Infection Prevention Specialist

Salinas Valley Health•Salinas, CA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

Under the supervision of the Manager, Infection Prevention, the Infection Prevention Specialist is familiar with hospital epidemiology principles and is responsible for the surveillance, analysis, interpretation and reporting of hospital acquired infections (HAI); educating employees about infection prevention; and assists in the development of health system policies and procedures to insure rigorous infection control standards that meet TJC, OSHA, Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other nationally organized agencies recommendations and requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree required.
Current California Registered Nurse (RN) license preferred.
A minimum of three (3) years’ experience in Infection Control / Prevention / Epidemiology, preferably in an acute care hospital.
Knowledge of patient care practices, education, epidemiology, infectious diseases, employee health, sterilization/disinfection/sanitation processes.
Experience in implementation of regulatory and/or The Joint Commission initiatives and National Patient Safety Goals.

Responsibilities

Apply epidemiologic principles and statistical methods, including risk stratification, to identify target population, analyze trends and risk factors.
In collaboration with the manager, design and evaluate prevention and control strategies.
Conduct on-going surveillance using Center of Disease Control (CDC) infection criteria, documentation, and investigation of nosocomial infections through review of admission diagnoses, microbiology culture results, isolation orders, patient records, consultation requests, post-discharge surveillance, and autopsy findings.
Assess environmental control through surveillance of water supply systems as needed, air pressure relationships for high risk environmental monitoring.
Conduct environmental rounds in all inpatient and outpatient care areas.
Collect data on the incidence of selected device use in identified intensive care units.
Participate in investigations of unusual hospital infection outbreaks utilizing the microbiology laboratory, consultation with Infectious Disease Medical Director, county/state public health departments, and when necessary in consultation with the Center for Disease Control.
Report epidemiologically significant findings to appropriate customers.
Report all in-house patients with communicable disease to the county and/or state health department and maintain appropriate records.
Assist in importing & maintaining data for mandatory reporting requirements for CDPH/CMS via Med Mined & NHSN (National Healthcare Safety Network)
Collect data in support of epidemiological studies of specific problems or problem areas to determine the source of the problem and make appropriate recommendations.
Participate in quality/performance improvement activities by assessing, monitoring, and measuring nosocomial infections and evaluating outcomes on a continuous basis.
Select indicators based on the projected use of the data.
Plan and participate in the budget process.
Assist in the organization of regularly scheduled Infection Prevention meetings and dissemination of recommendations hospital-wide.
Functions as a resource/educator for performance improvement processes and/or structured problem-solving approaches.
Assist the Manger to plan, organize, develop and 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 nosocomial infections; techniques for avoidance and preventive measures to provide a safe environment for hospital employees and patients.
Develop appropriate informational materials at appropriate level of understanding and need.
Serve as a knowledgeable and available resource on infection control practices and policies to patients, families, staff, and health system employees.
Participate in continuing educational activities at the department, state, and national levels to promote personal growth and maintain a current knowledge base commensurate with latest research and scholarly knowledge.