St. Luke’s Hospital has a new opportunity for an experienced Infection Preventionist/ Employee Health Nurse for our Nursing Admin Department! Our hospital is one of very few critical care hospitals in the country that earned 5-Stars in patient satisfaction from CMS in 2020 and we need YOU to help us get to the next level! In this role, you will be part of a progressive team dedicated to advancing the goals of the hospital, meeting the needs of our rural community, and providing outstanding care to our patients. At St. Luke’s, we ALL make a difference!
Essential Functions:

• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of complete infection control process in the healthcare setting.
• Develops the facility Infection Control Plan and Risk Assessment. Reviews the effectiveness of the Plan and completes risk assessment annually, recommends Plan revisions, surveillance activity, etc. under the direction of the Patient Care Committee and the Medical Staff.
• Develops, implements, reviews and revises assigned policies, procedures and standards to assess, evaluate and meet the need of the patient.
• Demonstrates knowledge of risk-stratified statistics as applicable to trending healthcare associated infections (HAIs).
• Develops, updates and adheres to and provides interpretations of Infection Control policies to the nursing staff, medical staff, patients and community.
• Demonstrates ability to teach principles and practical application of infection control to all levels of healthcare personnel.
• Develops and implements a system for identifying, investigating, reporting and preventing the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) among patients of all ages and healthcare personnel.
• Reviews cultures and sensitivities reported by microbiology laboratory of patients and personnel to determine if infection is healthcare associated in origin.
• Confers with staff nurses on all patient care units on a regular basis to determine occurrence of healthcare associated infections (HAIs).
• Confers with medical and nursing staff to determine appropriate implementation of isolation precautions.
• Investigates infections, especially those occurring above established thresholds, and/or in clusters by patient care units.
• Initiates culture and sensitivity and/or appropriate isolation precautions when indicated.
• Works in cooperation with the Facility Quality Coordinator/Risk Manager. Extracts Infection Control data and uploads to designated vendor as part of the facility Quality/Performance Improvement Program. Provides assistance as needed with additional quality measure reporting and submission of data to required entities. Communicates appropriate reports to Quality Committee through the Patient Care Committee.
• Assists with house-wide teammate education related to infection prevention and control.
• Assists in the development, implementation and improvement of infection control practices.
• Monitors proper use of germicides, cleaning products, antiseptic and disinfectants in use throughout the facility.
• Monitors methods of asepsis, sterilization and disinfection employed throughout the facility.
• Reviews and/or revises all departmental policies and procedures related to infection control on a concurrent basis.
• Communicates infection control activities to administration, Patient Care and Safety Committees, the medical staff and MEC via the respective Committee minutes and/or Committee Chairperson(s).
• Prepares statistics and other pertinent data and reports to the Patient Care and Safety Committees at least quarterly.
• Implements and conducts special studies when appropriate or requested by the Senior Leadership, Patient Care Committee, Safety Committee, or Medical Staff.
• Based on studies which identify areas for improved patient outcomes, submits target surveillance indicators for Patient Care Committee approval on an annual basis.
• Available by voice mail, r or in person to assist all departments regarding issues related to infection control.
• Makes arrangements for appropriate replacement or consultants when not available.
• Performs or oversees new employee health assessments on all new employees.
• Coordinates services needed to assess and treat work related injuries/illnesses, including directing employees to appropriate physicians and other providers in conjunction with the workers’ Compensation carrier.
• Administers the FMLA process in cooperation with the Human Resources Department. Maintains all records pertaining to FMLA or other approved medical leave.
• Performs reassessment as appropriate on all return to work injuries or illnesses.
• Maintains confidentiality of all employee health records.
• Coordinates with supervisors/managers, emergency services, patient care committee, administration, health department, staff and others to provide employee health services.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:
1. Current RN licensure in the State of North Carolina or one of the Compact States.
2. Minimum three (3) years’ experience in a supervisory position in healthcare or three (3) years in infection control.
3. Member of the Association of Practitioners of Infection Control and Epidemiology.
4. Working knowledge of microbiology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, aseptic techniques and current practices.
5. One year experience in an acute care hospital.
6. BLS required.
7. Certified Occupational Health Nurse or eligible preferred.
8. Willing attitude that elicits cooperation with all team members.
9. Ability to effectively communicate in English, both verbally and in writing.
10. Demonstrates interpersonal relationships in a manner that enhances communication, promotes conflict resolution, and facilitates staff development.
11. Additional languages preferred.
12. Computer knowledge, proficient in Word, Excel, Power Point programs.
13. Good problem-solving ability.
14. Physical ability to do the job.
15. For physical demands of position, including vision, hearing, repetitive motion and environment see following description: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position without compromising client care.