A hospital infection preventionist tracks infections that start in the hospital, checks hand washing and cleaning, and teaches staff how to stop germs from spreading. With only 25 beds, this is often one person, sometimes part time. They may also handle staff health, outbreaks and reports to the health department.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
We're hiring an infection preventionist to run the infection prevention and control program the Medicare Conditions of Participation require of critical access hospitals. You'll track infections, audit hand hygiene and cleaning, work with the pharmacist on antibiotic stewardship, guide employee health and report diseases to the health department. In a hospital our size, this job may be [part time or combined with quality or employee health].
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Track infections that start in the hospital, such as catheter-related urinary infections and C. diff, using standard CDC definitions.
Audit hand hygiene, isolation precautions, room cleaning and device care, and share results with each department.
Support the antibiotic stewardship program the pharmacist and medical staff lead, and track antibiotic use and resistance trends.
Report notifiable diseases and outbreaks to the [state or local] health department as your state requires.
Review construction and repair work with plant operations using an infection control risk assessment (ICRA), and check barriers on site.
Guide employee health with HR: TB screening, vaccinations, exposure follow-up and respirator fit testing.
Keep the infection control plan and policies current, and review results from the Legionella water management plan with plant operations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review new cultures and lab results for patients who need isolation or may have a reportable disease.
Check that isolation signs, PPE carts and precautions match each patient's orders.
Round on the units, ED, kitchen and [sterile processing] for audits and quick teaching.
Follow up on staff exposures, such as needlesticks, with employee health and the provider.
Answer staff questions about isolation, cleaning products, visitors and sick-staff rules.
Reportable diseases reported on time: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
An RN license valid in [State], or a degree in medical laboratory science, epidemiology or public health.
[2+] years of hospital clinical experience, plus infection prevention training or experience.
Working knowledge of CDC isolation and hand hygiene guidance and OSHA bloodborne pathogens rules.
Knows the infection control and antibiotic stewardship rules in the critical access hospital Conditions of Participation.
Comfortable pulling and reading reports from [your EHR] and lab system.
6. Preferred Experience
Certification in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC) from CBIC, or its entry-level a-IPC credential.
Experience reporting to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
APIC training, such as its infection prevention fundamentals course.
Experience with employee health, quality improvement or antibiotic stewardship in a small hospital.
7. Physical Requirements
Walk all areas of the hospital on audit rounds, and sit at a computer to track and report data.
Wear gowns, gloves, masks and fit-tested respirators during audits and outbreak work.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Weekday schedule: [hours], with after-hours calls for exposures or outbreaks.
Exposure to infectious disease in patient areas, with PPE provided.
Infection control committee meetings with the medical staff: [schedule].
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new infection preventionist gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What's different about infection prevention at a small rural hospital
Every hospital needs an infection prevention program. At a critical access hospital, one person may run all of it, working with the pharmacist, the lab and plant operations.
The whole federal program, one person
Medicare's critical access rules call for a hospital-wide program to track, prevent and control infections. It must follow national guidelines and fit the services you offer. The infection preventionist writes the policies, keeps the records, trains staff, including doctors and contract workers, and audits whether people follow the rules. A big hospital splits that work across a team. Here, it may be one nurse with set hours for it. Source: eCFR: 42 CFR 485.640, CAH infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship.
A pharmacist usually leads antibiotic stewardship
CDC says that in most critical access hospitals, a pharmacist leads the antibiotic stewardship program, usually one who works on site. The infection preventionist feeds it data on C. diff and drug-resistant infections from the lab. Many critical access hospitals adapt treatment advice from nearby hospitals, and some pay for remote experts. Even then, CDC wants the program's leader on staff. Source: CDC: Antibiotic stewardship core elements at small and critical access hospitals.
Respiratory illness reports are a federal rule
Since November 1, 2024, CMS has made critical access hospitals report COVID-19, flu and RSV cases to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Bed counts go in the same report. If a public health emergency is declared, Medicare's rule adds items such as supply and staff shortages. If the infection preventionist sends these reports, name a backup for time off. Source: CDC NHSN: Hospital respiratory data reporting.
Each state sets its reportable disease list
Each state or territory decides which diseases must be reported to public health. Hospitals, labs and clinicians have to report them. Each morning the infection preventionist reads new lab results and picks out any disease on your state's list. Then they log what was reported, to whom and when. Source: CDC: What is case surveillance.
Employee health often shares the desk
OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard calls for a review of the exposure control plan at least once a year. Workers whose jobs expose them to blood must be offered a free hepatitis B shot within 10 working days of starting that work. After a needlestick, the employer must make a confidential medical exam and follow-up available right away. Staff who must wear tight-fitting respirators, such as N95s, are fit tested before first use and at least yearly. Here, the infection preventionist often runs this with HR. Source: OSHA: 29 CFR 1910.1030, bloodborne pathogens.
