Ongoing assessment and development of programs, policies and procedures, and forms to address the Infection Prevention needs of all departments, employees, contracted workers, physicians and medical team, residents, families, vendors and visitors that reflect current standards of practice and in compliance with regulatory agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Department of Health.
Provide leadership for interdisciplinary teams to control specific disease entities and support quality and performance improvement initiatives; serve as an active member of the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Committee.
Chair the Infection and Prevention and Control Committee and perform active surveillance; Document data and develop infection reports/rates at a minimum monthly per national standards; Identify trends through review and interpretation of surveillance data to develop risk reduction strategies and implement process improvement initiatives. Provide analysis and interpretation of data, trends and outcomes.
In collaboration with the Director of Nursing, investigate clusters and outbreaks for sources of infection and/or emerging infectious diseases, educate staff regarding short and long term control measures and assist in evaluation of the effectiveness of such controls.
Facilitate operational responsibilities of Infection Prevention and Control in mandatory reporting of communicable diseases, including identification of infections, reporting through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), if required, and collaborate with the Director of Nursing to act as a liaison and to notify the Department of Health, AHCA, contacting physicians of residents with infections, family, staff, and fielding questions from residents with infections.
Conduct environmental rounds as appropriate to assess compliance with Life Safety and regulatory requirements; to include monitoring compliance with and enforce/ enhance strategies to improve the Infection Prevention and Control Program; and ongoing survey readiness activities, to include resident time at the Day Programs.
Works in collaboration with the Program Director and Director of Nursing to ensure compliance with Infection Prevention policies, standard and transmission-based precautions, COVID-19 protocols, and implements action plans to improve outcomes (e.g. compliance with PPE, hand hygiene, disinfecting of lifting equipment, isolation precautions, terminal clean).
Plan, develop, conduct and document educational programs for facility personnel, residents and families using age and education level appropriate venues to maintain or enhance knowledge of infection prevention and control.
Assist with infection-related programs such as the Respiratory Protection Programs and the Employee Vaccination Program (Flu), COVID-19 Preparedness/Unit to prevent the spread of infection and improve resident health outcomes.
Stay current on infection prevention and control regulatory and accreditation standards.
Provide designated clinical and non-clinical trainings for current and new staff. Coordinate and train key sessions, annual trainings, as well as requests for specialized trainings. Revise and adapt as necessary. Ensure any deficiencies are addressed and retraining provided to ensure initial competencies are met.
Observe direct care, dietary, activities, Social Work and identify opportunities for improvement individually and identify trends. Provide retraining and recommendations where needed.
Collaborate with DON on any issues or concerns. Available for on-call weekend rotations with the charge nurse and DON and provide nursing coverage on the floor as needed.
