INFECTION PREVENTION
When asked if they believe their facility’s’ C-suite appreciates and understands their role in providing good patient care while managing costs, nearly half (49%) responded “yes,” similar to last year (51%).
“Overall, I feel that the IP role is not completely understood by most administrations,” said Harper. “If CMS and other accredita- tion agencies did not require infection prevention oversight, I fear that IP positions would be reduced or cut.”
“Infection preventionists work hard to engage healthcare lead- ers and healthcare workers in infection prevention practices, but the connection of these practices to quality care, positive patient outcomes and cost avoidance is not always apparent,” said Swain. “Our team has spent years building relationships with departments throughout the hospital and ambulatory clinics in order to engage healthcare leaders and healthcare workers in infection prevention best practices, but prior to these engagement efforts most healthcare workers thought that IPs were the hand hygiene police. Now we are seen by most as a resource available to help.” “Our role as subject matter experts increased exponentially during the pandemic and we were seen as the ‘go-to’ with many decisions healthcare organiza- tions had to make, which elevated the importance of infection preventionists across the country,” said Ashley Conley, MS, CIC, CPH, CHEP, Director, Infection Prevention, Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., and President, New Hampshire Infection Control and Epidemiology Professionals.
Ashley Conley
Education and certifi cation on the rise As in past years, salary is tied to education, with pay increasing alongside level of education achieved. Those with high school diplomas as their highest education level report earning $57,500 on average annually, Associate degrees $75,340, Bachelor’s degrees $90,544 and post-graduate degrees $108,794. ontinuing education and certifi cation spiked among survey respondents in 2021. More than three-quarters (76%) of IPs sur- veyed are Registered Nurses (RNs), up from 49% in 2020, and 17% are Medical Technologists, compared with 8% last year. There was also a huge ump in Is who are certifi ed by the ertifi cation Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) at 66% in 2021, compared with 35% in 2020. “The pandemic has shown that well-educated and -trained infection preventionists with departments that have adequate resources can make a big difference in preventing infections which demonstrates the need for job security,” said Conley. “Having a staffed infection prevention department, in many ways, is like having a subspecialty. Not all facilities - especially small facilities
2021 Respondent snapshot
Title: Infection Preventionist Reports to: VP/Director, Quality/Risk Management/Chief Quality Offi cer
Gender/Age: Female/54.3 Years in IP/Years at faclility: 17.7/12.1 Type of facility: Non-profi t, Standalone Hospital Average number of beds: 341 Avg. # of dept. employees: 3.14
or those in rural areas - have the resources to have a robust or dedicated IP team. Fortunately, in a place like New Hampshire, infection preventionists work together to support each other with best practices and knowledge sharing, to the benefi t of all patients. At Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the IP team created new senior and associate IP positions as a way to offer new IPs a road to advance- ment, according to Swain.
“My role as one of the two senior IPs has expanded my work to the hospital system and community group practices,” she stated. “In addition, the IP team has expanded its efforts to provide educa- tion and resources to all departments within the hospital that come in contact with patients or patient care areas, as opposed to only those providing direct care. We felt that this was an important step since so many non-clinical departments play a big role in how we care for our patients as well.” ertifi cation paid off for Harper. She began a new ob as a ual ity Coordinator in February 2020, in her words, “at the beginning of the COVID pandemic before we fully understood the future impact to our nation and the world.” In March 2020, her employer allowed her team to work remotely, but in April it furloughed her and another 600 employees. At the end of May 2020, the facility’s I Director resigned and because Harper was certifi ed and had recent past experience as an IP, she was hired for the open position. “I hit the ground running trying to learn a new organization, orient to a new IP department and acclimate in the middle of a pandemic,” she commented. “I am very grateful to have a sup- portive supervisor, as well as inherited an established infection control team.”
Region and facility type again impact pay The majority of survey respondents this year are employed by standalone hospitals (60%) and IDN/alliance/multi-group health facilities (32%), with the latter reporting the highest average annual salary ($104,341/year). IPs working in behavioral/psychiatric health facilities had the next highest reported pay ($92,700/year), followed by standalone hospitals ($92,616/year), long-term acute care facilities (LTAC) ($90,000/year), surgery center/ambulatory center ($85,100) and clinics ($63,333). Those working in the largest facilities (over 1,000 beds) earned the most at $129,937 annually, while those in the smallest facilities (0-25 beds) reported the low- est pay at $73,770.
Location matters when it comes to pay. IPs working in healthcare facilities in suburban areas earned the most at $106,296, followed by urban facilities at $104,431 and lastly rural at $79,763 annually. s in previous years, Is working in the acifi c region of the .S. reported the highest pay on average at $136,077, which is up from $107,857 in 2020.
Page 22 AVERAGE ANNUAL BASE SALARY:
INCREASE OF BASE SALARY SINCE LAST YEAR?
60% Yes, it increased 37% It remained the same 3% No, it decreased
PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR
5% Less than 1% 3% 5 - 5.99% 25% 1 - 1.99% 2% 6 - 6.99% 33% 2 - 2.99% 2% 8 - 8.99% 28% 3 - 3.99% 1% 9-9.99% 3% 4 - 4.99% 0% Over 10%
2020 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $86,052 $95,752 EXPECTING A
BONUS THIS YEAR? 67% No 16% Yes 16% Don't know
2011 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $72,045
hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • May 2021 21
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