Nurse Consultant - HAI/AR Prevention & Response ...

Nurse Consultant - HAI/AR Prevention & Response Infection Preventionist Print ( Apply ufeff Nurse Consultant - HAI/AR Prevention & Response Infection Preventionist Salary $100,428.00 - $110,470.80 Annually Location Denver, CO Job Type Full Time Job Number FAA00908-2/24/2026 Department Department of Public Health & Environment Division Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response Opening Date 02/24/2026 Closing Date 3/10/2026 11:59 PM Mountain FLSA Determined by Position Type of Announcement This position is open only to Colorado state residents. Primary Physical Work Address 4300 Cherry Creek Dr. S. Denver Co 80248 FLSA Status Exempt; position is not eligible for overtime compensation. Department Contact Information Rosalie Esparza at How To Apply Please submit an online application for this position at Reach out to the Department Contact to apply using a paper application, including any supplemental questions. Failure to submit a complete and timely application may result in the rejection of your application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that application materials are received by the appropriate Human Resources office before the closing date and time listed. + Description + Benefits + Questions Department Information Disease Control & Public Health Response - HAI/AR Program, Communicable Disease Branch You must be a resident of the State of Colorado to be eligible to apply This is a term-limited position and funding cannot be guaranteed beyond July 31, 2027. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities. Be BOLD.... Make a REAL difference . . . and join us in serving our communities in advancing Colorado's health and protecting the places we live, work, learn, and play, to create a healthy and sustainable Colorado where current and future generations thrive. In addition to free parking, access to RTD bus lines, Cherry Creek bike path and flexible working arrangements, click the link below to review additional benefits and perksCareers ( Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more information, go to:Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) ( Description of Job The Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response (DCPHR) is the departmentu2019s lead surveillance, planning and response arm for public events including communicable disease outbreaks and epidemics, pandemics, bioterrorism, and other public health and mass casualty events and disasters. The division includes the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response; State Public Health Laboratory; Health Equity Branch, Communicable Disease Branch; Immunization Branch; Public Health Informatics, Reporting, Technology Branch; Refugee Branch; and Operations Branch. The Division exists to ensure that the Department has the ability to effectively prepare for, monitor, detect, diagnose, investigate, and nimbly respond to all types of conditions, events and disasters that impact the publicu2019s health. The Unit: The Communicable Disease Branch monitors, investigates, and controls epidemic and communicable diseases affecting the public health in Colorado, as required under Colorado statute, including enteric diseases, invasive bacterial diseases, respiratory disease, vaccine preventable disease, zoonotic diseases, foodborne and waterborne disease, and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) Program exists to prevent healthcare-associated infections and prevent the spread of emerging antimicrobial resistance threats in all healthcare settings in Colorado through surveillance, containment and response, infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship. About the Position: This position exists to provide infection prevention guidance and perform infection control assessments of targeted facilities; provide expertise to mitigate gaps detected during infection control assessments; and provide expertise during HAI outbreaks and on other infection prevention projects. 3 Revised 3/11/2025 This position possesses a specialized and unique level of knowledge and expertise in the infection prevention field and supports the overall goal and mission of the CDPHE Communicable Disease Branch to prevent and respond to communicable disease cases, clusters, and outbreaks. It includes a thorough understanding of healthcare infection prevention guidelines and practices, often including board certification in infection control and related specialties in addition to training and experience in healthcare epidemiology and public health. Position is held by a nurse with a specialized and unique level of knowledge and expertise which is that of a professional infection preventionist in a hospital, nursing home, and outpatient clinical settings, including knowledge of preventable surgical site and device associated infections, standard and transmission-based precautions and disinfection of the healthcare environment, the ability to audit infection prevention practices and provide feedback to clinical providers, and the ability to train less experienced infection preventionists in clinical settings on the latest infection prevention practices. Position provides essential consultation to healthcare facilities, healthcare providers, and local public health agencies around HAI/ AR response activities, and relays key information and professional opinions and assessments back to HAI/ AR leadership to guide the direction of the public health response activities. What you will be doing: + 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. + Assessing 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. + Assessing healthcare personnel performing their roles to ensure compliance with best practices. + Assessing healthcare facility compliance with standard precautions and transmission based precautions, including that 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 facilityu2019s infection prevention practices and policies in targeted areas. + Maintains a matrix that is used to guide prioritization of identified facilities for IPC assessments + Conducts outreach to facilities that have been 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. + Consultation with other CDPHE outbreak team members, facility consultation, or participation in outbreak investigation site visits. + Determine if possible adverse events might have occurred. + Raise 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. + Responsible for developing and guiding implementation of infection prevention strategies and guidelines around detecting and responding to HAI/ AR pathogens and used by internal and external partners + Collaborates with other infection prevention team members at CDPHE to provide infection prevention expertise and perform proactive infection prevention assessments and provide 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 might 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, this position 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, prevention and control strategies. This position brings complex calls to the attention of subject matter experts and senior staff for review and consultation. Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights An applicant may meet the minimum qualifications for this job in one of two ways: They may qualify through their work experience alone or through a combination of education and work experience. Experience Only: Nine (9) years of infection prevention and control assessments performed in healthcare settings for outbreaks prevention and response efforts or in an occupational field related to the work assigned to the position and a current, valid licensure as a Registered Nurse from the Colorado Board of Nursing or any state participating in the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) Education and Experience: Masteru2019s degree from an accredited institution in nursing, public health or in a field of study related to the work assignment and/or years of professional experience in infection prevention and control assessments performed in healthcare settings for outbreaks prevention and response efforts or in an occupational field related to the work assigned to the position and current, valid licensure as a Registered Nurse from the Colorado Board of Nursing or any state participating in the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) This experience must be substantiated within the Work Experience section of your application.

Created: 2026-02-26