INFECTION PREVENTION


Prevention The value of IP professionals is immeasureable by Scott Tomko


W


e are living in the IP age. In these times of COVID-19 and the ongoing battle against


Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI), Infection Prevention could not be more vital to our community.


Behind heart disease, cancer, and stroke, HAI’s are the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S.


Regardless of the dire necessity for instituting and practicing optimal meth- ods of effective infection prevention, this fi eld remains a specialied niche within the industry.


In mid-February, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) issued a proclama- tion to all healthcare organiations, urging them to conduct assessments of the capac- ity and capabilities of their IP programs. n cases everywhere, these assessments undoubtedly revealed and confirmed the many shortcomings throughout this essential industry.


Why is this the case? Well, one can sup-


pose that while little kids want to grow up to be doctors, and college students study diligently to be nurses, relatively few of us are dreaming to be’ nfection Preventionists when we grow up. Well, perhaps it’s time that we start telling our children to start dreaming of becoming IP specialists, because though they may not be saving lives in such


 Respondent snapshot


Title: Infection Preventionist Reports to: VP/Director, Quality/Risk Management/Chief Quality Offi cer


Gender/Age: Female/53 Years in IP/Years at faclility: 13/10 Type of facility: Non-profi t, Standalone Hospital Average number of beds: 281 Avg. # of dept. employees: 3.41


Placing a dollar sign on Infection


dramatic ways as comic book heroes, the number of lives that they are saving is beyond calculation. nfection prevention isn’t what you would think of if you wanted a nurs- ing or healthcare position with a bunch of glory,’ said Jamie cready  , nfection reventionmployee ealthafety fficer at umberland Healthcare, Wisconsin. “What an Infection Preventionist does on a daily basis is not obvious like other positions in the health- care industry. We spend a lot of time researching and educating ourselves to better serve the patients and staff. We are not usually seen as the ’friend to the fl oor nurse, especially when we are telling them they are not doing something correctly or asking them to sit through another training about something they think they already know. ne potential way to make this position more appealing is to show and talk about what an nfection reventionist does for the healthcare industry as a whole and on the organiation level. The Infection Prevention profession is certainly experiencing across-the-board staffi ng issues, and attracting new personnel into the fi eld remains a top challenge. “Infection Prevention is not the first


field that most new graduates entering the healthcare workforce are interested in pursuing as the job may not be appealing to these novice professionals, indicated


THIS YEAR 2022 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $95,000 LAST YEAR 2021 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $95,752 PRE-COVID-19


2019 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $85,623 10 YEARS AGO


2012 AVERAGE BASE SALARY: $71,395


J. udson arrett Jr., h.., , , FIDSA, Adjunct Assistant Professor of edicine, nfectious iseases, niversity of ouisville chool of edicine, states.  ealthcare facilities must create a pow-


erful recruitment approach that entices new graduates and eperienced healthcare professionals to enter the fi eld of nfection revention. With the ongoing staffi ng chal- lenges that are facing across healthcare gen- erally, recruiting specialied ersonnel such as nfection reventionists will sadly only prove to be more and more challenging. mployees want to work for an employer that is invested in their future and success as a healthcare professional. Employers that demonstrate a culture of support and just culture are more likely to be successful in recruiting highly engaged and qualifi ed Infection Preventionists. One innovative idea that would likely yield more nfection reventionists would be for health systems to partner together to offer on-the-job train- ing in the form of an Infection Prevention ellowship.


The strains, the pains


Even though IP personnel are usually paid well for their contributions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic Infection Prevention as a whole remains understaffed and underfunded, according to data collected in Healthcare Purchasing News’ 2022 Infection Prevention Compensation Survey.


 How has COVID-19 affected IP?


Work Hours Broadened scope of responsibilities Job satisfaction Staff shortages Other*


 Areas most affected?


Implementing new infection prevention protocols Patient volumes Staff shortages PPE shortages


70% 66% 62% 18 May 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com 88%


88% 82%


68% 67%


23% *Other: Increased surveilance and reporting, Focus on COVID-19 to exclusion of other HAIs,


Keeping up with ever-changing recommendations, On-call, overtime without compensation


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