Position Title: Case Investigator

Reports to: Community Tracing Collaborative Contact Tracing Supervisor

Location: Massachusetts

Position Type: Full-time, Temporary, includes evenings and weekends

Project Overview:

The current COVID-19 pandemic exceeds the existing Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Local Boards of Health ability to perform contact tracing. As a result, many people are unaware that they are a contact of a person with COVID-19. Contacts may have asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID-19 and can unwittingly spread the virus in the community. To break the chain of transmission, contact tracing and isolation must be scaled-up rapidly.

To support the Department of Public Health (DPH), Partners In Health (PIH) will hire, train and supervise a large team of community contact tracing staff across Massachusetts. The aim of this will be to call every person diagnosed with COVID-19, gather their contacts, and proceed to call every contact in Massachusetts. In tandem with Commonwealth-wide effort to increase testing and improving communication and implementation of isolation and quarantine this will fortify efforts to control the pandemic in Massachusetts. 

Position Overview

The Case Investigator will join a fast paced and dynamic team to help spearhead contact tracing for COVID-19 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Case Investigator will supervise a unit of seven to ten people working remotely. This unit will be collectively responsible for calling people with COVID-19, helping make care plans for people with COVID-19, identifying and collecting contact details of people with COVID-19 and their contacts, and connecting contacts with various services (including social support structures, testing, clinical care, etc.). The team will provide education about COVID-19, on isolation and quarantine procedures and about social services. The Case Investigator is responsible for the unit will also track progress against target goals, provide direct supervision, oversight, and mentorship to the unit, and will be the unit’s point of contact with the supervisory structures. The Case Investigator will also perform many of the functions of the team, including being the primary point of contact for people with COVID-19.

Responsibilities

• Supervise a unit of between seven and 10 people that collectively performs all functions of the COVID-19 Community Team response. This includes contacting newly diagnosed persons, providing information about COVID-19 and answering questions, referring for home isolation or community isolation facilities, collecting contact information, and contacting people exposed to COVID-19 who may need to be tested.
• Coordinate the unit’s schedules and provide daily remote supervision and troubleshooting.
• Report issues from the unit to the Community Tracing Supervisor, brainstorm and implement solutions.
• Act as primary point person to call people with a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, provide support and gather information including information about the disease
• Triage and coordinate next steps for care and isolation for individuals the person has been in contact with.
• The case investigator will also perform other phone calls as needed, including to contacts who have been exposed to COVID-19, to places of business a COVID-19 positive patient has frequented, and to refer patients and their families to different social services.
• Track daily and weekly progress for the unit including cases contacted successfully, contacts tracked and referred, and patients and contacts referred to social support systems
• Perform quality assurance through listening in on calls and providing feedback to team as well as participate in quality improvement conversations with supervisors
• Liaise with partners and stakeholders at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Maintain daily contact with supervisor
• May be tasked with mentoring other staff on proper CRM usage and protocol adherence through one-on-one support or broader training sessions, leveraging a library of approved documentation
• May be tasked with providing feedback on CRM or protocol development and/or escalating issues to other CTC teams for clarification or improvement
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications 

• Experience in clinical medicine and/or public health a plus. Strong preference for nurses or other clinical staff.
• Experience supervising teams in complex environments preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Ability to speak, read, and write English
• Second or multiple languages a plus (Spanish or Portuguese fluency a plus)
• Ability to exhibit a professional, positive attitude and work ethic
• Excellent interpersonal skills required and ability to interact professionally with culturally diverse individuals and individuals in distress
• Ability to show empathy to distressed individuals
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Critical thinking and sound judgment required
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism
• Proficiency with computers
• Must have access to good/reliable WiFi
• Technology requirements: PC with Windows 10, Antivirus Protection: Windows Defender and Windows Firewall; or Mac with Apple OS X 10.13, Antivirus Protection: Sophos; and personal mobile device to use for this job. A headset is preferred. No tablets or IPads.
• Massachusetts Resident preferred and familiarity with Massachusetts’ geography; cities/towns/locations required
• Other duties as assigned

Organizational Profile

Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Partners In Health (PIH) is committed to the fundamental principle of equal opportunity and equal treatment for every prospective and current employee. It is the policy of PIH not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex and gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law. PIH works in and with?a number of?governments in and outside the U.S., and to the extent applicable, this statement is intended to incorporate the prohibition of any unlawful discrimination covered by applicable laws in such countries, states and municipalities.