Infection Preventionist/Employee Health Rn

General Description:The Infection Preventionist is responsible for daily management of Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC) Infection Control Program. She/he is responsible for the facility-wide surveillance, prevention and control of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) and other infectious diseases and for the optimization of antibiotic use through stewardship. She/he is responsible for addressing any infection control issues identified by the public health authorities.

S/he monitors the hospital for possible infection outbreak and performs surveillance of infectious disease exposures, including data interpretation and reporting to local and state health departments. S/he is also responsible for the Employee Health Department to include health assessment screening, vaccination review and is responsible for on-going staff education related to infection control. Completes onboarding and yearly employee health requirements.

The Manager collaborates with leadership in the facility to set goals related to infection control risks, exposure risks and managing necessary employee health requirements. The IP/EH Manager is responsible for communication and collaboration with the facility's leadership and staff to provide education, serve as a resource and ensure integration of both employee health and infection prevention and control with the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Program.Essential Functions:* Develops, implements, evaluate and maintains policies/plans/procedures for the identification, investigation, reporting, prevention and control of infections and communicable diseases within the organization, including both healthcare-associated infections and community acquired infections.* Assures meetings of the Infection Prevention and Control Committee (IPCC) and communications of the IPCC to leadership, staff and other committees of the organization, as applicable. (Note: The ID Physician Sponsor is responsible for communications to the medical staff committees).

Serves on other organizational committees as requested.* Assures compliance with regulations regarding employee health (e.g., health screening, employee exposure/ injuries, vaccination, immunization reporting, and maintenance of confidential employee health records).* Implements and maintains plans and procedures concerning control measures for the infection prevention and control and risk assessment plans.* Serves on regulatory committees.* Performs chart and lab data reviews and conducts surveys to identify patient and employee infections and at-risk patients.* Performs data analysis and prepares report for various committees, including but not limited to IPCC and QAPI.* Communicates reportable conditions to local and state health departments.* Investigates blood-borne pathogen and infectious control disease exposures in employees and facilitates the exposure process as necessary.* Performs general office clerical duties, including filing and answering telephones and schedules employee appointments, when necessary.* Provides education at new-hire orientation as well as ongoing employee education, as appropriate.* Responsible for the management of infection prevention, surveillance and control of healthcare related infection at GRMC.* The IP/EH Manager will ensure that systems and processes are in place to comply with relevant legal requirements, linking with professional bodies as necessary, to continually have the most pertinent knowledge.* Utilizes resources, coordinates and collaborates with key stakeholders related to Infection Prevention and Control at the state and county level.* Manages goal setting process for system, unit and physician goals related to healthcare acquired infections and conditions.* Leads the hand hygiene program to provide surveillance of hand hygiene and develops and implements process improvements when necessary; Monitors compliance for hand hygiene; And, provides hand hygiene related education to staff and others as needed to improve hand hygiene compliance within the organization.* Recognize, evaluate, mitigate and control workplace risks related to infection prevention and control.* Manages the Employee Health services in conjunction with a third-party agency, when utilized, to ensure regulatory compliance, such as maintaining employee health files, employee TB screenings/chest x-rays, vaccines, etc.* Responsible to ensure coordination and conducts new employee health screenings, in the absence of a third-party agency. Identifies employee illnesses, exposures and injuries to assess risk potential for prevention of transmission or recurrences.* Develops and maintains policies and procedures to direct the activities of the employee exposures and of the Infection Control Program.* Supervisory functions including, but not limited to, conducting performance reviews and corrective actions.Education & Training Requirements:* Current New Mexico RN license with biannual renewal, and BSN preferred* Certification in Infection Control (CIC) required within 3 years, and then maintained for duration of employment.* Attends and participates in state APIC conference yearly or as available* Experience as an Infection Control Practitioner preferred* Minimum 3 years clinical experience required* Excellent computer skills (MS Word/ Excel/ Power Point/ Meditech)Note: Job description available upon requestAll required documents must be presented at time of hire.EXTERNAL APPLICANT: Employment is contingent upon successful completion of pre-employment drug and alcohol testing.GRMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer