Director Infection Control Jobs in Arkansas (NOW HIRING)

The RN, Occupational Health and Quality is a key member of the Quality Department responsible for supporting organizational efforts in patient and team member safety, infection prevention, and regulatory compliance. This role coordinates the Infection Control and Patient Safety Committees, manages incident tracking and reporting, and ensures implementation of health initiatives for team members. Under the direction of the Senior Director of Quality, Safety, and Risk, the nurse serves as a liaison between departments to ensure safety, health, and quality initiatives are implemented consistently across the organization.

SPECIFIC JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Coordinates the Infection Control and Patient Safety Committees, including agenda development, data presentation, and minutes documentation.
2. Collects, tracks, and analyzes infection control and patient safety data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
3. Works autonomously to develop infection prevention policies and collaborates on patient safety event resolutions.
4. Conducts infection surveillance and apply epidemiological principles to guide interventions.
5. Reports notifiable diseases to state and local health departments in accordance with ADH requirements.
6. Leads organization-wide infection prevention and patient safety education during orientation and annually.
7. Manages team member health initiatives including immunization tracking, annual TB testing, and exposure follow-up.
8. Oversees pre-employment health screenings and onboarding in partnership with Human Resources.
9. Uses clinical nursing judgement to respond to team member illnesses, exposures, and potential outbreaks with appropriate mitigation strategies.
10. Maintains confidential team member health records in compliance with HIPAA and OSHA requirements.
11. Provides clinical guidance and support to on-site screening staff and department leaders as needed.
12. Ensures ongoing compliance with standards set forth by OSHA, ADH, CDC, CMS, and other regulatory bodies.
13. Supports policy and procedure development related to infection control, team member health, and patient safety.
14. Supports quality reporting and performance improvement initiatives, including RCA participation and data reporting.
15. Collaborates with leaders across the organization to align initiatives with accreditation and regulatory standards.

OTHER JOB REQUIREMENTS: N/A

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: N/A

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION, LICENSURE, REGISTRATION:

1. Graduate from an accredited school of nursing. Associate's degree or equivalent from two-year college program or technical school or nursing diploma.
   1. Bachelor's degree, preferred.
2. Current registered nurse licensure in Arkansas.
3. Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
4. Valid Arkansas Driver's License (if travel is required)
5. Certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) is preferred. Candidates are strongly encouraged to obtain certification within 18 months of hire.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES:

1. Possesses two (2) years of experience in team member health or infection prevention, preferred.
2. Maintains the required number of continuing education units (CEUs) as specified by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.
3. Demonstrates expertise in basic nursing assessment skills and the administration of injections.
4. Applies proficiency in infection prevention and safety procedures in accordance with OSHA standards.
5. Possesses knowledge of statistical data management and quality improvement processes, preferred.
6. Has experience with healthcare accreditation and quality improvement practices; preference given to candidates with experience interpreting OSHA standards.
7. Demonstrates proficiency in Microsoft Office and other commonly used software applications.
   

REASONING ABILITY:

1. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
2. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, or schedule form.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

1. Must interact and communicate both verbally and in written form.
2. Must interact and exchange information regarding patients with physicians and other departmental personnel, and outside agencies on a frequent basis while respecting the confidentiality of patient information.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

1. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
2. The employee regularly is required to stand, walk, sit, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
3. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

This position involves potential exposure to infectious diseases. Team members are offered appropriate vaccinations and safety training.

COMMENTS:

This description is intended to describe the essential job functions, the general supplemental functions and the essential requirements for the performance of the job. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and requirements of a person so classified. Other functions may be assigned and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

SAFETY SENSITIVE

This position is a Safety Sensitive Position. The essential functions, physical demands, and mental competencies of this job require the employee maintain the ability to work in a constant state of alertness in a safe manner.