Infection Prevention Specialist

1. Overview

An overview of the work, briefly summarizing the job, the main purpose, the objectives, and the results expected.

The mission of the Healthcare Epidemiology Program is to work to eliminate Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) and combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) by collaborating with federal and state stakeholders across the healthcare continuum, and the public.

Objectives of the program include 1) responding to healthcare facility public health threats such as outbreaks related to medical devices or procedures and emerging/re-emerging pathogens that express a high resistance to antimicrobial agents or have the ability to spread quickly (e.g. Ebola, COVID-19, carbapenemase-producing organisms, Candida auris); 2) conducting surveillance or accessing data relevant to HAI and AR; and 3) use that data to reduce and prevent HAIs and AR in Maine by working directly with healthcare facilities and stakeholders.

Ability to work remotely:  This position will be eligible for remote work but employee must live within Maine. 

2. Knowledge, Skills and Certifications

Specific qualifications needed to perform the job including: necessary licenses, knowledge, skills, education, experience, training, and technical skills.

Required knowledge, skills, and certifications:

• A Bachelor of Science degree in a healthcare profession (e.g. Nursing, Medical Technology) and at least five years acute care clinical experience in that profession.
• At least three years’ experience as an Infection Preventionist in an acute care setting.
• Must be a citizen of the United States of America, able to provide proof of residency, and able to obtain a federal Level 1 security clearance through the Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) for use of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), a federal HAI and AR database.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (e.g. WORD, Excel, Power Point).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse group of internal and external partners.
• Ability to gather, synthesize, and summarize a variety of information
• Ability to multitask between different projects and/or functions at the same time.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize and utilize resources and support staff to complete assignments in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ability to take complex scientific concepts and simplify into practical understandable terms.

Preferred knowledge and skills:

• CIC® certification from Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC).
• Proficient in host functions for virtual meetings (e.g. Microsoft Teams and Zoom).
• Experience with National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) Base System (NBS), a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) developed integrated information system that helps local, state, and territorial public health departments manage reportable disease data and send notifiable disease data to U.S. CDC.

3. Duties and Deliverable – Outline of specific job duties:

Specific duties required of the resource, as well as any expected deliverables, including necessary travel expectations.

Specific Job Duties: 

• Conduct onsite and remote infection control assessments for general infection control practices, in preparation for emerging/re-emerging public health threats, and in response to targeted circumstances (e.g., high rates, outbreak). 
• Work with healthcare facilities to report outbreaks.
• Respond to healthcare facilities in outbreak status, per department protocols.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in infection prevention and control practices.
• Provide technical assistance to healthcare facilities utilizing the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
• Utilize HAI data to select HAI areas for prevention/reduction activities.
• Collaborate with state stakeholders to develop and manage HAI prevention/reduction activities to reduce burden of HAIs at Maine healthcare facilities.
• Develop on-line training modules for web- based learning. 
• Promote training resources to healthcare.
• Other duties as assigned.

Expected Deliverables:  Weekly activity report. 

In-State Travel:  Up to 30% in-state travel anticipated.  In-state travel may include local, regional, or state meetings, as well as conducting on-site healthcare facility assessments or investigations. Occasionally, due to geographic distance, this may result in the need for overnight travel.  Travel reimbursement for routine business will need approval of the Department Program Manager. 

Out-of-State Travel:  Limited opportunities may be available for staff to attend conferences, meetings, education and/or training events. Travel reimbursement for out-of-state travel will need approval of the Department Program Manager.

4. Schedule

A summary of work schedule, including normal working hours, on-call expectations, allowed time off (which is non-billable), ability to work remote.

Normal working hours:  Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, with one-hour lunch.  Alternate work hours possible, however, will need approval by the Department Program Manager.  Expectation of overtime is rare and likely limited to emerging/re-emerging public health threats response (e.g. COVID-19, medium to large scale HAI event response).

This positions is full-time (full-time defined as 40 hours per week). 

On-call Expectations:  This position does not come with a routine on-call expectation.  However, during times of a public health response to an emerging or re-emerging threat (e.g. COVID-19), some call, usually for limited time period may be necessary.