Infection Prevention Specialist 1

About the role

Under general supervision, is responsible for professional public health field contact work of average difficulty and performs related work as required. The goal of the Infection Prevention Specialist is to protect the health of the citizens of Tennessee through the prevention and control of infections within healthcare settings such as acute‑care hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient settings.

Distinguishing features

This is the entry/working‑level class in the Infection Prevention sub‑series. It differs from the Infection Prevention Specialist 2, which performs duties of larger scope and complexity, acts as the primary manager of projects or studies, and supervises employees.

Work activities

• Conducts on‑site infection control assessments of healthcare facilities, provides follow‑up consultation to mitigate identified infection‑control gaps, observes practices, and reviews policies and procedures to ensure compliance with national best practices endorsed by HICPAC, APIC, and SHEA.
• Provides infection control training to internal and external stakeholders, including state, regional, and local health‑department staff, state surveyors, EMS providers, infection preventionists, and quality‑improvement specialists.
• Delivers technical assistance and training for healthcare partners and users of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), including enrollment, definition application, and data validation.
• Responds to state and federal regulatory referrals (e.g., the Joint Commission) for certified Medicare/Medicaid entities with immediate‑jeopardy infection‑control tags.
• Responds to complaints referred by the Office of Healthcare Facilities or the Health Boards.
• Interprets Tennessee Department of Health regulations, CMS Conditions of Participation, HIPAA privacy rule, CDC guidance, and related medical/legal concepts concerning healthcare data.
• Supports investigations of healthcare‑associated infection (HAI) outbreaks and containment responses to single cases of pathogens of urgent public‑health concern in healthcare settings.
• Provides consultative infection‑control advice to facility staff regarding management of infectious patients/residents and other infection‑prevention issues.
• Participates in Emerging Infections Program‑funded multi‑state point‑prevalence surveys and other HAI grant‑funded projects.
• Serves as an independent outside infection‑control observer during public‑health emergencies (e.g., Ebola or other highly infectious diseases).
• Applies principles of antibiotic stewardship and quality improvement to infection‑control activities.