Equal Opportunity Employer
The mission of the Health Federation of Philadelphia is to promote health equity for marginalized communities by advancing access to high-quality, integrated, and comprehensive health and human services. Health equity is at the heart of all our work. We believe in and are firmly committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sex or gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status. This commitment applies to all aspects of the Health Federation of Philadelphia’s employment practices, including recruiting, hiring, training, and promotion.
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SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION AND HARM REDUCITION DIVISION OVERVIEW
Many cities have been impacted by the overdose crisis, but Philadelphia has been hit especially hard. The City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health has responded by creating the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR), a team focused on improving the health and well-being of people who use drugs in Philadelphia. SUPHR has 10 teams: Bereavement (Philly HEALs), Communications, Community Engagement, Environmental Services, Epidemiology, Harm Reduction, Medical, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Philly LIFTS), Operations, and Overdose Fatality Review (OD Stat). The team's mission is to prevent overdoses and other health issues by offering services and shaping policies to promote the dignity, autonomy, and health of people who use drugs. To name just a few things, SUPHR offers overdose prevention trainings, support to families with babies born with NAS, and same day pay program focused on creating job opportunities while cleaning communities. Since so many Philadelphians have been touched by the overdose crisis, SUPHR also provides counseling to children and adults who have lost someone in their life to an overdose.
Behind the scenes, SUPHR works with other City agencies, hospitals, and community groups to ensure that everyone is working together to combat stigma and encourage harm reduction efforts. SUPHR recognizes that many communities have been dealing with substance use for a long time, and SUPHR is invested in giving communities the tools they need to keep people who use drugs, their loved ones, and the larger community healthy and safe.
JOB SUMMARY
This is a part-time Harm Reduction Clinical Toxicologist position to support SUPHR’s drug checking program. This position will provide guidance and support to SUPHR’s Medical Program in the interpretation of drug checking data, and the dissemination of information related to substances detected in drug checking surveillance. This position will work directly with the SUPHR’s Medical Director and Field Epidemiologist, and collaboratively with SUPHR’s drug checking partner – the Center for Forensic Science, Research and Education (CFSRE). The Harm Reduction Clinical Toxicologist will review public health communications, such as Health Alerts and community notifications, regarding the detection of novel substances in drug checking surveillance. In this role, the Harm Reduction Clinical Toxicologist may also advise the Medical Program on approaches to enhance drug checking surveillance.
JOB SPECIFICATIONS
Responsibilities/Duties
- Review drug checking surveillance data on a minimum of a biweekly basis.
- Identify substances of concern identified in drug checking surveillance data.
- Provide expertise in the clinical implication of using substances detected in drug checking surveillance.
- Meet virtually with the SUPHR Medical Program and CFSRE on a biweekly basis.
- Provide recommendations for enhancing drug checking surveillance.
- Review, revise and provide feedback on alerts and communications regarding substances detected in drug checking surveillance.