Ambulatory Infection Preventionist

Our team members are the heart of what makes us better. At Hackensack Meridian Health we help our patients live better, healthier lives — and we help one another to succeed. With a culture rooted in connection and collaboration, our employees are team members. Here, competitive benefits are just the beginning. It’s also about how we support one another and how we show up for our community. Together, we keep getting better - advancing our mission to transform healthcare and serve as a leader of positive change.

About the role

The Ambulatory Infection Preventionist supports organization-wide infection surveillance, prevention, and control programs in accordance with current requirements of regulatory, government, and accrediting/licensing agencies, as well as organizational policies and procedures. This position offers a unique opportunity to help develop and advance infection prevention in HMH’s Ambulatory arena. We are seeking professionals who are passionate about infection prevention, public health, education, and process improvement, and who thrive on building strong, collaborative relationships with leaders and interdisciplinary teams.

Multiple positions are available in each of our three regions: North, Central, and South. This position will offer a hybrid work schedule.

Responsibilities

• Leads with limited guidance in implementing the organizational infection prevention program.
• Assists in leading surveillance of healthcare-associated infections following CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for home care/hospice and HMMG sites through infection monitoring.
• Independently conducts syndromic surveillance, recording, and reporting communicable diseases as defined by federal, state, and local levels.
• Utilizes epidemiologic principles to assist in conducting surveillance, investigate exposures, and implement control measures for outbreaks.
• Understands and assists in facilitating the implementation of IP policies and procedures, identifying necessary changes, and monitoring compliance (e.g., high-level disinfection and sterilization).
• Prepares information shared with committees, leadership, departments, and healthcare workers across the organization across HMMG and Home Health/Hospice as assigned with limited guidance.
• Develops with limited guidance the Infection Prevention and Control Construction Risk Assessments (ICRAs) for construction, renovation, and maintenance projects and assists with monitoring compliance with infection prevention recommendations to reduce the risk of environmental exposure to patients, caregivers, TMs, and construction teams.
• Participates in rounding at HMMG ambulatory sites to observe compliance with infection prevention policies/procedures and provides just-in-time coaching (e.g., disinfection processes, adherence to PPE, environment) as assigned.
• Independently performs the environment of care rounds at HMMG sites as assigned.
• Attends and facilitates Network, HMMG, and Home Health/Hospice committees providing infection prevention and control expertise as IP leadership assignments (e.g., QIPPS, Home Health Infection Control Committee, Practice Manager Monthly, etc.).
• Independently monitors hand hygiene compliance data, performs hand hygiene observations, and collaborates with individuals and practice managers to improve outcomes.
• Reviews reporting events (OneLink) related to infection prevention policies/procedures for failure mode events and collaborates to improve policy adherence and process improvement activities.
• Develops and conducts formal and informal educational programs regarding IP practices, policies, and procedures for home health/hospice and HMMG sites (e.g., orientation, skills fairs, in-services, etc.) with limited guidance.
• Independently assesses the learning needs of the individual/group (e.g., patients, providers, caregivers, TMs, etc.).
• Creates education goals, objectives, and strategies using learning principles and available educational tools and technology with limited guidance.
• Develops instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs and learner outcomes.
• Assists in developing and providing direct patient, caregiver, and family education.
• Assists in mentoring Ambulatory Infection Preventionist I TMs.
• Maintains competency associated with regulatory and mandatory reporting requirements and standards at the local, state, and federal levels (e.g., CMS, Department of Health (DOH), NJ Statutes, OSHA).
• Supports facilitating compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards (e.g., NUCCA, DOH, Joint Commission, etc.) through participation in surveys and preparedness activities.
• Understands PI methodology as a means of enacting change and High-Reliability principles to guide strategies to drive process improvement and improve outcomes.
• Selects appropriate PI tools to aid in efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness and ensures the initiative's sustainability.
• Considers customer needs and expectations when supporting the development and continuous improvement of processes, products, and services.
• Provides subject matter expertise by collaborating with Patient Safety, Team Health, Team Safety, and Quality teams in Root Cause Analysis (RCA)/Apparent Cause Analysis (ACA) for infection prevention-related events.
• Assesses the risk of occupational exposures to infectious disease and develops mitigation strategies to minimize exposure risk.
• Independently reviews rates/trends of occupational exposure if indicated.
• Collaborates with Team Health to identify and investigate potential communicable disease exposures and guides the evaluation and management of exposed TMs and any potential work restrictions.
• Reviews infection-related reporting events (OneLink) and works with Team Health for added educational resources to prevent future events.
• Supports preventative strategies for Home Health/Hospice and HMMG TM preventative strategies to support policy adherence related to Team Health.
• Works collaboratively with others, providing direction when necessary with all departments as needed.
• Assists, consults, and collaborates with local, state, and federal public health officials and community health organizations.
• Attends and participates in Home Health/Hospice, HMMG, and Network meetings and projects.
• Collaborates with acute care infection prevention teams to interconnect transition of care findings related to infection prevention, including, but not limited to, the identification of communicable diseases and healthcare-associated infections.
• Learns and utilizes IP software, other technology, and HMH Databases (e.g., electronic medical record, NHSN, CDRSS).
• Collaborates with IT and Data Science to create meaningful electronic reports to enhance IP initiatives.
• Pursues professional growth and development of required knowledge and skills through participation in professional organizations (e.g., APIC, SHEA, IHI) and opportunities sponsored by internal (HMH) and external entities.
• Evaluates (critically) research and evidence-based practices and incorporates appropriate findings into routine practice.
• Integrates evidence-based practices into policies, guidelines, protocols, and educational strategies.
• Identifies barriers to implementation and develops strategies to minimize or remove.
• Implements strategies to sustain efforts, such as audit tools, sharing data, and meaningful feedback.
• Performs other duties and/or projects as assigned.
• Adheres to HMH Organizational competencies and standards of behavior.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, Microbiology, Public Health, Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS), Health Care Administration, or related field.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of Infection Prevention experience in ambulatory or acute care arena.
• Minimum of 2 or more years of experience in a clinical role.
• Completion of ambulatory-specific infection prevention courses during first year of hire.
• Proficient in competencies such as analytical, problem solving, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
• Ability to implement evidence-based guidelines and critical analysis of research studies.
• Evaluation of high-level disinfection and sterilization processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient computer skills that include but are not limited to Microsoft Office and/or Google Suite platforms.
• Required travel is 70%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Program and project management.
• Expertise in data collection and analysis, report writing, and data presentation.
• Qualified Spanish interpreter.
• Training in National Incident Management System (NIMS - FEMA).
• Completion of independent introductory IP courses within one year of hire if not completed previously and not certified (e.g., SPICE, NICE Course, APIC EPI 101, etc.).

Licenses and Certifications

• Certification in Infection Control (CIC) from the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (required).
• Certificate or Certification in high-level disinfection and sterilization (preferred).
• Certification in health education, patient safety, and/or healthcare quality (preferred).

Pay

The starting rate of pay is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of a specific offer. The base compensation determined at the time of the offer may be different than the posted rate of pay based on labor market data, experience, education, certifications, skills, geographic location, internal equity, and budget considerations.

Minimum rate of $113,609.60 annually. Some jobs may also be eligible for performance-based incentives, bonuses, or commissions not reflected in the starting rate. Certain positions may also be eligible for shift differentials for work performed on evening, night, or weekend shifts.

Benefits

In addition to our compensation for full-time and part-time (20+ hours/week) job positions, HMH offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Paid leave.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Retirement benefits.