This permanent position will work out of Golden years for approximately 8 months, then move to AR Goudie.

THE ROLE

It is the policy of peopleCare to designate a lead for the IPAC program with the title of Infection Prevention and Control Coordinator who will report to the Director of Care of the Home. The IPAC Coordinator will hold and maintain education, experience, and minimum hourly requirements set out by the MLTC for the role. The Infection Prevention and Control Coordinator will assume all requirements for the IPAC lead role and this will be communicated as required to all residents, staff, and families internally and all required channels including the Home’s website. 

Reports to: Director of Care

Hours: This role is 37.5hrs/week, with additional, occasional on-call duties.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Outbreak Management

The IPAC Coordinator is involved in outbreak management activities in collaboration with the interdisciplinary IPAC team and the Outbreak Management Team.

IPAC Coordinator’s role includes:

• Advising on IPAC practices to manage the outbreak and minimize risk(s) to residents and staff.
• Assisting with securing IPAC-related resources needed to support the outbreak management response. This may also include working in collaboration with the licensee and the Outbreak Management Team to secure needed PPE and other supplies as required.
• Ensuring that accurate disease-related information is tracked and documented.
• Engaging and being the point of contact with the local board of health on the outbreak response (when relevant) including when an outbreak has been declared.
• Implementing changes to IPAC practices as needed to support the outbreak response.
• Providing IPAC-related education and training to staff and others to support the outbreak response.
• Participating in a debrief session to assess IPAC practices that were effective and ineffective in the management of the outbreak. A summary of findings shall be created that makes recommendations to the licensee for improvements to outbreak management practices.

IPAC Program Leadership:

• Work with the interdisciplinary IPAC team to implement the IPAC program.
• Manage and oversee the IPAC program.
• Oversee the delivery of IPAC education to all staff, caregivers, volunteers, visitors, and residents.
• Routine interdisciplinary audits of all IPAC practices in the Home as determined by the program at a minimum with ability to increase based on the Homes requirements (i.e. outbreak).
• Conduct regular infectious disease surveillance; reviews infectious disease surveillance results regularly to ensure that all staff are conducting infectious disease surveillance appropriately and to ensure that appropriate action is being taken to respond to surveillance findings.
• Convene the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) at the outset of an outbreak and regularly throughout an outbreak.
• Convene the interdisciplinary IPAC team at least quarterly, and at a more frequent interval during an infectious disease outbreak in the Home (this may also include convening the team during other disease outbreaks (i.e. non-infectious)
• Review the symptom screening gathered pursuant to subsection 102(9) of the Regulation.
• Review daily and monthly screening results collected by the licensee to determine whether any action is required.
• Implement required quality improvements to the IPAC program as required, for example, by audits; in collaboration with the interdisciplinary IPAC team, implement required improvements to address any evaluation, and/or audit findings as well as recommendations arising from the quality program for IPAC.
• Ensure that there is in a place a hand hygiene program for residents, families, staff, visitors, and partners in accordance with this standard which includes, at a minimum, access to hand hygiene agents at point-of-care.
• Consult with the Medical Director and other healthcare professionals, and residents and families in the home and in the organization (e.g., dietician, occupational therapist) on specific policies and procedures of the IPAC program, in particular those that directly impact resident care.
• Involved in the review, selection, and purchasing of PPE, as required and product selection for hand hygiene and skin maintenance, to ensure that PPE durability is not compromised.
• Develops and oversees the implementation of an IPAC training and education program for staff and volunteers required by the Act and Regulation.
• Plans, implements, and tracks the completion of all IPAC training and:
  • Assessments/audits and feedback processes are used to determine if staff have met training requirements as required by the Act and Regulation, or when individual staff need remedial or refresher training; and
  • Ensures that audits are performed regularly (at least quarterly) to ensure that all staff can perform the IPAC skills required of their role.

• Leads the interdisciplinary IPAC team in the Home to support the co-ordination and evaluation of the IPAC program, and ensures that the programs meet all of the requirements of the regulation (s.102(4)(a)-(d) of the Regulation).
• Will achieve CIC certification by required date and will be supported to recertify as required every 5 years.
• Maintains an active presence in the Resident Home Areas to mentor staff while overseeing the provision of quality resident care.
• Works collaboratively with the Director of Care on special projects and reviews.
• Participates and cooperates during Ministry inspections.
• Compliance with Health & Safety policies and procedures.
• Compliance with peopleCare policies and procedures.
• Compliance with current Long Term Care Act.
• Other duties as assigned.
• As a member of the Clinical Leadership Team in the Home, other duties may include collaboration with the leadership team in the implementation and evaluation of the quality improvement initiatives, risk management systems, data collection and analysis, report writing, and procedural updates.

SKILLS

• Holds all requirements for education and experience as per the Regulations.
• Registered Practical Nurse – Registration with College of Nurses of Ontario, or equivalent allied health team member.
• Minimum of three years’ experience in Long Term Care, previous management experience an asset.
• Current knowledge of clinic issues for geriatric residents, infection control, falls prevention, skin and wound care.
• Demonstrated superior leadership and organizational skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Computer skills: Microsoft Word, Excel; computerized resident care and assessment programs.
• Knowledge of applicable legislation, current nursing, and healthcare practices.
• Demonstrates concern and interest in providing quality care and service to residents.