Failure to Designate Qualified Onsite Infection Preventionist
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to designate one or more qualified individuals as Infection Preventionists (IPs) who are responsible for the Infection Prevention and Control Program (IPCP) and who physically work onsite at least part-time. Review of the facility's employee listing showed there was no designated IP working onsite. An interview with the current IP revealed that she worked remotely and did not spend any time onsite, although she had been assisting the facility since April. She also stated that the facility had hired an IP, but that individual had quit a few weeks prior, and no one currently at the facility was certified or qualified as an IP. Further interviews with the Administrator confirmed that the previous IP, a registered nurse, had started in August but was still in the process of completing the required training before resigning in July. The previous Director of Nursing (PDON), who had overseen the IPCP, also resigned in May. The Administrator provided a training certificate for the PDON and indicated that the previous IP had completed infection prevention modules through the CDC, but no completion certificate was available. The facility had been actively recruiting for a new IP since the last resignation.