Infection Prevention Practioner

at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Location: Swedish Hospital and Medical Group
Full Time: Full-Time (40hrs/wk)
Hours: Monday to Friday, On-Calls as needed; will include weekends too
Required Travel: provide support to Medical Group and Swedish Hospital
What you will need:
Education: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)/experience equivalent; or Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology; or Bachelor of Science in Biology with completion of Medical Technology; or Internship/Program or a Master's in Public Health
Certification: Registered Nurse State of Illinois or Certification in American Society of Clinical Pathology for respective backgrounds. Certification in Infection Control (CIC) at the time of hire or within 9 months of hire; current membership in Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Experience: Three or more years Infection Control experience or equivalent. Three or more years or experience in clinical nursing or 5+ years of clinical microbiology experience or equivalent.
What you will do:
This position assists the Director and Hospital Epidemiologists in efficient and effective coordinating of all infection control activities at NorthShore University HealthSystem.
This position directs, develops, mentors and implements quality improvement interventions to prevent and control infection. This position performs surveillance for healthcare-associated infections, environment of care rounds addressing any issues in construction and facilities. Acts a consultant on regulatory and professional infection control guidelines and established best practices in the hospital based setting.
This position supervises or participates in outbreak investigations and reporting of reportable diseases to governmental agencies.
This position provides effective verbal and written communication and education to staff and others on infection prevention and control or infectious diseases.
This position participates in and/or executes clinical research and problem solving in infection prevention.

A Brief Overview:
The Infection Preventionist directs, initiates and/or mentors quality improvement efforts. Assists the Director and Hospital Epidemiologists in efficient and effective coordinating of all infection control activities at NorthShore University HealthSystem, in order to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections to patients, personnel, volunteers, students, and visitors, etc.

What you will do:
Because of the experience and/or expertise, preventionists are assigned to one or more dedicated responsibilities within the department. These are specialized areas aimed at serving the broader customer base, often at the corporate level. Examples include but are not limited to:
Coordinating the planning and ongoing risk assessments of construction and renovation activities to ensure the safety of our customers.
Directing targeted performance improvement activities aimed at raising awareness of traditional infection prevention strategies (e.g. hand hygiene) or introducing innovative strategies aimed at infection prevention such as the MRSA surveillance program."
Develops subject matter expertise in special topics related to infection prevention and control (sterilization and disinfection, hemodialysis, CLABSI, CAUTI, waterborne pathogens).
Conduct or collaborate on independent research projects aimed at infection prevention or quality improvement efforts.
Provides high level disinfection and sterilization training including competency validation. Monitors compliance with high level disinfection and sterilization quality assurance documentation.
Performs site visits to monitor and enforce adherence to standards of practice consistent with existing Infection Prevention and Control guidelines and policies. Take corrective actions as needed to rectify failures of practice.
Directs IC-focused quality rounds and The Joint Commission tracers as needed and provides just-in-time training.
Directs, develops and implements interventions to prevent and control infection in Medical Group locations.
Directs, monitors or participates in performance improvement activities related to infection prevention and control.
Acts as a consultant on issues regarding infection control and best practice principles for all levels of personnel, patients, and visitors.
Is a member of the Infection Control Committee and represents Infection Control on other committees and working groups as directed.
Directs or participates in the epidemiological investigation of clusters or outbreaks.
Uses effective verbal and written communication methods to provide infection control information.
Prepares and maintains written and electronic logs and reports for Medical Group site visits.
Is a content expert with regards to regulatory and professional infection... For full info follow application link.

EOE: Race/Color/Sex/Sexual Orientation/ Gender Identity/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Vets, VEVRRA Federal Contractor.