Class Specification: PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATOR

ITEM NUMBER: 5645

APPROVAL DATE: 06/27/2000

DEFINITION:
Enforces laws, ordinances, and regulations for the control of communicable and selected non-communicable diseases; locates, counsels and refers offenders and disease carriers and conducts other public health related investigations.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class work in either a Service Planning Area under the administrative and technical supervision of a Supervising Public Health Investigator or in a specialized health investigation program under the administrative and technical supervision of a Supervising Public Health Investigator or higher level program manager. Incumbents enforce state and County public health laws, ordinances and regulations for the control of communicable and selected non-communicable diseases, such as alcoholism, and counseling patients to encourage risk reduction behaviors and referring them for treatment.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:
Conducts investigations to locate cases and contacts of tuberculosis, sexually transmitted disease, human immunodefiency virus or other communicable diseases and selected non-communicable diseases, such as alcoholism, by interviewing patients to determine contacts, locating and tracing contacts, and convincing them to voluntarily seek diagnosis and treatment as required by applicable public health laws; has authority to exercise legal interventions to compel compliance up to and including authorizing arrest when essential to protect the public's health.

Counsels individuals who suffer from a communicable or non-communicable disease regarding the nature and control of their disease and educates these individuals on risk reduction techniques and behaviors.

Enforces public health laws, rules and regulations governing communicable disease control by serving legal orders of the Health Officer on patients in their homes, hospitals or detention
facilities, quarantining cases and contacts of communicable disease in private homes or institutions, placing restrictions on infected individuals employed in sensitive occupations such as food handling, supervising disinterments of human remains for foreign shipment, assisting in food poisoning investigations, coordinating case management of persons potentially exposed to rabies, responding to widespread outbreaks of communicable disease and establishing and enforcing the State mussel quarantine order.

Transports patients in connection with the enforcement of legal orders pertaining to the isolation of such patients in a hospital or detention facility, or to facilitate the medical care and treatment of patients infected with a communicable disease.

Investigates cases of quarantine violations and refusal or failure of persons to comply with health laws, ordinances, and regulations; recommends court action to enforce legal orders, prepares cases for court by gathering evidence and appears in court as a representative of the Health Officer on cases involving violations of the public health laws, ordinances, and regulations pertaining to communicable and non-communicable disease investigation.

Supports the California Department of Health Services’ Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program, through the collection of shellfish and phytoplankton samples and preparation of these samples for shipment to the state laboratory.

Conducts special investigations not directly involving communicable diseases, such as investigating impersonations of departmental personnel or the verification of home births.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
One year's experience as a Public Health Investigator Trainee.

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:
3 - Moderate.