Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.

As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.

Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:
1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change

Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.

PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Division of Family and Child Health (DFCH) of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is services, and environments that support physical and socio-emotional health and promote primary and reproductive for New York City families and children.

The Division is comprised of the Bureau of Maternal Infant and Reproductive Health and the Bureau of Administration. The vision of the DFCH is that every child, woman, and family recognizes and development potential. We encourage qualified applicants with demonstrated commitment to social justice. The Office of School Health (OSH) is a joint program between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene which is responsible for promoting the health of the 1.3 million school children enrolled in approximately 1,800 public and non-public schools in New York City. OSH has been the provider of public health services for 100 years.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

--Screen children using the distance vision, hyperopia, near vision, color and fusion test

--Refer students for any possible vision problems

--Assisting in setting up and breaking down vision screening equipment

--Referral forms issued to parents of children who fail screenings.

--Assisting in follow-up, getting updated phone numbers from schools for children who fail the screening

--Maintaining and transporting equipment to and from schools.

--Communicating to children and staff in a courteous manner and assist screening team leader as directed

--Recording, tallying and entering screening data accurately into ASHR.

--Recording, tallying and entering screening data accurately on student's worksheets, yellow health cards and screening log.

NOTE: This position may be eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and DC37.

1. A four year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State’s Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization; or

2. Completion of eleventh grade of high school, and one year of full-time satisfactory experience performing health-related or clerical duties.

3. Education and/or experience that is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have completed the eleventh grade of high school.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.