The Infection Preventionist supports advancement of the infection prevention strategy through investigation into patterns and causes of infection and implementation of plans to prevent and control the spread of infectious agents. This position collaborates with diverse teams and individuals throughout the healthcare environment to support improved outcomes and promote compliance with internal and external infection prevention regulations, requirements, standards and guidelines.

Why UnityPoint Health?    

Commitment to our Team – We’re proud to be recognized as a Top 150 Place to Work in Healthcare by Becker's Healthcare several years in a row for our commitment to our team members.    

Culture – At UnityPoint Health, you matter. Come for a fulfilling career and experience a culture guided by uncompromising values and an unwavering belief in doing what's right for the people we serve.    

Benefits – Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you’re in.     

• Caring is what we do, and it starts with our team members: expect paid time off, parental leave, 401K matching and an employee recognition program as we support you both personally and professionally.  
• You can only give your best when you feel your best, and we help you live well with dental and health insurance, paid holidays, short and long-term disability and more. We even offer pet insurance for your four-legged family members to give you peace of mind.   
• We strive to make things easier and more personal in health care to set us apart from the rest, and you can experience that commitment through early access to earned wages with Daily Pay, a tuition reimbursement program designed to help you further your career and adoption assistance to help you grow your family in the way that works for you.  

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment – At UnityPoint Health, we honor the ways people are unique and embrace what brings us together. Our collective goal is to champion a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected.   

Development – We believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is an essential part of delivering a remarkable employment experience.   

Community Involvement – Be an essential part of our core purpose—to improve the health of the people and communities we serve.    

Hear more from our team members about why UnityPoint Health is a great place to work at  https://dayinthelife.unitypoint.org 

Key Accountability

Implementation of Infection Prevention Strategy

• Develops, implements and evaluates infection prevention plan according to system-wide strategy and risk assessment.
• Supports system-wide policy and procedure implementation and compliance monitoring.
• Supports infection prevention teams and uses current standards, guidelines and evidence-based practice to implement improvement activities designed to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
• Regularly interacts, communicates and collaborates with other healthcare workers and multidisciplinary groups regarding improvement efforts.
• Performs surveillance and reporting for healthcare-associated infections (HAI) utilizing the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance definitions and in accordance with state and/or federal requirements and UPH infection prevention strategies and priorities as outlined by market and system prevention plans.
• Facilitates healthcare associated infection (HAI) event investigation.
• Assesses performance of infection prevention process measures and interprets data related to infection prevention outcome measures.
• Performs observations to assess compliance with infection prevention-related regulatory requirements.
• Performs formal education, just-in-time education and coaching at the elbow.
• Performs outbreak investigations.
• Assists with internal and external reporting of information and data.
• Utilizes data to make recommendations for action.

Key Accountability

Infection Prevention Professional and Practice Standards

• Pursues education and experience in infection prevention competencies.
• Pursues and subsequently maintains Certification in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC) through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (CBIC)
• Assumes responsibility for the development, evaluation, and improvement of one’s own practice to maintain the required skills and knowledge.