Senior Infection Preventionist JCL

Infection Preventionist

Great care starts with great people. (Like you.) At HonorHealth, you'll find something special. From humble beginnings in 1927 to one of Arizona's largest nonprofit healthcare systems, our culture is built on warmth and neighborly kindness. Behind every smile is a highly skilled professional with deep expertise and an unwavering dedication to what matters most caring for the health and well-being of people and communities across the greater Phoenix area.

Responsibilities:

This Infection Preventionist acts as a resource and consultant to all clinical, support and management services and medical staff regarding infection prevention and control. Applies epidemiologic principals and statistical methods, including risk stratification, identifies target populations, analyzes trends and risk factors and designs and evaluates the effectiveness of the infection prevention program and approaches. Demonstrates knowledge of principles related to infection prevention and control including microbiology, epidemiology, standards and technology of patient care, infectious diseases, sterilization, sanitation and disinfection practices and adult education principles.

Essential Functions

• Provide direction for comprehensive infection prevention and control surveillance activities including routine patient-focused and microbiological surveillance, outbreak investigation, environment and construction surveillance, and communicable disease reporting. Interpret surveillance data and present the information to the Infection Prevention and Control Committee and hospital/medical staff departments. Consistently utilizes the CDC/NHSN criteria to evaluate and assign healthcare associated versus community acquired infection status. Possess a comprehensive knowledge of NHSN and submit data to the CDC/NHSN database according to CMS requirements. Direct and assist in preparing reports and statistical data for the infection control committee, and the facility's administration and other committees as needed.
• Lead and participate in local infection prevention improvement programs with special focus on CLABSI, CAUTI, C.difficile and MRSA, along with Surgical Site infection reductions strategies. Guide the implementation of best practices using recommendations from APIC, CDC, SHEA and other infection prevention agencies as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive infection prevention and control plan for the facility based on most current scientific knowledge and evidence-based practice. Serve as a resource to the facility for interpretation and guidance on adherence of policies and procedures with infection prevention and control implications including construction, environment of care, bioterrorism and occupational health.
• Plan and participate in providing infection-control related education programs for patients, clinical and non-clinical staff, physicians, volunteers, students and the community. Tailor programs to general, position-specific and individual learning needs and makes recommendations for staff development.
• Serve as a consultant to the facility in providing recommendations on appropriate patient care supplies, sterilization, disinfection and cleaning supplies, and safe needle products utilizing the latest evidence-based knowledge and the principles of epidemiology
• Serve as a resource to the facility on infection prevention and control-related aspects of construction, environment of care, disasters and bioterrorism/epidemic detection and response.
• Perform annual facility risk assessment and next years' annual goal development based on outcome measures and a comprehensive assessment of the previous year.
• Acts as Liaison with county public health
• Consults with administration, legal/risk management, physicians, and staff on complex situations involving patients, staff, and the environment.
• Respond and participate in facility approach to emerging infectious disease situations, such as Ebola and Pandemic Influenza. Conduct facility gap assessments and shared information to inform the development of policies and procedures to meet compliance with state certification for infectious diseases as appropriate.
• Audit and maintain compliance with national standards and regulatory bodies such as CDC, OSHA, and the FDA.
• Participate and guide post-exposure investigation for internal and external healthcare workers in consultation with Occupational Health and outside agencies.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education

• in Nursing, Medical Lab-Technology or health related field

Experience

• 2 years experience in Infection Control in an acute care setting Required
• 5 years experience in Infection Prevention and Control in an acute care setting Preferred
• 5 years experience in Infection Prevention in Outpatient treatment Preferred

License and Certifications

• Certified Infection Control (CIC) - Certification Required
• Registered Nurse (RN) - License State And/Or Compact State Licensure Preferred