDT screen 50 to 75 percent of the time. The position requires responding to public health emergencies on short notice and some after-hours activities to achieve Program Objectives.

SUPERVISION

This position reports directly to the PDPH Acute Communicable Disease Program Cross-Program Epidemiologist.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The annual salary range is $48,000 to $52,000 (commensurate with experience).

HOW TO APPLY

At the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, we value health justice and equity. Our work is guided by a commitment to all people’s health and humanity, and we recognize the impact that health disparities have on our City’s diverse population. We are dedicated to building a staff that reflects the diversity of Philadelphia. We are an EEO employer, and we are committed to providing a diverse, inclusive, safe workplace free from discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, or retaliation.

Applicants who are originally from and live in the Philadelphia area are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply for this position please send cover letter and resume or CV via email to Dana Perella, MPH, Acute Communicable Disease Program Manager, acd@phila.gov. 

Please name materials in the following convention: Last Name First Name Document (e.g. resume or cover letter). Include in the subject line COVID-19 Severe Disease Data Manager. Candidates selected for final interview may be required to also submit a driver record. For questions regarding the position please contact the Division of Disease Control at 215-685-6740.

PHMC is an E-Verify and Equal Opportunity Employer

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Salary : $48,000 - $52,000