Infection Prevention and Clinical Instructor

Summary Of Position

The Infection Preventionist plays an integral role in the success of our team, our community and creating a place our residents are proud to call home. The primary purpose of this position is coordinating all activities of the infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship programs in accordance with nationally recognized guidelines, The Joint Commission Nursing Care Center Infection Prevention and Antibiotic Stewardship standards, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements.

Essential Job Functions

• Sets standards, supporting implementation of and evaluation of infection prevention practices to prevent the development and spread of healthcare-associated infections.
  • Prevention practices include but are not limited to those pertaining to hand hygiene, standard and transmission-based precautions including the use of personal protective equipment, proper maintenance, and management of devices such as catheters, and environmental cleaning and disinfection.
• Develops infection prevention and control, antibiotic stewardship, vaccination, and COVID related policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are based on evidence-based practices and nationally recognized standards.
  • Reviews infection control policies and procedures annually and update as needed.
  • Collaborates with members of the management team to assure infection prevention standards are followed in the environment.
  • Reviews and updates infection prevention and control plan and antibiotic stewardship plan annually based on results of previous year’s performance (i.e., surveillance and antibiotic use data) and the results of the infection control risk assessment.
  • Leads the Infection Prevention Committee on establishing goals that are aligned with results from the infection control risk assessment.
  • Informs residents, resident representatives, and family members as needed regarding infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship procedures and best practices applicable to them.
• Conducts outcome surveillance by identifying and documenting infections, calculates infection rates, and analyzes data to inform decision making.
  • Develops and implements process surveillance to evaluate compliance and communicates findings to quality assurance committee and staff.
  • Facilitates outbreak investigations and implementation of prevention measures to control the outbreak.
  • Supports implementation of vaccination programs for vaccine preventable diseases and ensures tracking of staff and resident vaccination status and reasons for declination.
  • Ensures public health is notified of reportable diseases.
  • Supports implementation of vaccination programs for vaccine preventable diseases and ensures tracking of staff and resident vaccination status and reasons for declination.
  • Assures standards are established to ensure staff are excluded from work or direct resident care activities or that appropriate mitigation measures are in place when the staff member may have a condition that is potentially transmissible to others.
  • Establish processes to ensure staff who have, are suspected of having, or have been occupationally exposed to an infectious pathogen are referred for assessment and potential testing, prophylaxis/treatment, or counseling.
  • Coordinate with environmental services to implement best practices to prevent cross-contamination in the care environment and coordinate with maintenance staff on water management program.
• Active member of the quality assurance performance improvement (QAPI) committee and working with QAPI committee/program, and other key staff to strengthen infection prevention practices.
  • Facilitates quality improvement processes such as root cause analysis to develop action plans for improving practices.
• Collaborates with community partners and other healthcare facilities to help prevent transmission of infection across the continuum of care.
  • Other job-related duties as assigned.

Knowledge And Critical Skills

• Be able to make independent decisions and follow instructions.
  • Deal tactfully with personnel, prospects, residents, family members, visitors, government agencies/personnel, and the public.
    • Capable of working with ill, disabled, elderly, and emotionally upset people within the facility.
• Communicate effectively in a manner that is sufficient for effective communication with supervisors, team members, prospects, residents, and families.
  • Be able to express yourself clearly and effectively.
  • General commuter literacy.

Education And Experience

• Must meet all applicable state and federal requirements for this position.
• Must have primary professional training in nursing, medical technology, microbiology, epidemiology, or other related field.
• Must have completed specialized training in infection prevention and control.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position does not have any direct reports or supervisory requirements.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

• Tasks assigned to this position may involve potential and/or direct exposure to blood, body fluids, infectious diseases, air contaminants, and hazardous chemicals.
• Physical Requirements - The Physical activities of this position involve: Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer & telephone (50%).
  • Must be able to lift, push & pull up to 20 lbs frequently; must be able to lift, push, pull up to 50 lbs occasionally.
• Cognitive Requirements - The Cognitive activities with or without prosthetics of this position are: Executes tasks independently.
  • Proficient communicative, auditory and visual skills.
  • Ability to express yourself clearly and effectively.
  • General commuter literacy.
• Environmental Requirements - An individual in this position may be exposed to: Ambient room temperatures, lighting and traditional office equipment as found in a typical office environment.

Conclusion

• All employees are expected to follow all policies and procedures.
• These policies and procedures can be found in the employee handbook, department policy and procedure manuals and with your supervisor.

Other Requirements

• n/a

Platinum Service®

Platinum Service® is characterized by a high level of responsiveness delivered in a flawless, timely and caring way. Employees commit to providing courteous, responsive, and quality service to our residents by following the principles of our Platinum Service® program.

Conclusion

All employees are expected to follow all policies and procedures. These policies and procedures can be found in the employee handbook, department policy and procedure manuals and with your supervisor.

Job Description Acknowledgment

I understand this job description and its requirements, and that I am expected to complete all duties as assigned. I understand the job functions may be altered from time to time. By signing below, I acknowledge I am able to perform the essential functions of this job with or without a reasonable accommodation. If I require a reasonable accommodation, I will inform the recruiter/hiring manager, my manager, or Human Resources and agree to participate in the interactive process to discuss possible accommodations.