Location: Swedish Hospital and Medical Group

Full Time: Full-Time (40hrs/wk)

Hours: Monday to Friday, On-Calls as needed; will include weekends too

Required Travel: provide support to Medical Group and Swedish Hospital

What you will need:

Education: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)/experience equivalent; or Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology; or Bachelor of Science in Biology with completion of Medical Technology; or Internship/Program or a Master's in Public Health

Certification: Registered Nurse State of Illinois or Certification in American Society of Clinical Pathology for respective backgrounds. Certification in Infection Control (CIC) at the time of hire or within 9 months of hire; current membership in Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Experience: Three or more years Infection Control experience or equivalent. Three or more years or experience in clinical nursing or 5+ years of clinical microbiology experience or equivalent.

What you will do:

This position assists the Director and Hospital Epidemiologists in efficient and effective coordinating of all infection control activities at NorthShore University HealthSystem.

This position directs, develops, mentors and implements quality improvement interventions to prevent and control infection. This position performs surveillance for healthcare-associated infections, environment of care rounds addressing any issues in construction and facilities. Acts a consultant on regulatory and professional infection control guidelines and established best practices in the hospital based setting.

This position supervises or participates in outbreak investigations and reporting of reportable diseases to governmental agencies.

This position provides effective verbal and written communication and education to staff and others on infection prevention and control or infectious diseases.

This position participates in and/or executes clinical research and problem solving in infection prevention.

A Brief Overview:
The Infection Preventionist directs, initiates and/or mentors quality improvement efforts. Assists the Director and Hospital Epidemiologists in efficient and effective coordinating of all infection control activities at NorthShore University HealthSystem, in order to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections to patients, personnel, volunteers, students, and visitors, etc.


What you will do:

• Because of the experience and/or expertise, preventionists are assigned to one or more dedicated responsibilities within the department. These are specialized areas aimed at serving the broader customer base, often at the corporate level. Examples include but are not limited to:
• Coordinating the planning and ongoing risk assessments of construction and renovation activities to ensure the safety of our customers.
• Directing targeted performance improvement activities aimed at raising awareness of traditional infection prevention strategies (e.g. hand hygiene) or introducing innovative strategies aimed at infection prevention such as the MRSA surveillance program."
• Develops subject matter expertise in special topics related to infection prevention and control (sterilization and disinfection, hemodialysis, CLABSI, CAUTI, waterborne pathogens).
• Conduct or collaborate on independent research projects aimed at infection prevention or quality improvement efforts.
• Provides high level disinfection and sterilization training including competency validation. Monitors compliance with high level disinfection and sterilization quality assurance documentation.
• Performs site visits to monitor and enforce adherence to standards of practice consistent with existing Infection Prevention and Control guidelines and policies. Take corrective actions as needed to rectify failures of practice.
• Directs IC-focused quality rounds and The Joint Commission tracers as needed and provides just-in-time training.
• Directs, develops and implements interventions to prevent and control infection in Medical Group locations.
• Directs, monitors or participates in performance improvement activities related to infection prevention and control.
• Acts as a consultant on issues regarding infection control and best practice principles for all levels of personnel, patients, and visitors.
• Is a member of the Infection Control Committee and represents Infection Control on other committees and working groups as directed.
• Directs or participates in the epidemiological investigation of clusters or outbreaks.
• Uses effective verbal and written communication methods to provide infection control information.
• Prepares and maintains written and electronic logs and reports for Medical Group site visits.
• Is a content expert with regards to regulatory and professional infection control guidelines and established best practices.
• Participates in emergency preparedness activities and assists in the management of emergency situations such as bioterrorism/influx of infectious patients. Communicates with the involved health department.
• Is a content expert with regards to IC standards, CDC guidelines, APIC principles, IDPH and JCAHO and all regulatory agencies as relates to IC.
• Is a content expert with regards to the Infection Control policies/procedures.
• Assumes rotating on call responsibilities as needed including on evenings, weekends, and holidays. Duties include but are not limited to: answering pages and reviewing laboratory reports for all NorthShore locations (i.e.: inpatient, outpatient, offsite and health department/community. )
• Participates in organizational annual required education (ARE).
• Maintains documentation in EPIC of epidemiologically significant organisms identified in patients receiving care in the outpatient setting.
• Conducts surveillance and medical record review using established protocols to detect patients with significant infectious diseases.
• Advises Medical Group sites of the appropriate management of infectious patients and employees as well as for environmental conditions such as a boil order.
• Collaborates with Employee Health Services to conduct the follow-up investigation of susceptible personnel exposed to infectious diseases.
• Reports communicable infectious diseases to the appropriate health department.
• Facilitates or participates in special surveillance activities/studies to detect healthcare-associated infections.
• Identifies and investigates infectious disease sentinel events and/or near misses (serious, potentially harmful or fatal infections in patients, personnel or others). Takes appropriate action to implement interventions/measures to reduce, minimize or eliminate the risk of exposure and/or transmission.
• Generates data reports as needed and shares findings with Medical Group stakeholders.
• Creates concise and understandable documents and presentations for consumption by key stakeholders.
• Prepares and reviews monthly statistical reports (hand hygiene and tracers) for Medical Group sites.
• Is a consultant to department heads in the review/revision of specific departmental guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control.
• Reviews and revises Infection Prevention and Control Manual policies and procedures as well as site specific IC guidelines.
• Uses software programs (e.g. EPIC) to obtain infection prevention and control data.
• Maintains infection control documentation as needed/directed.
• Is a consultant in issues related to infection control/infectious disease for the department's customer base including healthcare workers, patients, visitors, family members and the community at large.
• Educates customers with regards to infection prevention and control strategies and interventions.
• Provides on-call service for the department as assigned in an independent and effective manner.
• Communicate when appropriate to NorthShore University HealthSystem leadership, Public Relations and the health department on Infection Prevention and Control matters.
• Demonstrates good public relations skills.
• Communicates recommendations clearly and appropriately to the Infection Prevention and Control customer base.
• In collaboration with internal and/or external customers (e.g. Nursing) develops and implements quality or performance improvement initiatives aimed at reducing or eliminating healthcare-associated infections.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of QI/PI initiatives as needed and recommends adjustments accordingly to achieve success and sustainability.
• Communicates successes and lessons learned from improvement initiatives.
• Participates in quality rounds and The Joint Commission tracers.
• Provides just-in-time training as needed.
• Attends as able both internal and external continuing education programs, in-services, or lectures presented on the topic of infection control, infectious diseases, and/or performance improvement.
• Remains informed on current trends in infection prevention and control and related fields by performing literature reviews and through independent study.
• Is a member of the local and national chapters of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
• Conducts or participates research studies and disseminates findings as appropriate.
• Develops and presents formal and informal educational programs.
• Assists the director in training of new personnel in the department.
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What you will need:

