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HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY / PERSONNEL - Executive Director Jayme Bottke
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Requested Action(s)
recommendation
a) Request approval of the new classification specification of Epidemiologist, within the Joint Council bargaining unit, effective 1/14/25
b) RESOLUTION - Request adoption of a resolution amending Resolution 2024-080, the FY 2024/25 Position Allocation List (PAL), by adding 1.00 FTE Epidemiologist allocation, effective 1/14/25
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Financial Impact:
The Department estimates the requested action would result in an increase of approximately $150,484 per fiscal year. However, if approved, this position will be fully funded by the Future of Public Health Funding, resulting in no impact to the General Fund.
Background Information:
The Health Services Agency requests approval to add a new classification specification for an Epidemiologist to meet the requirements of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The CDPH requires local health departments across the state of California to build their organizational infrastructure to ensure that they can provide core public health functions that meet the essential public health services, epidemiology being one of the core functions.
The CDPH also requires having a community-wide health assessment and the capacity to monitor communicable diseases and chronic diseases at the local level, requiring expertise of an Epidemiologist. Currently, the Department has been using some of the COVID and Infrastructure grant funds to contract out with an epidemiology consulting firm to help build those systems, however, those funds will be going away and once those systems are built, they will need to be maintained and revised. Having the ability to recruit for a staff Epidemiologist will help Public Health sustain these required practices over the long term.
Additionally, having an Epidemiologist in Public Health is a necessity as it is the core science for the Public Health field. They carry a unique ski...
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