Manages the Office of Health Informatics at DPH, which is an expansion of the Informatics Program formed in 2021. Led the team through a restructuring that created the Office & set strategic priorities after identifying strengths & areas of opportunity. Is responsible for managing budgets, grants, contracts, & multiple projects; procuring & purchasing hardware & software; & supervising 12 staff. Provides direct support for various software & applications, collaborates with internal & external partners, & maintains vendor relationships. Collaborates with County IT to ensure the software, applications, & hardware are in alignment with County requirements. Ensures our projects & IT support/asks are appropriate & supported.

Formed the Informatics Program at DPH to identify, design, & implement tools & processes that best meet the functional needs of DPH with an emphasis on data collection & utilization. Set strategy & priorities for the program & DPH, supervised staff, supported various department-specific software & applications. Coordinated with internal & external stakeholders to ensure the data infrastructure, software, & applications were appropriate to meet the need. Worked with partners to understand the root issue or item to address, identify possible solutions, select a solution that is in alignment with County IT & the end-user's needs, & implement said solution.

Managed the Substance Use Program in the Health Promotion and Public Health Research Division at DPH. The Substance Use Program was responsible for leading the agency and coordinating and supporting regional efforts for substance use education and prevention, harm reduction and rescue, treatment, recovery, and public health data collection and reporting. Established reporting infrastructure upon passage of local legislation making overdoses a reportable condition. Provided program planning direction and support, tracked and reported data for performance management and evaluation, managed related grants and contracts, developed and maintained partnerships with academic institutions and community stakeholders, developed and maintained collaboration with potential and subscribing PDMP counties, ensured fiscal and programmatic compliance, and promoted alignment with evidence-based models.

Implemented & managed the St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). Created the first locally-based PDMP in the country. Expanded program participation to over 70 jurisdictions, performed data analysis in SQL, SAS, and GIS and generated PDMP reports, enhanced PDMP functionalities for healthcare providers, managed grant reporting, contracts, and budget, and supervised the PDMP Biostatistician. Daily activities included working with physicians, pharmacists, local health departments, elected officials, and the public.

Gained experience in a variety of informatics and analytic projects. Continued my efforts as an Applied Public Health Informatics Fellow at UDOH and performed all analyses for the UDOH Violence and Injury Prevention Program’s Controlled Substance (CS) projects, explored new ways to engage prescribers and patients using CS data, linked CS data to multiple other databases, developed prescriber reports/comparison tools, provided analyses and support for any other CS-related projects, performed CS analyses in the Utah All Payer Claims Database, and applied for additional CS grants. Gained experience in managing and analyzing large databases, project management, grant writing, and working with various data sources, programs, and stakeholders.

Performed all analyses for the UDOH Violence and Injury Prevention Program’s Controlled Substance (CS) projects, explored new ways to engage prescribers and patients using CS data, linked CS data to multiple other databases, developed prescriber reports/comparison tools, provided analyses and support to any other CS-related projects, performed CS analyses in the Utah All Payer Claims Database, and applied for additional CS grants. Updated and modernized standard reports, processed and analyzed annual Ambulatory Surgery data, and performed analyses using the All Payer Claims Database for UDOH programs. Gained experience in managing and analyzing large databases, project management, grant writing, and working with various data sources, programs, and stakeholders.

Managed the daily operations of the Immunization Clinic and worked to expand the immunization program by enrolling the Health Department with insurance companies, initiating the use of Electronic Health Records, and implementing and standardizing policies and procedures. Gained experience in all fields represented in the Health Department, especially in Nursing, Environmental Health, Vital Records, and Emergency Preparedness.