Outbreak Coordinator - Toronto, Canada - Public Health Ontario

Public Health Ontario

Verified Company

Toronto, Canada

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Sophia Lee

beBee Recruiter

Description

JR100730

The Role:

To provide support to PHO and PHL surveillance, incident response and issues management activities and to coordinate the laboratory response during daily surveillance and reportable disease/outbreak investigations.

Key Responsibilities:

Analyzes and prioritizes outbreak information and issues then ensures that the Senior Management Team is notified of relevant outbreaks and is kept up to date on the progress of the outbreak in keeping with Incident Management System protocols and communication protocols.
Coordinates multidepartment/laboratory response as required during outbreaks including ensuring effective communications and process flow between internal and external public health stakeholders. Supports a variety of communication activities with PHL partners including formal communications structures, common databases, and access to web resources. Conducts and participates in meetings to ensure effective interdepartment communication and planning at PHL and between PHL and other PHO program areas during outbreaks.
Contributes relevant laboratory related information to the daily Issues Management report gathering by corporate resources. Represents PHL in weekly extended rounds teleconferences with MOHLTC including CMOH, EMB, Public Health Policy and Programs and Communications, including giving weekly PHLrelated updates and advising on and relaying PHLrelated inquires.
Represents medical/clinical, management and other PHL staff at meetings with internal and external stakeholders as required.
Monitors, reviews and ensures compliance with legislation and quality control policies with respect to laboratory management of outbreaks.
Authorizes reportable disease/outbreak related testing at the discretion of the medical staff.
Researches, gathers, analyzes and circulates a regular (e.g. weekly) summary of PHL laboratory data and outbreak activity to internal stakeholders and maintains the PHL Incident/Outbreak SharePoint site including information related to emergency events. This work includes extracting information from the laboratory information system.
Organizes outbreak briefings and liaises with external stakeholders to answer questions, address and resolve emerging issues during outbreaks, including making recommendations to improve standard operating procedures through lessons learned and ensures recommendations are implemented in laboratory processes and protocols.
Prepares and delivers presentations, briefing materials, reports and correspondence related to Outbreak Coordinator activities, including changes to SOPs.
Provides education and training (e.g. PHL processes, role of PHL) related to outbreak management to internal and external stakeholders (e.g. public health units) through publications (e.g. web pages, Labstracts, DVDs), teleconferences, webinars, inservice presentations, presentations at conferences and site visits.
Monitors external information sources (provincial, national and international scientific publications, summaries, reports, newsletters) for relevant outbreak related information/activity and provides notifications and summaries to appropriate staff.
Contributes to the production and dissemination of lab surveillance related epidemiologic reports. Prepares and maintains outbreak coordination related SOP documents in the document control system and makes recommendations on operational SOPs that support the role.
Supports the development of laboratory protocols for outbreaks and contributes to the development of surveillance strategies and pandemic preparedness planning at the PHL. Includes the development and maintenance of initial outbreak notification processes for PHL and PHO outbreakrelated program areas.
Participates in stakeholder consultations on the development of protocols, standards, guidelines and policies for reportable diseases, early outbreak detection, management of outbreaks, and other health emergencies by the PHL. Working closely with PHO corporate emergency staff, provides support for formal emergency response protocols as a key lab operational resource.
Maintains current knowledge regarding both relevant laboratory test procedures as well as appropriate provincial and federal legislative, regulatory, and procedural frameworks with implications for laboratory related reportable disease response, surveillance and reference services activities, including information sharing and issues related to research activities. Interprets related reports and takes appropriate action with laboratory management to develop a response where appropriate and to inform management and stakeholders of follow up by relevant laboratory personnel.
Contributes to the development and maintenance of surveillance/outbreakrelated databases and ensures adequate functionality of the LIS outbreak module. Ensures integrity of surveillancerelated data in LIMS through monitoring, changes to SOPs, internal education and advice