Employee Health/Infection Control Coordinator

JOIN OUR TEAM at LUBBOCK HEART & SURGICAL HOSPITAL!!!

Are you looking to be one of the team? To be part of the family and not just another number? Are you looking for a positive work environment where teamwork and diversity are key?

We value your contributions. Every role in our hospital has an impact on each of our patients. We work hard to make sure our employees love their work here. Many have been with us from the very beginning. Because we’re physician-owned, we understand the value of having a well-trained, well-resourced staff. When it comes to procedural healthcare, experience matters.

Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital is committed to providing better outcomes for our employees!

• Great Benefits – Medical, Vision, Dental, PTO & 401K
• Individually Tailored 6-12 Week Orientation
• Opportunities for Advancement
• Career Ladder for RNs, LVNs, & CSTs
• Consumer discounts through Perks
• Family Atmosphere
• Opportunity for Multi-Unit Training
• Free CEUs through Cornerstone, our online training system

We are looking for a dedicated Employee Health/Infection Control Coordinator/LVN like you to join our Lubbock Heart team.

What You Will do in this Role:

• Applies epidemiologic principles and statistical methods, including risk stratification, to identify target population, analyze trends and risk factors, and facilitate the design and evaluation of infection prevention and control strategies.
• Conduct concurrent, ongoing surveillance using CDC/HIPAC/NHSN infection criteria, documentation, and investigation of hospital acquired infections through review of admission diagnoses, microbiology culture results, patient records, autopsy findings, post-discharge surveillance and all other methodologies appropriate to case finding and cluster identification.
• Participated in continuing educational activities at the department, state, and national levels to promote personal growth and maintain a current knowledge base of current infection and prevention and control information through peer networking, internet, published literature and professional meetings.
• Utilizes appropriate communication and data systems, participating in system upgrades and redesigns as appropriate to support all infection prevention activities.
• Demonstrates effective conflict resolution skills while interacting with customers, including staff, physicians, patients and their families, to effectively handle conflicts which result in positive outcomes.
• Develops positive and effective relationships throughout the organization to promote teamwork, compliance, and support of Infection Prevention goals and initiatives.
• Understands the continual nature of change, acts as a change agent to promote infection prevention strategies and maintains flexibility within the work flow in order to meet the needs of the organization.
• Utilizes strong leadership skills to communicate, defend, and support Infection Prevention initiatives.
• Demonstrates the ability to manage conflict and negotiate change in positive ways that meets the department’s needs and organizational goals while maintaining a safe patient environment.
• Understands and utilizes the principles and concepts of Performance Improvement while facilitating process improvement activities.
• Looks for opportunities for process improvement based on surveillance activities and facilitates the process in partnership with the appropriate departments and the Quality Department.
• Assess environmental control through daily and scheduled surveillance and inspection of water supply systems, ventilation, construction sites, potential blood borne pathogen exposures and isolation practices that require monitoring for high risk environmental disease transmission.
• Creates Infection Control Risk Assessments (ICRAs) as needed to support the organization’s construction goals while keeping all inhabitants occupying the affected space safe from potentially hazardous exposure to infectious diseases. Participates in construction meetings to monitor new projects and provide infection prevention interventions during project planning and implementation phases.
• Conducts annual risk assessment to determine the need for surveillance related to devices, MDROs, SSIs, CLABSIs, UTIs and any other condition epidemiologic importance to the organization.
• The annual Infection Prevention plan incorporates the risk assessment and surveillance activities which are designed and conducted throughout the year based on the plan. Outcomes generated from surveillance activities are communicated to the Infection Control Committee and appropriate departments through the organization to include data analysis and recommendations for process improvement activities.
• Identifies and facilitates the investigations of infection outbreaks utilizing the microbiology laboratory, designated hospital infectious disease physician, consultation with Infection Control - Committee, Chief Medical Officer and other appropriate organizational leadership, county/state public health departments, and when necessary in consultation with CDC. Reports epidemiologically significant findings to appropriate departments, leaderships and outside health agencies. Develops and facilitates action plans to stop or prevent future  Communicates findings verbally and in writing to summarize events.
• Provide analysis, recommendations, and action plans implemented as well as final outcomes and future directions as needs to the Infection Control Committee, affected areas/departments and Committees as directed by the Quality Department and Medical Staff Bylaws.
• Collaborates with ED, Admitting, bed board, and nursing units to ensure appropriate patient placement to decrease the risk of disease transmission and increase patient satisfaction.
• Identifies, designs, and develops education and informational materials at the appropriate level of understanding and need for all customers served including patients, families, nursing, ancillary, and medical staff.
• Serves as a resource on infection prevention and control practices and policies to all customers throughout the organization.
• Provides consultation to Occupational Health for Infection Prevention issues and to identify opportunities for improvement related to employee exposure and possible disease transmission.
• Facilitates the review of existing policies and procedures with the appropriate departments, throughout the organization to define the high standard of care that providers must comply with and be knowledgeable about in order to prevent exposure and transmission of infectious diseases. Develops new policies in partnership with appropriate departments to reflect new procedures, technologies, and practices.
• Provides consultative service to the organization with 24-hours coverage, 7 days a week for IP concerns.
• Maintains current infection prevention and infectious disease information through electronic media, written sources and other resource material deemed necessary to maintain current knowledge and practice recommendations as required by all regulatory agencies. Develops and implements a continual surveillance plan on an annual basis that include risk reduction strategies, as approved by the Infection Control Committee.
• Collects and analytically interprets infection data based on NHSN data 
• Refers unresolved questions or problems to the Director of Infection Prevention & Employee Health who will provide consultative advice and/or call a committee meeting if necessary.
• Reports all in-house patients with communicable diseases to the county and/or state health department and maintains records.
• Develops and implements all mandatory standards, programs, and regulations relevant to infection
• Prepares plans for mandatory compliance with regulatory agencies and presents to the Hospital Infection Control
• Assists in the implementation of work practice and engineering controls relevant to OSHA
• Provides hospital-wide education, training, and policy review for above stated
• Collaborates with outside vendors and all departments affected by implementation and education of new equipment relative to infection control.
• Maintains quality control monitors as
• Conducts surveillance and follow-up of employee exposures to communicable
• Trends employee illnesses/injuries to identify safety and health

What Qualifications You Will Need:

• Graduate of an accredited school of nursing and currently licensed as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) by the Texas Board of Nursing
• BCLS and ACLS required.
• Preferred Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science or Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management, Public Health or a related field
• Minimum of three (3) years’ clinical experience.

• Special/Preferred Qualifications

  • Infection Control/Employee Health experience
  • Demonstrated success building/maintaining relationships, and working collaboratively toward a consensus with a wide diversity of people, levels and organizations.
  • Able to show positive impact of strong communication (written and verbal), intercultural and interpersonal skills; specially to facilitate, influence and build consensus.

Your Shift: Full Time 8am-5pm

LHSH Incentives

• Flexible Scheduling
• No mandatory overtime
• Career Ladder

Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital specializes in the care of cardiac, orthopedic, nephrology, urology, and general medical patients.  We are also a highly active inpatient center mainly centered on surgical procedures that include cardiothoracic, orthopedic, urology, and general surgery.  We have a 24-hour Emergency Department with 5 fully equipped ED rooms, 4 fully operating OR rooms, 4 cardiac catherization labs with 1 electrophysiology room, 11-day surgery rooms, 58 acute care beds spread over three units, and 16 cardiac critical care rooms.  We pride ourselves on giving the best overall care possible to our patients and on our family style atmosphere that includes everyone: patients and their families, physicians, and our employees.

Job Description Outline here