How much hospital infection preventionists make
The closest BLS group for hospital infection preventionists is epidemiologists. Epidemiologists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $50.23 an hour ($104,470 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $87,220 median for epidemiologists in all industries. About 1,070 of the 12,090 epidemiologists in that survey work for general hospitals.
Usually salaried, or hourly at an experienced RN's rate. When the job also covers employee health or quality, set pay for the combined role, and settle how after-hours exposure calls are paid before the offer goes out.
General hospitals
$104,470$104,470 median Middle half $91,950–$122,740 10th–90th $80,260–$153,790
All industries
$87,220$87,220 median Middle half $71,090–$112,640 10th–90th $61,270–$138,800
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
General hospitals
$80,260
$91,950
$104,470
$122,740
$153,790
All industries
$61,270
$71,090
$87,220
$112,640
$138,800
These figures cover general medical and surgical hospitals of every size. Rural hospitals often pay less than city hospitals. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
A nursing or lab background strong enough to read cultures, charts and lab reports
Applies CDC and NHSN infection definitions the same way every time
Tells a department head an audit failed, then helps fix it
Teaches at the bedside in short bursts, to nurses, doctors and housekeepers alike
Plans their own audit calendar and keeps committee records without reminders
Teach these on the job
NHSN enrollment, definitions and monthly reporting
ICRA forms and barrier checks for construction and repairs
Your state's reportable disease list and reporting portal
Your fit test method and the respirator models you stock
Cleaning audits with fluorescent markers or ATP meters
Expect reports from the EHR and the lab system, NHSN's web application, a spreadsheet or surveillance software for line lists, and audit tools such as hand hygiene observation forms and fluorescent marking gel. If the job includes fit testing, say in the posting whether you use a qualitative kit or a quantitative machine.
Set targets from your own baseline. With 25 beds, a single infection can swing a monthly rate, so report counts and device days next to every rate.
Hand hygiene compliance
Observed hand hygiene chances done correctly, divided by all chances observed. Use trained observers on every shift and unit, and report results by department each month.
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Count infections that meet NHSN's CAUTI definition and divide by urinary catheter days. Review each case for why the catheter was in and how long it stayed.
Hospital-onset C. diff infections
Count positive C. diff tests that NHSN's lab-identified event rules class as hospital-onset, per patient days. Review each case with the pharmacist and lab, including recent antibiotics and when the test was ordered.
Staff flu vaccination rate
Vaccinated staff divided by staff who worked during flu season. Decide before the season whether contract staff, students and medical staff count, and log declinations and medical exemptions.
Reportable diseases reported on time
For each reportable result, log when the lab released it and when the health department got the report. Compare the gap with your state's deadline for that disease.
Career path
Registered NurseOr a medical laboratory scientist; both learn the hospital's patients and systems first.
Infection PreventionistRuns the program, often with employee health or quality added.
Quality and infection prevention directorLeads quality, safety and infection prevention here or at a system hospital.
Does an infection preventionist need a nursing license?
Not under Medicare's rules. They ask for someone qualified by schooling, training, experience or a certification in infection control. The board names that person, on the advice of medical staff and nursing leaders. The template takes an RN, or a degree in lab science, epidemiology or public health. For the CIC exam, CBIC suggests health-related study, such as nursing, medicine, lab work, public health or biology.
How much does a hospital infection preventionist make?
Epidemiologists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $50.23 an hour ($104,470 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $91,950 and $122,740 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How do the CIC and a-IPC certifications differ?
Both come from the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC). The a-IPC is an entry-level exam with no eligibility rules, made for people new to the field. The CIC is the full credential. For it, CBIC recommends direct responsibility for infection prevention and paid work of at least one year full time, two years part time, or 3,000 hours of such work within the last three years. A new hire can take the a-IPC early and aim for the CIC later.
Can this job be part time?
It can, if the hours match the work. Federal rules say the program has to fit the scope and complexity of your services. A hospital with surgery, a busy ER and swing beds needs more time than one without them. Write the hours into the job, name a backup, and expect an outbreak or a survey to take over a whole week now and then.
What does an infection preventionist do when construction starts?
Before plant operations or a contractor opens a wall or ceiling near patients, the infection preventionist and the project lead fill out an infection control risk assessment (ICRA). It sets the steps for that job, such as dust barriers, sealed doors and cleanup. While the work goes on, they walk the site to check the barriers are still up. They sign off before the area reopens.
How do we train a new infection preventionist?
Pair them with a seasoned infection preventionist at your referral hospital or in your system. Pay for a formal course in the basics. Give them the first few months to learn NHSN rules, your state's reporting rules and your audit tools. Add staff health or quality work after that.
