Director Infection Prevention

Founded in 1955 Dignity Health – Northridge Hospital Medical Center is a 394-bed acute care nonprofit community hospital located in Northridge California. The hospital offers a full complement of award winning services including the Leavey Cancer Center, a cardiovascular center, stroke center, the Center for Assault Treatment Services, a pediatric medical center, and the only pediatric trauma center in the San Fernando Valley. As a leading provider of compassionate high-quality and affordable patient-centered care we share a rich legacy with Dignity Health, one of the nation’s five largest health care systems. We are part of a 21-state network of nearly 9000 physicians 62000 employees and more than 400 care centers. Visit https://dignityhealth.org/northridgehospital for more information.

One Community. One Mission. One California.

As the Director of Infection Prevention at Northridge Hospital Medical Center you will be accountable for all infection prevention and control practices across the hospital. You will implement a hospital wide infection prevention and control (IPC) program to maintain excellent performance in patient care and reduce the risk of infection for patients, staff and our community. Under the supervision of, and in collaboration with, the Chief Medical Officer, you will oversee and direct all IPC activities, including surveillance for infections, monitoring and management of Infectious Disease trends, developing, maintaining and updating policies and procedures related to IPC and antimicrobial stewardship. You will ensure timely and accurate NHSN reporting, Joint Commission continuous readiness, proactive risk assessments and preparedness, and the validation and ongoing management of data.

You will also plan and coordinate education for hospital staff and patients, and collaborate with Infectious Disease physicians to lead the investigation of hospital-acquired infections. In this role you will be an advocate for patient and environmental safety, and will maintain active communication with clinical and non-clinical staff and Hospital leadership. You will supervise the daily activities of the IPC staff to ensure timely reporting of required data to hospital and CommonSpirit Health system leadership as well as State, Federal and regulatory agencies.

Benefits and offerings for this position include (plus much more!):

• Relocation assistance.
• Annual performance-based bonus program.
• Annual employer contribution to retirement program (no employee contribution needed).
• Medical benefits for the employee at no payroll deduction.
• 29 days PTO accrued annually.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Science (Microbiology, Biology, Nursing, Public Health) required.
• Minimum of three (3) years clinical experience in Nursing, Microbiology, Biology, or Public Health required.
• Minimum two (2) years of experience as an Infection Preventionist in an acute care facility required.

Required Licensure:

• Certification in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC) by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) to be obtained during the first two (2) years of hire.

Required Special Skills:

• Demonstrates breadth and/or depth of professional/technical skills and capabilities required for the position; shares knowledge; sets or contributes to the Company’s direction within area of expertise.
• Knowledge of types, methods, tools and techniques used in infection prevention and control; ability to impede the spread of infection and disease. Able to lead RCAs for HAIs and implement action plans.
• Knowledge of federal, state and local healthcare related laws and regulations; ability to comply with these in healthcare practices and activities.
• Knowledge of current professional society guidelines. Able to perform literature reviews to support performance improvement and practice changes.
• Ability to assess a situation from an infection prevention perspective and recommends appropriate action within scope of responsibility to ensure safe and quality patient care.
• Ability to recognize, develop and provide educational programs on infection prevention for all levels of personnel to improve their infection prevention knowledge base and practice.
• Knowledge of effective self-management practices and ability to manage multiple concurrent objectives, projects, groups, or activities, making effective judgments as to prioritizing and time allocation.
• Actively seeks professional growth, demonstrates professionalism, and exhibits a good working rapport in all interpersonal interactions with departmental staff, healthcare personnel, contract workers, patients and visitors and community agencies.
• Strong professional, organizational and interpersonal skills for working with teams, physicians, committees and senior management.
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written), presentation style, including the ability to concisely present data to leaders, clinicians and staff at all levels of the organization.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree or ten (10) years experience in Infection Prevention / Control preferred.

#LI-DH