Infection Prev&Pharm Utilization Mgr

Catholic Health•Town of Smithtown, NY

14d

About The Position

St. Catherine of Siena Nursing and Rehabilitation and St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, members of Catholic Health, serve the Smithtown area on Long Island. The campus includes a 240-bed nursing and rehabilitation care center, a 296-bed not-for-profit community hospital, and a medical office building. The organization emphasizes compassionate, evidence-based care and a supportive environment for healthcare professionals. The Infection Preventionist is a Registered Nurse responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program in a long-term care and skilled nursing setting. The role promotes resident and employee safety, prevents healthcare-associated infections, ensures regulatory compliance, and supports quality improvement. It requires clinical judgment, leadership, communication, and organizational skills, as well as a commitment to high standards of infection prevention. The position works with facility leadership, nursing staff, the interdisciplinary healthcare team, Employee Health, and public health authorities. It also collaborates with the Assistant Director of Nursing on facility policies and procedures, and participates in quality, education, surveillance, outbreak response, and regulatory activities.

Requirements

Current, unrestricted New York State Registered Nurse (RN) license.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Successful completion of the CDC Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training Course or equivalent CMS-compliant specialized training.
Must obtain LTC-CIP or CIC professional certification within two years of hire.
Must obtain recognized Infection Prevention certification within one year of hire; certification must be appropriate for the long-term care setting and meet applicable regulatory requirements.
Knowledge of CDC, CMS, OSHA, and New York State Department of Health infection prevention standards.
Strong clinical assessment, critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in electronic medical records, data collection, reporting, and Microsoft Office applications.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively with an interdisciplinary healthcare team.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Nursing, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, or a related healthcare field.
Experience in long-term care, skilled nursing, infection prevention, or a related clinical setting.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive facility-wide Infection Prevention and Control Program in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations.
Conduct ongoing infection surveillance, identify trends, analyze infection data, and implement appropriate interventions.
Monitor and investigate suspected or confirmed healthcare-associated infections and communicable disease outbreaks.
Coordinate outbreak prevention, investigation, management, and reporting with facility leadership and public health authorities.
Ensure compliance with CDC, CMS, OSHA, and New York State Department of Health infection prevention requirements.
Oversee implementation and monitoring of standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, and enhanced barrier precautions.
Provide infection prevention education, training, and competency assessments for nursing staff and other facility personnel.
Audit hand hygiene, personal protective equipment utilization, environmental cleaning, and infection control practices.
Collaborate with the Medical Director, Director of Nursing, nursing leadership, and interdisciplinary team to promote appropriate antibiotic use and support the Antibiotic Stewardship Program.
Coordinate employee infection prevention initiatives, including exposure management and immunization monitoring, with Employee Health.
Participate in Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement activities and develop corrective action plans as indicated.
Maintain accurate infection surveillance records, reports, and documentation.
Participate in regulatory surveys and infection control inspections, and help develop plans of correction as necessary.
Serve as a clinical resource and subject matter expert on infection prevention and control practices.
Remain current with evidence-based infection prevention guidelines, regulations, and best practices.
Demonstrate Catholic Health core values of Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence in practice.
Show initiative in assuming other duties within the scope of the position.
Collaborate with unit managers and supervisors regarding care needs.
Perform other duties within scope as directed.
Collaborate with the Assistant Director of Nursing in reviewing, developing, maintaining, and updating facility policies and procedures to ensure they are current and comply with regulations, evidence-based practices, professional standards, and facility operations.
Adhere to all organizational policies and procedures.