Infection Prevention Specialist, Medicine/Epidemiology

Infection Prevention Job Implements infection prevention and control activities within hospital and ambulatory settings. Conducts infection surveillance and risk assessments, identifies infectious disease processes, and supports data collection, analysis, and reporting to public health agencies. Assists management with patient safety initiatives related to infection control. Job Responsibility Interprets data to determine infection risks to patients, staff, and community. Investigates epidemiologically important infections, clusters, and exposures to identify sources. Identifies and eliminates infectious risks throughout facility. Facilitates activities that support hospital compliance with government and agency regulations. Documents infection prevention related activities and creates conventional and computer-aided records and information. Assists management in preparation for external regulatory reviews/surveys to maintain related accreditation(s), as directed. Reports, documents, and escalates findings to management and performs interventions, as directed. Participates in facility Root Cause Analysis (RCA), contributes to facility audits and assists in implementing basic improvement strategies. Participates in departmental rounding, infection prevention orientation and regular in-services to all team members that address standards of care, infection risks, evidence-based practices, sterilization, high/low level disinfection, hand hygiene, instrument, and equipment storage, etc. Partners with multidisciplinary team members to optimize patient care and maintain/increase compliance with infection prevention and control practices. Takes ownership of self-identified goals and professional development. Performs other related duties as required. All responsibilities noted here are considered essential functions of the job under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Duties not mentioned here, but considered related are not essential functions. Job Qualification Bachelor's Degree Microbiology, Medical Technology, Public Health, Nursing, or related field, required. Current license to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in New York State, preferred. Current certification by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC), preferred. 1-3 years of relevant experience, required.