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The original item was published from 6/5/2020 12:29:35 PM to 9/5/2020 12:05:00 AM.

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Posted on: June 5, 2020

[ARCHIVED] Kenosha County Division of Health seeks clinical professionals to assist with disease investigation

COVID-19 Positive Case Investigation

The Kenosha County Division of Health is looking for people with clinical backgrounds to assist with COVID-19 Positive Case Disease Investigation.

Applications for limited-term disease investigator positions are being taken at https://www.kenoshacounty.org/955/Employment-Information.

Disease investigation and contact tracing are key disease control measures that are being utilized to assist in preventing further spread of COVID-19 within Kenosha County. These functions have been occurring in Kenosha County since we received notification of our first COVID-19 case and has continued with improvement processes taking place to fit the needs of our community.

With the lifting of the Safer-at-Home Order and increased testing capabilities within our community, we anticipate an increase in positive COVID-19 cases which will result in an increase in our disease investigations and contact investigations. Our current team consists only of 21 public health nurses, so people with a clinical decision-making background are much needed.

The first step to disease investigation is identifying the positive case. An initial positive case interview can take 1-4 hours each depending on the number of household contacts and if language line is needed to assist with any language barriers.

Many questions are asked including symptoms of all household contacts, and where each member has travelled during several preceding days. The positive case will be educated about being in isolation and for a determined amount of time.

During this process, disease investigators will identify close contacts of the positive case. Close contacts outside of the home are sent to our Contact Investigation team for follow up.

Once this information is received, our Contact Investigation team follows up with the close contacts and informs them that they have come into contact with a positive COVID-19 case. An interview is completed, consisting of obtaining demographic information, current symptoms (if any), past medical history, place of employment, and travel/gathering history. Education is provided, discussing limited-self quarantine recommendations and symptom monitoring.

“This is a great opportunity for people who have been asking, ‘How can I help?’ during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Kenosha County Health Officer Dr. Jen Freiheit. “Our hardworking staff would welcome the addition of clinical workers to help us investigate cases thoroughly and quickly during this very difficult public health situation.”

Whether you work in a health field, are actively practicing, learning or retired, if you have an interest in assisting your community or state during a health crisis, we invite you to apply.

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