Nurse Consultant - HAI​/AR Prevention & Response Infection Preventionist

Department Information

Disease Control & Public Health Response – HAI/AR Program, Communicable Disease Branch
Resident of Colorado Required
Term-limited position, funding not guaranteed beyond July 31, 2027

The Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response (DCPHR) leads surveillance, planning and response for public health events. This role is housed in the Communicable Disease Branch and focuses on healthcare‑associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AR) through infection prevention guidance, assessments, outbreak investigation and statewide outreach. The position is held by a nurse with specialized infection prevention expertise.

• Provides infection prevention (IP) expertise and performs infection prevention and control assessments (IPC) of targeted facilities, assessing staff practices to identify gaps for mitigation.
• Provides feedback to facilities verbally and in writing, summarizing the gaps identified during an assessment and the corresponding evidence‑based recommendations (CDC, APIC, etc.) needed for mitigation.
• Assesses which practices may have led to transmission, or an outbreak in the facility, in order to guide targeted mitigation efforts to break the chain of infection.
• Assesses healthcare personnel performing their roles to ensure compliance with best practices.
• Assesses healthcare facility compliance with standard precautions and transmission‑based precautions, including those performed during direct patient care.
• Performs the majority of assessments for the HAI/AR program.
• Performs phone consultations and on‑site assessments to review each facility’s infection prevention practices and policies in targeted areas.
• Maintains a matrix that guides prioritization of identified facilities for IPC assessments.
• Conducts outreach to facilities selected for participation in assessments.
• Works with influential facilities (Long‑term acute care hospitals) to conduct annual proactive assessments.
• Provides nursing/infection prevention expertise during healthcare‑associated infection (HAI) outbreak and exposure event (drug diversions, injection safety, etc.) investigations.
• Consults with other CDPHE outbreak team members, facility consultation, or participation in outbreak investigation site visits.
• Determines if possible adverse events might have occurred.
• Raises awareness and educates external partners on HAI/AR prevention and response activities.
• Provides statewide onsite assistance for HAI/AR prevention and response activities, including infection control assessments using CDC‑created tools and other resources. These efforts are statewide, and may include outlying communities with fewer resources, in collaboration with the Field Infection Preventionist.
• Makes infection prevention‑related decisions and takes action with healthcare facilities and partners to implement mitigation actions during HAI/AR investigations.
• Is responsible for developing and guiding implementation of infection prevention strategies and guidelines around detecting and responding to HAI/AR pathogens and for internal and external partners.
• Collaborates with other infection prevention team members at CDPHE to provide expertise and perform proactive infection prevention assessments, providing setting‑specific expertise to mitigate gaps detected during infection control assessments.
• Provides expertise during HAI outbreaks and on other infection prevention projects.
• Performs other infection prevention projects as directed by the Prevention and Response Unit Manager.
• Projects may include education for internal and external partners, surveys of health care facilities used to direct infection prevention assessments, developing the process to create a health care inventory list, and exploring options with outside partners to expand oversight of infection control capacity through licensing, credentialing, and regulations.
• On assigned days, participates in the routine epi‑call schedule by answering e‑mail questions and telephone calls from healthcare providers, patients, and the public on a variety of communicable disease issues. Issues include diagnosis, case management, prophylaxis,…