SHSMD Career Center

You.

You bring your body, mind, heart and spirit to your work as an Infection Prevention Coordinator.

You know when to move quickly. When to sit quietly. When to laugh loudly.

Youâ™re generous with your clinical, organizational and analytical skills and especially your voice, because your opinion matters.

Youâ™re great at what you do, but you want to be part of something even greater. Because you believe that while individuals can be strong, the right team is invincible.

Us.

Lutheran Medical Center is part of SCL Health, a faith-based, nonprofit healthcare organization that focuses on person-centered care. Our 249-bed community-based hospital provides comprehensive, specialty care to the poor, the vulnerable, our communities and each other. Dating back to 1905, we are proud of the rich history and inspiring mission our hospital has embodied for over 110 years. 

Benefits are one of the ways we encourage health for you and your family. Our generous package includes medical, dental and vision coverage. But health is more than a well-working body: it encompasses body, mind and social well-being. To that end, weâ™ve launched a Healthy Living program to address your holistic health. Healthy Living includes financial incentives, digital tools, tobacco cessation, classes, counseling and paid time off. We also offer financial wellness tools and retirement planning.

We.

Together weâ™ll align mission and careers, values and workplace. Weâ™ll encourage joy and take pride in our integrity.

Weâ™ll laugh at each otherâ™s jokes (even the bad ones). Weâ™ll hello and high five. Weâ™ll celebrate milestones and acknowledge the value of spirituality in healing.

Weâ™re proud of what we know, which includes how much there is to learn.

Your day.

As an Infection Prevention Coordinator you need to know how to:

• Infection Prevention and Control Practice


• Reviews, analyzes, and applies existing regulations, standards and/or guidelines of applicable professional organizations and governmental agencies.


• Reviews, analyzes, and applies pertinent information from current scientific literature and publications. Integrates relevant public health issues into practice.


• Monitors and reports infection trends in Care Site.


• Assists with planning, monitoring, evaluating and revising of Infection Prevention Program goals, standards, policies and procedures.


• Integrates regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, guidelines, best practices, and current infection prevention and control practice into organizational standards and practices.


• Maintains current information and regulatory requirements on infection prevention and epidemiology in order to disseminate accordingly to processes and customers.


• Epidemiology/Surveillance


• Conducts surveillance activities and outbreak/exposure investigations by using epidemiologic principles. Integrates these activities with Associate Health as appropriate. Participates as needed in reporting Communicable Disease Conditions to the local and state health department.


• Participates in epidemiological investigations of significant clusters of infection above established standards and of unusual isolates.


• Utilizes epidemiology/surveillance principles to identify appropriate communicable disease prevention and control methods.


• Conducts surveillance in a systematic approach to monitor the effectiveness of prevention and control strategies maintaining consistent communication with the Infection Prevention Manager.


• Uses standardized definitions for the identification and classification of events, indicators, or outcomes.


• Utilizes Infection Prevention software and other data tools (i.e., BOE reports for device days, surgical procedures, patient days, etc.) for surveillance activities.


• Reports epidemiologically significant findings to appropriate customers, the Infection Prevention Manager and the Infection Prevention & Control Committee Chairman.


• Enters surveillance data into the National Healthcare Safety Network Database as mandated by State Law.


• Performance Improvement


• Participates as an integral component of the plan for improvement of practice and patient outcomes. Identifies opportunities for improvement based on indicators, process and outcome measures, other findings, and/or observations.


• Contributes epidemiologic skills and data management to improvement processes. Acts as a Liaison with the Infectious Disease physician and Quality Management in relation to physician education and/or documentation recommendations. Participates in the organizationâ™s multidisciplinary quality improvement strategies.


• Participates in the organizationâ™s multidisciplinary safety program.


• Can identify organizational change opportunities for improvement based on indicators, process or outcome measures, other findings and/or observations.


• Preventing and controlling the transmission of infectious agent


• Routinely conducts isolation rounds assessing isolation precautions appropriateness, patient placement and other matters of infection prevention concerns.


• Conducts infection prevention rounds throughout the Care Site (including but not limited to: intensive care unit, medical/surgical units, OR, emergency department, sterile processing) assessing processes with feedback to the appropriate stakeholders.


• Assists the IP Manager in overseeing the hand hygiene compliance monitoring program and provides feedback to respective departments, committees and the Infection Prevention & Control Committee. Reinforces recommendations from the committees and regulatory agencies.


• Coordinates the collection of and reporting of Infection Prevention NPSG data. Disseminates compliance data to respective department managers, associates, and the EOC Safety Committee.


• Participates in the construction and renovation infection control risk assessment process, conducts construction safety rounds and participates in safety committees.


• Regulatory, accreditation and licensing


• Participates in multiple licensing, validation and/or accreditation survey and survey preparation.


• Participates in organizational readiness, preparation and compliance with the Joint Commission Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Infections chapter. Participates in tracer surveys.


• Education


• Serves as an educational resource for infection prevention and health care epidemiology for internal & external customers.


• Provides on-going in-service education and training for the Care Sites new associate welcome, based on customersâ™ needs.


• Assists in the development and routine reassessment of the educational needs and program outcomes of customers relative to infection prevention, control, and epidemiology.


• Consultation/Communication/Customer Service


• Provides knowledge and guidance in epidemiology and infection prevention-related issues. Maintains access to current information on infection prevention and control and epidemiology. Provides knowledge on the function, role, and value of the program to customers.


• Consults with other subject matter experts (SME) as needed on HAI determination HAI determinations, isolation precautions, modes of transmission, reportable conditions, and best practices.


• Consults with Associate Occupational Health Services, Infectious Disease physicians, and department managers with communications, recommendations, and follow up for associates with active infectious/communicable diseases and/or exposures to the same.


• Maintains on-going communications and cooperative relationships with Care Site internal committees and external agencies.


• Develops positive and effective working relationships with customers through responsiveness and delivery of accurate, timely, and effective services.


• Research


• Participates in infection prevention and control related research independently or collaboratively.


• Applies relevant research findings to infection prevention practice.


• Organizes and shares findings from surveillance activities or outbreak investigations.


• Other responsibilities


• Be available to work overtime if needed.


• Performs other duties as assigned.


• May be required to be placed on-call during a regularly scheduled shift.


• Ensures quality outcomes and timely work delivery.


• Viewed by customers and peers as producing quality work with the highest level of productivity and efficiency.


• Seeks additional tasks when assigned tasks are completed.


• Anticipates issues so as to improve the quality of products/services produced or delivered.


• Deals effectively with all races, nationalities, cultures, disabilities, ages, gender and sexual orientation.


• Supports equal and fair treatment of employees, co-workers, patients and visitors.

Your experience.

We hire people, not resumes. But we also expect excellence, which is why we require:

• Bachelorâ™s degree in Nursing, Microbiology or Public Health with knowledge of microbiology, infectious diseases and medical terminology, or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience.


• Certification in Infection Control (CIC) within one - two years of hire.


• At least 1 year of experience in either healthcare or public health setting

Preferred:

• Masterâ™s in Public Health or another healthcare related focus


• At least 1 year of experience in infection prevention

Your next move.

Now that you know more about being an Infection Prevention Coordinator on our team we hope youâ™ll join us. At SCL Health youâ™ll reaffirm every day how much you love this work, and why you were called to it in the first place.