Infection Preventionist Jobs

Job Summary

The Infection Preventionist (IP) is responsible for identifying, investigating, monitoring, and reporting healthcare-associated infections. The IP collaborates with teams and individuals to create and sustain infection prevention strategies, provide education and feedback to all healthcare staff, and ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards as it relates to infection prevention and control throughout the hospital environment.

Essential Functions

• Serve on selected hospital committees to act as a resource for infection control-related information to facilitate communication and make recommendations and provide updates to the Infection Control Committee.
• Provides additional knowledge, support and input to identify environmental issues to reduce the risk of infections related to the environment
• Consults with hospital staff to provide infection control recommendations for specific patients based on their disease process and mode of transmission in order to ensure the use of appropriate precautions. Communicates changes in infection control or related practices to appropriate staff to facilitate consistent practice.
• Collaborates with local and state Department of Health (DOH) on public health initiatives and issues affecting our surrounding communities.
• Identifies and reports hospital-associated infections to ensure compliance with national and state requirements (such as PA Act 52). Monitors and implements measures to maintain compliance with all regulatory agencies (CMS, TJC, PA DOH).
• Provides relevant infection control resources to new and current employees in order to protect hospital staff, patients, and visitors from transmission of infection.
• Interprets hospital infection control policy, official recommendations and related regulations to facilitate conformance with current infection control regulatory standards.
• Interacts with co-workers, visitors, and other staff consistent with the values of Jefferson.
• Other duties as assigned
• Collaboratively develops and implements an effective infection prevention and control program with the healthcare team. Performs ongoing surveillance in order to identify hospital-associated infections following NHSN criteria, management of clusters and/or outbreaks within the facility or in the community, monitoring and oversight of sterilization and disinfection activities including all ambulatory care sites, communicable diseases (if applicable), and conduct ongoing data trend analysis

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:
Experience: Only years of experience in a particular setting, e.g. “5 years of experience in a doctor’s office required.”
Education: Baccalaureate degree in nursing (Active nursing license required), public health, epidemiology, clinical laboratory science, medical technology, or related field required, Masters preferred. Completion of the APIC training course on fundamental aspects of surveillance, prevention, and control of infections within 1 year from date of hire or transfer
Experience:
Previous Infection Control experience desirable.

Certification by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) required within 24 months from date of hire or transfer.

Covid Vaccination is a requirement for employment at Jefferson for employees working at Jefferson’s clinical entities or at the University. If you are not currently vaccinated you will be required to receive the vaccination prior to hire date if you are offered employment, unless you request and receive an approved medical or religious exemption from Jefferson.

Jefferson includes Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, a dynamic university and health system with broad reach across the Delaware Valley. Jefferson is the second largest employer in Philadelphia and the largest health system in Philadelphia based on total licensed beds.

Through the merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University in 2017, our University includes ten colleges and four schools. We are an NCAA Division II university and an R2 national doctoral university offering undergraduate and graduate-level programs that provide students with a forward-thinking education in architecture, business, design, engineering, fashion and textiles, health, medicine and social science.

Jefferson Health, the clinical arm of Thomas Jefferson University, has grown from a three-hospital academic health center in 2015, to an 18-hospital health system through mergers and combinations that include hospitals at Abington Health, Aria Health, Kennedy Health, Magee Rehabilitation and Einstein Healthcare Network. We have over 50 outpatient and urgent care centers; ten Magnet®-designated hospitals (recognized by the ANCC for nursing excellence); the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (one of only 70 in the country and one of only two in the region); and one of the largest faculty-based telehealth networks in the country. In 2021, Jefferson Health became the sole owner of HealthPartners Plan, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization in Southeastern Pennsylvania. We are the first health system regionally to create an aligned payer-provider partnership.

Jefferson’s mission, vision and values create an organization that attracts the best and the brightest students, faculty, staff, and healthcare professionals, as well as the most visionary leaders to drive exceptional results.

• OUR VISION: Reimagining health, education and discovery to create unparalleled value
• OUR MISSION: We improve lives.
• OUR VALUES: Put People First, Be Bold & Think Differently and Do the Right Thing

As an employer, Jefferson maintains a commitment to provide equal access to employment. Jefferson values diversity and encourages applications from women, members of minority groups, LGBTQ individuals, disabled individuals, and veterans.