Infection Preventionist (RN)

Description

Maine Veterans’ Homes is seeking an experienced Registered Nurse (RN) Infection Preventionist to lead and oversee our infection prevention and control program. This is an excellent opportunity for an RN who is passionate about resident safety, quality improvement, infection prevention, education, and long-term care.

As our Infection Preventionist, you will play a key role in maintaining a safe, sanitary, and comfortable environment for residents, staff, families, and visitors. You will work closely with facility leadership, physicians, staff, and regulatory agencies to prevent, identify, investigate, and control infections and communicable diseases.

• Lead the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program (IPCP), including annual goals, action plans, implementation, and evaluation.
• Conduct infection surveillance for residents, staff, volunteers, and visitors.
• Identify, investigate, document, and report infections and communicable diseases as required.
• Lead outbreak investigations and develop corrective action plans to prevent recurrence.
• Oversee the facility’s antibiotic stewardship program and monitor antibiotic use.
• Develop and provide infection prevention education for employees, including orientation, annual education, and department-specific training.
• Educate staff on topics including hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, isolation precautions, infection transmission, resident immunizations, flu vaccination, medical equipment, and other infection prevention practices.
• Develop and maintain evidence-based infection prevention policies and procedures.
• Conduct routine audits, analyze infection prevention data, and participate in Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) activities.
• Monitor healthcare-associated and community-acquired infections.
• Maintain knowledge of applicable CMS, VA, federal, state, local, OSHA, and infection prevention regulations and standards.
• Collaborate with facility leadership and other Maine Veterans’ Homes locations to support infection prevention best practices.

Required:

• Current, active Registered Nurse (RN) license in Maine.
• National certification in infection prevention and control or the ability to obtain certification within 3 months of hire.
• Strong knowledge of infection prevention and control principles and practices.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, investigate infections, and develop effective action plans.
• Strong communication, organization, and critical-thinking skills.
• Ability to educate and work effectively with employees at all levels of an organization.
• Proficiency with computers and common Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred:

• Experience in infection prevention and control.
• Experience in long-term care, skilled nursing, or senior care.
• Advanced degree in nursing, microbiology, epidemiology, or a related field.

At Maine Veterans’ Homes, our work is about more than a job. We are proud to provide exceptional care to Veterans and their families, and every member of our team contributes to that mission.

You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact by helping protect the health and safety of the residents and staff we serve while supporting a culture of quality, safety, and continuous improvement.

 Maine Veterans’ Homes provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.