Provide oversight and strategic direction of the Infections Prevention responsibilities for Gwinnett Medical Center, Glancy Rehab Center and Gwinnett Extended Care Center. Responsible for managing surveillance activities and prevention strategies for Medical Surgical, Surgical Services, Intensive Care, Outpatient Services, Acute Rehab and Long Term Care centers.Participate in unit based multidisciplinary meetings and incorporate Infection Prevention updates, education and provide feedback of unit performance. Duties primarily include the surveillance activities, outbreak management of scabies, influenza, norovirus and provide ongoing education, Infection Prevention updates to staff, physicians and families.

Performed oversight and surveillance activities to develop prevention strategies in: PICU, NICU, General Surgery unit, Medical Surgical unit, Emergency Department, 4 Women’s Services units including Labor and Delivery and a Respiratory Care Unit. Lead collaborative care meetings and conduct unit huddles to inform staff of infection prevention education and updates and performance improvement committees with a multi-disciplinary care group. Met with State officials to audit mandatory reported infections to validate the reported data. Experienced with Vigilanz & Theradoc Infection Prevention Surveillance data mining systems.

Managed the Infection Prevention program reporting directly to the Director of Quality and Patient Safety and indirectly to the system Infection Prevention Director with three direct reports. Implemented cost-effective infection prevention program that included\oversight of surveillance activities to decrease healthcare associated infections & improve patient outcomes. Actively participated in policy and procedure development and implementation, product/and practice evaluation, education and he sharing of information. Responsible for coordinating performance improvement initiatives to identify and investigate responses to clusters and outbreaks. Communicated with regulatory bodies and public health agencies to discuss infection prevention strategies and determine organizational best practices. Served as Co-Chair on Infection Prevention committee and collaborated with Infections Disease Medical Director and Employee Health Department to set standards for employee health.

Responsible for conducting surveillance activities for an acute care hospital that includes five critical care areas: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Step-down Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Technology Dependent Intensive Care Unit & Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Targeted surveillance in these areas includes but was not limited to CLR-bloodstream infections, cardiac surgical site infections, ventilator associated pneumonia, MDRO’s, and syndromic surveillance. Report to community agencies state/local reportable communicable diseases. Provided counsel on various process improvement committees to assist implementation of PI/Quality initiatives to reduce/prevent the incidence of healthcare associated infections.

Responsible for conducting surveillance activities for 100 bed hospital that includes a LTAC, neuro-psych, psych, rehab and a 250 bed nursing home to prevent and manage the spread of infection.Targeted surveillance includes CLR-bloodstream infections, VAP, MDRO’s, CA-UTI’s, Vancomycin utilization participate on the VAP multi-disciplinary team to implement IHI vent bundle. Performed total house surveillance, monitored admission PPD compliance, and developed education resources for staff to raise the level of infection prevention awareness. Conducts ICRA’s & infection prevention consultation on construction projects & facility emergencies too include outbreak management.

Responsible for targeted surveillance of vascular, cardiovascular, ortho-neuro, class I and II surgeries, CLR-blood stream infections and VAP (ventilator-associated pneumonia) for 80 critical care beds) Provided education and support for patients, families and staff concerning infection control policies, procedures and containment of resistant organisms. Participated in multidisciplinary rounds on two critical care units and led IHI campaign to reduce SSI’s CLR-BSI’s and VAP.

Responsible for managing 200 bed facility’s Infection Control Program to prevent the spread of infection and communicable disease. Performed targeted surveillance on high-risk high-volume procedures such as coronary artery bypass graft, gastric bypass and surgical site infection s in accordance with established JCAHO standards. Analyzed and aggregated data required for submission to various internal administrative committees. Responsible for educating staff, patients and families on blood borne pathogens, resistant organisms, employee health, prevention of infection and safety incorporating JCAHO standards and state regulations. Utilized various methods of educating hospital staff through bi-weekly orientation, daily rounds, in-services, consultation and documented materials. Worked in conjunction with the safety officer in performing environmental safety rounds insuring compliance with the National Patient Safety goals