Morristown Post-Acute is looking to hire an Infection Preventionist to join our Nursing team.

The Infection Preventionist has oversight over all infection control related activities within the organization. Directs the efforts of all the performance improvement initiatives to ensure overall compliance with all regulatory standards including national, state, CMS, DNV and other agencies. He/She works with clinicians and administrators to improve overall patient safety and systems-level outcomes.

• Responsible for coordinating the infection control program which includes surveillance; analysis of data; developing reports, policies and procedures.
• Use epidemiological principles and statistical methods to design, implement and evaluate infection prevention and control strategies.
• Provides consultation and education to staff, physicians and community leaders in respect to Infection Prevention & Control.
• Coordinate with the Infection Prevention and Control Committee to determine the direction of surveillance activities and actively evaluate effectiveness of the Infection Prevention and Control Plan annually.
• Conduct risk assessments at least annually and as needed with consideration of served populations, regional vulnerabilities, relevant statistical data, and new and emerging infectious diseases.
• Notify the County and/or State Health Department of any reportable diseases, adhering to all internal county and state procedures.
• Develop and implement continuously improved patient care procedures and control mechanisms relating to quality, compliance and infectious diseases.
• Participate in infection prevent and control education of all employees during orientation and annually thereafter, including classes in infection prevention and control practices and employee health.
• Ensure the infection prevention and control procedures meet CMS, DNV, county and state, APIC and CDC regulations, standards or guidelines.
• Organize Infection Prevention and Control Committee meetings and maintain all meeting minutes.

Professional Requirements

• Adhere to dress code, appearance is neat and clean.
• Complete annual education requirements.
• Maintain employee and patient confidentiality at all times.
• Report to work on time and as scheduled.
• Wear identification while on duty.
• Maintain regulatory requirements, including all state, federal and local regulations.
• Represent the organization in a positive and professional manner at all times.
• Comply with all organizational policies and standards regarding ethical business practices.
• Maintains confidentiality and protects sensitive data at all times.
• Communicate the mission, ethics and goals of the organization.
• Participate in performance improvement and continuous quality improvement activities. 3
• Attend regular staff meetings and in-services

Qualifications

• A minimum of three (3) years’ experience in a hospital facility required, Quality/IC leadership experience preferred
• A minimum of two (2) years’ experience as a registered nurse
• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, or a similar field of study preferred • Certification in Infection Prevention
• Basic Life Support certification required within 30 days of hire
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Knowledge of CMS and DNV standards and regulations.
• Knowledge of infection prevention and control procedures, OSHA, CDC and APIC guidelines.
• Knowledge of the principles of epidemiology and infectious disease.
• Knowledge of the County Health Department procedures and practices.
• Thorough knowledge of all infectious disease, disease warning signs and response procedures.
• Skill in organizing and prioritizing workloads to meet deadlines.
• Skill in telephone etiquette and paging procedures.
• Ability to develop policies and procedures.
• Ability to teach and evaluate clinical performance.
• Knowledge of system process analysis, quality/process improvement techniques, design, and integration, at a level of complexity associated with integrating processes across multiple departments of an organization.
• Possess a level of analytical ability to problem-solve, evaluate, plan, and direct process improvement projects and benchmarking activities for all clinical and non-clinical departments.

Physical Requirements and Environmental Conditions

• Working irregular hours
• Work in varying degrees of temperature (heated or air conditioned).
• Work under extreme pressures.
• Exposure to blood and body fluids, communicable diseases, chemicals, radiation, and repetitive motions
• Ability to frequently handle hazardous/infectious waste.
• Position requires reaching, bending, stooping, and handling objects with hands and/or fingers, talking and/or hearing, and seeing.