Infection Preventionist

POSITION SUMMARY

The Infection Preventionist is a Registered Nurse trained in hospital epidemiology principles and is responsible for the surveillance, analysis, and reporting of hospital-acquired infections. Educates employees about infection control and the development of health system policies and procedures to ensure rigorous infection control standards meet the Joint Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Public Health Department, and Center for Disease Control (CDC) requirements.

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Nursing

Experience:

• Must have at least two (2) years of experience in infection control, prevention in a healthcare setting, and active engagement of infection prevention that includes the following: the trending, tracking and surveillance of infections, identification of specific infections in patients, managing risks (perceived or real) and complying with mandates issued by licensing and accrediting agencies, identifying, managing, reporting and following up on persons with reportable and/or transmissible diseases.
• In addition, verifiable experience in an employee health program; vaccinations, blood borne pathogen exposures, occupational exposures, and a TB risk assessment/ respiratory protection program.

License/Certifications:

• A valid, current, full and unrestricted Professional Nursing License to practice nursing in any state of the United States of America, The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States
• Must have and maintain a current valid certification of the following throughout employment:
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association
  • Certification in Infection Control (CIC) from Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology from The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology(APIC) must obtain within one year of employment)

Other Skills and Abilities:

A record of satisfactory performance in all prior and current employment as evidenced by positive employment references from previous and current employers.  All employment references must address and indicate success in each one of the following areas:

• Positive working relationships with others
• Collaboration with other departments and programs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with all levels within the organization
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience in staff education and training
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment
• Possession of high ethical standards and no history of complaints
• Reliable and dependable; reports to work as scheduled without excessive absences
• Must have administrative and leadership skills, effective interpersonal relationships
• Able to plan and obtain objectives to ensure the development of service
• Good analysis and statistical collation skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills and proofreading skills
• Ability to compile, validate, and present data.
• Knowledgeable in the principles of sterilization, disinfection, and surgical asepsis
• Completion of and above-satisfactory scores on all job interviews, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the interviewees and Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (TCRHCC) that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job 
• Successful completion of and positive results from all background and reference checks, including positive employment references from authorized representatives of past and current employers demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC a record of satisfactory performance and that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job
• Successful completion of fingerprint clearance requirements, physical examinations, and other screenings indicating that the applicant is qualified to be employed by TCRHCC and demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job
• Submission of all required employment-related documents, applications, resumes, references, and other required information free of false, misleading or incomplete information, as determined by TCRHCC

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EFFORT

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an   employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical: 

This position requires an individual of high energy who can maintain a long and flexible schedule to meet the management requirements. The physical requirements include sitting at a desk for long periods of time, long periods of sitting in meetings; frequent sittiing for intense work on a personal computer, prolonged ability to stand, bend, crouch maintain balance, and reach. This position requires frequent walking to interact with staff within the facility, and frequent twisting. This position may require occassional need to drive, climb, and kneel. The incumbent must be able to hear, speak and comprehend over the telephone and in people with others. Must have ability to life, push and pull up to 34lbs frequently. Sensory requirements for position include prolonged ability for far, near, and color vision, depth perception, seeing find details, hearing normal speech, telephone use and ability to frequently hear overhead pages. Must have ability to utilize both hands in frequent manipulation doing in simple and firm grasping, fine manipulation, and prolonged use of keyboard.

Mental:

Uses independent judgment and analytical skills to make decisions that impact operations, finances, and customer service within the organization. The incumbent must have the ability to perform in structured and unstructured environments and possess a keen attention to detail and propose practices/mechanisms to enhance customer satisfaction. Must have ability to continually cope with high levels of stress, make decision s under high pressure, cope with anger/fear/hostility of others in calm way, manage altercations, concentrate, handle a high degree of flexibility, handle multiple priorities in stressful situation, work alone, demonstrate high degree of patience, adapt to shift work, and work in areas that are close and  crowded. This position requires accepting flexible schedule to meet unit needs.

Environmental:

May frequently be exposed to infectious diseases, chemical agents, dust, fumes, gases, hazardous or moving equipment, unprotected heights and loud noises. Will require ability for prolonged exposure to extremes in Temperature or Humidity.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Conduct regular assessments of the facility to identify and mitigate potential infection risks
2. Train staff on proper infection control techniques and protocols
3. Monitor and report on the incidence and trends of infections
4. Investigate and respond to reports of infections
5. Collaborate with other healthcare professionals to develop and implement infection control programs
6. Stay up to date with current infection control practices and regulations
7. Provide guidance and education to patients and families on infection control measures applies epidemiologic principles and statistical methods, including risk stratification, to identify target population, analyze trends and risk factors, and design and evaluate prevention and control strategies. Participates in investigations of unusual hospital infection outbreaks utilizing the microbiology laboratory, consultation with Infectious Disease specialists, county/state public health departments, and when necessary, in consultation with the Center for Disease Control. Report epidemiologically significant findings to appropriate customers. Collect data in support of epidemiological studies of specific problems or problem areas to determine the source of the problem and make appropriate recommendations. Conduct on-going surveillance using Center of Disease Control (CDC) infection criteria, documentation, and investigation of hospital-acquired infections through review of admission diagnoses, microbiology culture results, isolation orders, patient records, , post-discharge surveillance, and other pertinent information.
8. Conduct environmental rounds in all inpatient and outpatient care areas with either the Safety Officer and/or Departmental Director Collect data on the incidence of selected device use in identified patient care units. Assess environmental control through surveillance of water supply systems, temperature, humidity and air pressure relationships.
9. Develop and update isolation techniques and procedures in accordance with current standards of practice, rules and regulations. Participate in maintaining policies and procedures which provide for a program of preventive medicine for hospital personnel to include establishment of policies and procedures relating to exposure to infectious diseases and prevention of cross-contamination. Recommend and evaluate procedures or policy statements relating to infection prevention/control within TCRHCC; maintain an updated reference manual on infectious diseases and hospital infection control as recommended by The Joint Commission.
10. Evaluate the effectiveness of the surveillance plan and modifies as necessary.
11. Report all in-house patients with communicable disease to the Tribal, county and/or state health departments and maintain appropriate records. Compile and interpret surveillance reports to Infection Prevention committee, specialty areas, nursing and executive medical committee on a regular basis. Select indicators based on the projected use of the data. Plan and participate in the budget process.
12. Participate in quality/performance improvement activities by assessing, monitoring, and measuring hospital-acquired infections and evaluating outcomes on a continuous basis. Reports any interference for the implementation of infection control practices
13. Assist in the organization of regularly scheduled Hospital Infection Prevention and Epi-Response team meetings and dissemination of recommendations hospital-wide.
14. Assist with development and evaluation of the Annual Infection Prevention Control Plan and Annual Report.
15. Plan, organize, develop, assist and/or implement educational programs for all hospital employees including administrative and ancillary services which convey specialized knowledge and skills to increase employee awareness of existence of hospital-acquired infections; techniques for avoidance and preventive measures to provide a safe environment for staff and patients. Such as but not limited to; Operating Room, Sterile Processing, equipment sterilization, environmental service cleaning guidelines.
16. Develop effective and relevant teaching tools appropriate in scope and complexity for the internal audience. Serve as a knowledgeable and available resource on infection prevention/control practices and policies to patients, families, staff, and health system employees. Maintain a knowledge base of current infection prevention and control information through peer networking, internet access, published literature and professional meetings.
17. Participate in continuing educational activities at the department, state, and national levels to promote professional growth and maintain a current knowledge base commensurate with latest research and scholarly knowledge.
18. Maintain compliance with national standards and regulating bodies such as The Joint Commission (TJC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA), The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
19. Assists the Employee Health Nurse (EHN) if needed by providing coverage for the EH department while the EHN is on leave. These coverage duties may include TB skin testing, immunizations and exposure investigations.
20. Work collaboratively with the Human Resource Department and Environment of Care office to ensure employee health issues are addressed in a timely manner.
21. Develop, implement, and monitor infection prevention policies and procedures.
22. Participates in the development and implementation of training programs for healthcare staff.
23. Investigate any reported cases of infection and provide advice on prevention and control measures.
24. Liaise with public health authorities and other organizations in relation to infection control.
25. Develop and implement audit protocols to evaluate the infection prevention and control program.
26. Develop and re-evaluate the program’s annual risk assessment, goals, and plan.
27. Responsible for electronic health records data entry pertinent to patient service role.
28. Ensure proper PPE is always worn while on duty including but not limited to, face mask, gloves, gown, isolation gown, NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher, if available), and eye or face shield.
29. Complete all donning and doffing tasks in a safe acceptable method and discard of used PPE accordingly. (see CDC website for most current updates)
30. Complete task training for all routine cleaning and decontamination processes for all surfaces contaminated by a communicable disease to ensure a high level of patient, visitor, employee and external customer satisfaction.
31. Performs other duties as assigned.

Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement

1. Maintain the systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of surveillance (process and outcome) data, including NHSN data, to identify infections, infection risks, and communicable disease outbreaks and to maintain or improve resident health status.
2. Utilize data to identify opportunities for improvement and collaborate with the Quality Assessment and Assurance (QAA)/Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) initiatives and others to develop action plans.
3. Maintain records of data collection, interpretation, and action plans.
4. Serve as a member of the Infection Control Committee and routinely report on IPCP and antibiotic stewardship program performance.