Infection Preventionist

Department Overview

The mission of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is to prevent and control the transmission of infections to patients, visitors, and staff at OHSU hospitals and clinics. The Department of Infection Prevention and Control provides infection-related surveillance and guidance to Oregon Health & Science University hospitals and clinics. The department also provides consultative services to the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing, the Primate Center/West Campus, and OHSU research programs.

 

The Infection Preventionist is instrumental in the implementation of OHSU's healthcare mission, vision, goals, and objectives, providing clinical infection control expertise and helping to ensure safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable, patient-centered care. The Infection Preventionist implements OHSU’s Strategic and Organizational Infection Control Plan through leadership, consultation, facilitation, education, investigation, data collection, and analysis, reporting, and research. The Infection Preventionist functions as a change agent in planning, leading, and evaluating infection prevention and control practices, in surveillance-based performance improvement activities directed to identify and reduce the risks of acquiring and transmitting infections, and in assisting with organizational regulatory compliance. Consultative services directed to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases are provided to OHSU services outside the scope of OHSU-HC, including the Schools of Nursing, Dentistry, and Medicine, and the West Campus. Shares on-call responsibility with other members of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control. The Infection Control Manager may assign other infection prevention and control (IPC) activities and duties as needed.

Function/Duties of Position

Leadership

• Identifies, recommends and leads infection prevention and control (IPC) improvement opportunities in assigned areas through surveillance, research, and statistical analysis of internal and external data sources.
• Acts as a liaison to assigned area(s) to promote evidence-based, patient-centered IPC practices.
• Recommends evidence-based infection prevention measures and assists with their implementation.
• Leads the analysis and evaluation of IPC processes and surveillance through membership in Best Practice Groups, Quality Councils, and other assigned committees.
• Promotes and models collaborative working relationships with all members of the heathcare team.
• Provides effective influence in the development and attainment of IPC department and organizational goals through interdepartmental collaboration.
• Leads activities that support regulatory requirements or organizational goals.
• Takes an active role in compliance readiness and preparation for regulatory agency surveys.
• Serves as the IPC liaison in assigned regional and national benchmarking studies and infection prevention initiatives, including the Vizient, IHI, APIC, and the CDC, and facilitates improvement opportunities from the project learnings.
• Participates regularly in clinical and safety rounds.

Consultation 

• Provides project management and IPC expertise to teams, medical services, managers, and departments.
• Designs appropriate surveillance studies including methodology, data collection indicators, analysis, and reporting processes to use for identified infection prevention and control PI projects.
• Assists individuals/groups to interpret internal/external infection control data and to develop appropriate follow up action plans.
• Reviews current research and related literature to identify evidence-based best practices in infection prevention and control.
• Provides perspective on the Infection Control Plan and initiatives, and the application of surveillance, and epidemiological tools and techniques.
• Serves as a member of assigned committees, task forces and special projects to provide expert infection prevention and control consultation.
• Provides expert consultation to OHSU and community customers on all areas of infection prevention and control and exposure prevention, investigation, and management.
• Acts as a liaison with county/state health department officials in the management of patients with communicable diseases.

Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation

• Conducts routine and investigative surveillance activities, chart reviews and data abstraction utilizing epidemiological and microbiological methodologies and principles. Assures data reliability and validity or accurately identifies limitations associated with the study methodology. Interprets and analyzes data in collaboration with Data Analysts, Medical Director