Infection Preventionist

Kaweah Delta Health Care District•Visalia, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Infection Preventionist is responsible for the implementation, oversight, and continuous improvement of the infection prevention and control program in accordance with regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and evidence-based practices. The Infection Preventionist plays a critical role in protecting patients, healthcare workers, and visitors by preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and promoting a safe, sanitary, and compliant environment.

Requirements

Eligibility to obtain Board Certified in Infection Control (CIC) from Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology within three years of hire/transfer.
Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Microbiology, Medical Technology or other related field.
Minimum of three years of experience in infection prevention, clinical epidemiology, or clinical experience in a healthcare setting
Ability to use PC-based information management systems and databases (proficiency with Microsoft Office).
Positive customer service skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to educate and influence staff at all levels of the organization.
Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, or other related field.
Experience with electronic healthcare record systems, the National Healthcare, Safety Network (NHSN), data management.
Previous experience in acute care or long-term care setting.
Participation in infection prevention networks or professional organization (e.g. APIC, SHEA)

Responsibilities

Conducts surveillance for healthcare-associated infections using standardized definitions and methodologies (e.g., NHSN).
Manages the National Healthcare Safety Network system for the organization.
Analyzes infection data, identifies trends, and recommends mitigation strategies.
Performs risk assessments and guides facility response to outbreaks and exposure incidents.
Ensures compliance with CDC, CMS, OSHA, The Joint Commission, and state/local public health regulations.
Participates in performance improvement projects related to infection control outcomes.
Leads support staff education and training programs related to infection prevention practices.
Collaborates with departments (e.g., Environmental Services, Laboratory, Facilities) to ensure alignment with IPC goals.
Reviews construction and renovation projects for infection control risk assessments (ICRA).
Serves as a subject matter expert on infection prevention and emergency preparedness and response planning.
Monitors the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), hand hygiene compliance, high-level disinfection, sterilization practices, and environmental cleaning.
Prepares and presents infection prevention control reports to leadership committees, and external agencies as required.
Maintains documentation for internal audits, regulatory inspections and accreditations.
Participates in policy development and reviews to align with current guidelines (CDC, SHEA, APIC).
Monitors and supports the hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in partnership with pharmacy and infectious disease, and microbiology.
Serves as a liaison with public health agencies during communicable disease reporting, inspections, or emergency preparedness activities.
Investigates potential outbreaks and exposure events and participates in mitigation planning, documentation, and follow-up activities.
Performs infection prevention risk assessments and audits to evaluate environmental, operational, and procedural compliance with established standards.
Maintains infection prevention records, reports, and documentation systems to support organizational reporting requirements and quality initiatives.
Supports organizational quality improvement efforts through data-driven recommendations, committee participation, and policy development activities.
Serves as a liaison between Infection Prevention, Information Services/Technology, and clinical departments to support electronic health record enhancements, data collection tools, and reporting workflows.
Identifies data collection gaps or inefficiencies and recommends solutions to improve data integrity and workflow processes.
Performs detailed chart abstraction and clinical data review to support infection prevention surveillance activities.
Ensures timely, accurate data entry into internal systems and external reporting platforms (e.g., NHSN and other regulatory databases).
Validates and audits infection surveillance data to ensure completeness, consistency and compliance with regulatory standards.
Analyzes infection prevention data to identify trends, variances, and potential outbreaks, and communicate findings to Infection Prevention leadership and team.
Develops and maintains dashboards, reports and data visualization to monitor infection rates, compliance metrics and prevention initiatives.
Compiles and integrates data from multiple internal and external sources, including benchmarking data, to support performance efforts.
Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care and services appropriate to the population served on the assigned unit or work area.
Performs other duties as assigned.