• Bachelors Degree Required
• Masters Degree Preferred
• Three or more years Infection Control experience or equivalent. Or
• Three or more years experience in clinical nursing Or
• or 5+ years of clinical microbiology experience or the equivalent.
• Experienced and certified in Infection Prevention and Control.
• Ability to supervise or participate in outbreak investigations.
• Ability to perform surveillance for healthcare-associated infections, reportable disease monitoring, environmental rounds and educates patients, staff and others on infection control or infectious diseases.
• Executes clinical research and problem solving in infection prevention.

Benefits:

• Career Pathways to Promote Professional Growth and Development
• Various Medical, Dental, and Vision options,
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Free Parking at designated locations
• Wellness Program Savings Plan
• Health Savings Account Options
• Retirement Options with Company Match
• Paid Time Off and Holiday Pay
• Community Involvement Opportunities

Endeavor Health is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system committed to providing access to quality, vibrant, community-connected care, serving an area of more than 4.2 million residents across six northeast Illinois counties. Our more than 25,000 team members and more than 6,000 physicians aim to deliver transformative patient experiences and expert care close to home across more than 300 ambulatory locations and eight acute care hospitals - Edward (Naperville), Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland Park, Northwest Community (Arlington Heights) Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) - all recognized as Magnet hospitals for nursing excellence. For more information, visit .

When you work for Endeavor Health, you will be part of an organization that encourages its employees to achieve career goals and maximize their professional potential.

Please explore our website () to better understand how Endeavor Health delivers on its mission to "help everyone in our communities be their best".

Endeavor Health is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. Please refer to the main career page for more information.

Diversity, equity and inclusion is at the core of who we are; being there for our patients and each other with compassion, respect and empathy. We believe that our strength resides in our differences and in connecting our best to provide community-connected healthcare for all.

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