Infect Preventionist

St. Elizabeth Healthcare•Lawrenceburg, IN

About The Position

The Infection Preventionist is responsible for surveillance and analysis to identify, investigate, prevent, and control infections in both patients and staff. The Infection Preventionist interacts with patients, hospital staff, physicians, and others including community agencies and health departments. This occurs through department rounds, meetings, and referrals. The Infection Preventionist participates in the education of all hospital employees regarding infection control and prevention and complies with the requirements of regulatory and accreditation organizations and communicates pertinent information to members of the management team. Demonstrate respect, dignity, kindness and empathy in each encounter with all patients, families, visitors and other employees regardless of cultural background. Infection Control Program Management & Implementation Execute the hospital-wide infection control program in providing surveillance, monitoring, and documentation of St. Elizabeth's infectious disease program, and provide resource assistance for patient, family, and staff education pertinent to infectious and communicable diseases. Report cases of communicable diseases to appropriate health authorities. Identify hospital acquired infections and conduct root cause analysis to prevent future occurrences. Identify the occurrences of outbreaks/clusters of infectious diseases, intervening as necessary in-patient care activities to prevent transmission. Ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards that pertain to the practice of infection control. Review medical records, laboratory results and physician orders to ensure patients with infectious or communicable diseases are identified and proper isolation precautions are implemented. Contact physicians or nursing personnel as necessary to elicit cooperation in patient placement or isolation precautions, or exchange information on resistant organisms, patient status, and so forth. Provide guidance in infection prevention and control related issues. Identify opportunities for improvement in Infection Control and work with Quality Improvement team to implement improvement plans. Education Educate employees on Patient Safety and Infection Control policies and procedures. Quality / Risk Collaboration Participate in hospital committees, task forces, and teams representing infection control as needed. Report Development / Compliance Generate standard infection control reports, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director Measure System-wide compliance with infection control expectations, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director Deliver on goals and targets, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing
If eligible, must have a Compact (multi-state) License in their primary state of residence.
Current license as a registered nurse in the state where work is being performed.
Current Certification in Infection Control or attain within 2 years in the Infection Preventionist role.
Basic computer knowledge, including Microsoft Office suite of products, including Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, TEAMS.
Knowledge of principles of epidemiology, microbiology, and infectious disease, including key causes of hospital acquired infections and mitigation strategies / processes.
Ability to analyze, manipulate, and maintain databases.
Ability to communicate effectively to hospital employee, community agencies, and health departments.
Ability to assess problems and identify solutions while working collaboratively with quality improvement project teams.
Ability to easily adapt to new programs and technology.
Commitment to quality and always putting the patient first.
Three to five years of healthcare related experience

Responsibilities

Execute the hospital-wide infection control program in providing surveillance, monitoring, and documentation of St. Elizabeth's infectious disease program, and provide resource assistance for patient, family, and staff education pertinent to infectious and communicable diseases.
Report cases of communicable diseases to appropriate health authorities.
Identify hospital acquired infections and conduct root cause analysis to prevent future occurrences.
Identify the occurrences of outbreaks/clusters of infectious diseases, intervening as necessary in-patient care activities to prevent transmission.
Ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards that pertain to the practice of infection control.
Review medical records, laboratory results and physician orders to ensure patients with infectious or communicable diseases are identified and proper isolation precautions are implemented.
Contact physicians or nursing personnel as necessary to elicit cooperation in patient placement or isolation precautions, or exchange information on resistant organisms, patient status, and so forth.
Provide guidance in infection prevention and control related issues.
Identify opportunities for improvement in Infection Control and work with Quality Improvement team to implement improvement plans.
Educate employees on Patient Safety and Infection Control policies and procedures.
Participate in hospital committees, task forces, and teams representing infection control as needed.
Generate standard infection control reports, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director
Measure System-wide compliance with infection control expectations, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director
Deliver on goals and targets, in collaboration with Infection Control Team and Infection Control/Patient Safety Director