Infection Control Assistant Jobs in Three Rivers, MI

Infection Preventionist – Full-Time (80 hours per pay period) | Variable Schedule Across Locations (Monday–Friday) | Kalamazoo, Paw Paw, South Haven

BLH Bronson LakeView Hospital, BMH Bronson Methodist Hospital, BSH Bronson South Haven

The Infection Preventionist is responsible for the detection, documentation, analysis, and prevention of infections occurring in Bronson Methodist Hospital patients, staff and visitors. The individual reports to the Infection Prevention Manager. The individual makes critical decisions and clinical judgments to implement Bronson infection prevention policy. The individual may delegate selected tasks that fall within the scope of practice to the department administrative assistant and on-call Infection Preventionist. Employees providing direct patient care must demonstrate competencies specific to the population served.

• Must have one of the following: Master's degree in Public Health
• Bachelor's degree in Medical Technology or Microbiology
• Bachelor's degree in nursing or a clinical field
• An equivalent combination of education and professional experience may be considered

Minimum 1 year experience in a hospital setting is required.

• Must attain and maintain competence in the current knowledge base supporting infection prevention. Such material is found in a variety of sources including CDC and Joint Commission guidelines, State of Michigan regulations, and the infection prevention professional literature.
• Serve as a consultant on all infection prevention issues to physicians and staff and to regularly organize lectures and teach infection prevention content to new and existing employees
• Familiar with the Bronson quality improvement processes and techniques and frequently participate in investigations and process improvement efforts related to infection prevention throughout the hospital system
• Written reports and charting must be complete, accurate and legible, and are permanently retained as legal documents
• Familiar with the IC section of the current Joint Commission standards and ensure that Bronson Healthcare Group is in compliance with each element of the standard
• Demonstrated competency in electronic information systems (both Personal Computer-based and hospital information systems, etc.), including all software used for data analysis and expression (word processing, spreadsheet, database, statistical analysis, data presentation, use of internet searches and consulting websites etc.)
• Must have a high level of interpersonal skills for the purpose of acquiring and giving correct information
• Must be able to verbally communicate important information to others in a timely manner
• Must represent the department in frequent committee meetings
• Encounters with physicians, other healthcare workers, patients, and patient families must include the highest degree of accuracy of information and discretion to avoid misunderstandings that could place the hospital at great legal risk
• Must work closely with many diverse groups and departments both within and outside of Bronson Healthcare Group (e.g., Performance Improvement, Nursing, Pharmacy, Laboratory, physician offices, medical staff, county and state health departments, and other affiliated hospitals)

Work which produces very high levels of mental/visual fatigue, e.g. CRT work between 70 and 90 percent of the time, and work involving extremely close tolerances and considerable hand/eye coordination for sustained periods of time. The job produces some physical demands. Typical of jobs that include regular walking, standing, stooping, bending, sitting, and some lifting of light weight objects.

• Reviews medical records and other hospital reports and data to detect nosocomial infections and write infection reports. Performs daily infection control unit rounds for surveillance. Surveillance includes patients of all ages.
• Accurately identifies and documents all nosocomial infections from surveillance activities and review of hospital data using CDC definitions of infections.
• Helps to performs outbreak investigations as needed.
• Monitors daily all patients in special precautions.
• Consults with employees, physicians, patients and patient families regarding Infection Control. Serves as the institutional consultant concerning outbreaks of infectious diseases and bioterrorism activity within the community.
• Teaches the infection control modules of new employee orientation and reviews all relevant computer-based training modules for continuing education.
• Assess staff and physician compliance with infection control policies and practices and addresses by daily surveillance and annual unit environmental rounds, corrects any problems immediately through education and other behavior modification techniques.
• Assists in reviewing and editing the infection control policies of all Bronson departments and corporations.
• Reports reportable diseases daily to the local health departments as required by Michigan regulations.
• Correctly records all relevant work activities for billing and workload functions.
• Attends at least one statewide or national meeting per year and reports all new information to the department within a reasonable period after return.
• Attends all relevant local continuing education events.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

First Shift Time Type: Full time. Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40. Cost Center 3295 Infection Prevention (BHG)

Bronson Healthcare is a community-owned, not-for-profit health system that has been serving southwest Michigan since 1900. Today, with a workforce of 9,000 people and 1,500 medical staff members, it is the area’s largest employer and leading healthcare system. Bronson provides care in virtually every specialty and offers a full range of services from primary care to critical care at more than 100 locations. Bronson’s exceptionally high quality standards enable us to do what’s right for our patients and their families. We are empowered as individuals and as teams, to apply our skills and experience so that every patient receives safe, timely and effective treatment. What’s more, our state‑of‑the‑art, technology and evidence‑based processes give us the tools we need to deliver the right care, at the right time. By putting each patient and their family at the center of our work, we demonstrate the dignity and respect we have for each individual we serve. This unwavering commitment to serving others combined with our unique healing environment helps make the patient experience here an exceptional one. The excellence and Positivity of our employees and medical staff has contributed to Bronson Healthcare being ranked by Forbes as one of America’s Best‑In‑State Employers (2022‑23), by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women (2023) and by the National Association for Business Resources as one of the 2023 Top 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.