Helmus - Leadership

Lesliann Helmus, MS, CHTS-CP

NNDSS Program Manager

Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance

Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services

Office of Public Health Scientific Services

Lesliann Helmus, MS, CHTS-CP, is the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) Program Manager in the Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance (DHIS). In this position she oversees NNDSS activities and coordinates the NNDSS Modernization Initiative, including working with teams to develop new HL7-based message mapping guides; design the software to validate, process, and provision NNDSS data; and provide technical assistance to submitting jurisdictions as they implement the new messages.

Previously, Ms. Helmus served as the disease surveillance and informatics lead for the Division of Surveillance and Investigation at the Virginia Department of Health. There, she guided the teams responsible for general reportable disease surveillance and syndromic surveillance. In addition, she ensured the integration of informatics into the practice of public health and she coordinated across divisions and offices on shared informatics initiatives. She was responsible for implementation of the state’s syndromic surveillance system and National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)-compliant integrated surveillance system. She led the agency’s electronic laboratory reporting and Meaningful Use initiatives and coordinated surveillance for emergency response.

Prior to this, Ms. Helmus served in a variety of epidemiology and surveillance positions at the Ohio Department of Health. She directed both infectious disease and chronic disease surveillance and coordinated the implementation of the state-developed NEDSS-compliant system. She was involved in surveillance for general infectious diseases, STD/HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, vaccine-preventable diseases, and arboviral diseases; oversaw operations of the cancer registry; and conducted occupational and injury epidemiology.

Ms. Helmus received a master’s degree in epidemiology from Ohio State University, earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, completed a graduate certificate in health information technology at George Washington University, and is a Certified Healthcare Technology Specialist—Clinician/Practitioner Consultant.