The primary role of the Infection Prevention Auditor (Auditor) is to observe and record hand hygiene practices and compliance with other critical infection control processes when required of front line health care providers in a discreet and anonymous manner. The Auditor maintains and updates the hand hygiene compliance data collected, so that it may be consistently and accurately reported to internal and external stakeholders. The Auditor is also responsible for data management and preparing reports including tables and graphs requiring the use of statistical and mathematical methods.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform hand hygiene and other infection control audits on units throughout the Hospital. This means to observe and record hand hygiene and other infection control practices of front line health care providers. The Auditor is required to observe staff and Physicians as they perform their daily patient care activities, and assess whether hand hygiene is being performed correctly at all the indicated moments;
• Record hand hygiene compliance using a validated electronic tool (Handyaudit) on an iPad application. Trained on the Handy audit application, the Auditor enters their observations, which requires knowledge about hand hygiene best practices. The Auditor must be able to assess and record when a staff is touching a patient, the hospital environment, the patient environment, performing an aseptic procedure, or have been potentially exposed to body fluid. Often times, the Auditor is recording the activities of 3-4 staff or Physicians at the same time and required to assess their compliance to hand hygiene;
• Perform PPE (personal protective equipment) audits to observe and record whether staff and Physicians correctly follow instructions/signage related to patients on additional precautions/isolation. Using a paper tool, the Auditor observes and records whether staff put on appropriate personal protective equipment when caring for patients with multi-drug resistant organisms and/or respiratory illnesses. The Auditor must understand best practices around transmission of organisms/illnesses and the appropriate use of glove other personal protective equipment. Additional forms are required for other infection control audits;
• Communicate with patients and/or staff and Physicians, as required.
• Download hand hygiene compliance data from Handy audit site and enter into the appropriate spreadsheets and databases on the infection control shared drive. Use statistical and mathematical methods and appropriate software, to prepare reports including overall corporate and unit levels, as well as stratify data health care provider specific results. Track and analyze quarterly and annual trends over time in graphical formats, and maintain related tables and spreadsheets on the IPAC shared drive;
• Compile and analyze data collected from audits related to personal protective equipment;
• Respond to additional specific data requests from IPAC team members and other internal stakeholders, including the preparation of graphs and tables in PowerPoint slides;
• Maintain and update hand hygiene intranet page, as required, under the supervision of the Hand Hygiene Coordinator.
• Assess placement of point of care alcohol based hand sanitizer in units and clinics, with consultation from the Hand Hygiene Coordinator/Infection Preventionist;
• Assess and identify barriers to hand hygiene among health care providers on specific units, with consultation from the Hand Hygiene Coordinator/Infection Preventionist;
• Assist Hand Hygiene Coordinator in providing tailored recommendations to the unit leadership on sanitizer placement and possible interventions, to address barriers using the hand hygiene logic model using change management principles;
• Support front line and unit leadership as they test and implement possible interventions, using quality improvement methodology and tools such as the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) model;
• Assemble tools and resources for front line hand hygiene champions, and assist Hand Hygiene Coordinator and web team with content for the hand hygiene intranet page

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree or Diploma in a health science discipline is preferred;
• Sound knowledge of statistics and previous data analysis experience is required;
• Minimum of one to two (1-2) years' work experience in an office or academic environment;
• Experience in assisting with projects that require critical thinking and problem solving skills;
• Experience in working independently and as part of a team;
• Previous experience in a clinical health care environment considered an asset;
• Advanced computer skills;
• Strong, interpersonal, and communication skills;
• Problem solving skills to identify appropriate recommendations for improving access to hand sanitizer;
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks with competing deadlines;
• Knowledge and demonstrated ability in using change management and quality improvement principles is considered an asset.

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.