Interim Director of Infection Control

Setting the Scene

One mid-sized medical center contacted Compass Clinical Consulting after operating without an Infection Preventionist for four months. Due to this prolonged vacancy, the medical center was experiencing a lack of organization within its Infection Control department, leading to noted regulatory deficiencies. Though a new Infection Preventionist had been hired, many important systems were not yet in place, thereby creating a difficult environment for the novice IP to begin her new role.

Crafting a Solution

Compass Clinical Consulting provided a consultant to conduct an assessment of the medical center’s Infection Control practices and provide recommendations for improvement. Upon initial assessment, the consultant identified several key problem areas and created goals for the department. The medical center asked the consultant to serve as interim Director of Infection Control to provide consistent leadership and oversight in the implementation of new improvement programs.

Seeing the Results

Over the course of five months, the interim Director of Infection Control enacted programs to ensure standardized practices and education throughout the organization. She created orientation plans, both for the new Infection Preventionist and for all new hires. In addition, the interim Director refreshed hospital-wide isolation policies, revised the structure and charter of the Infection Prevention Committee to provide more appropriate membership and oversight to infection prevention activities throughout the organization, and instituted a comprehensive surveillance program for hospital-acquired infections, as required by the new standards of The Joint Commission. The hospital’s Chief Operating Officer commented, “We greatly appreciated your interim Infection Control Director’s work and dedication to our Infection Control program … I cannot say enough about all of the interim help we have received from Compass! You have a great team!”

Other Success Stories:

• Improving the Case Management Process
• Emergency Department Redesign
• Interim OR Director
• Case Management Assessment and Interim Leadership
• Recovering from CMS Immediate Jeopardy and Termination
• Improving Productivity and Labor Cost Management
• Interim Pharmacy Director
• Interim Director of Anesthesia
• Regaining CMS Certification
• OR Assessment and Interim Leadership
• Strategic Restructuring