Kerry Gerding
Ottawa,IL
Summary
Dedicated and detail-oriented Infection Preventionist with proven skills in establishing effective policies to minimize risks and avoid outbreaks. Expert in training, mentoring and monitoring healthcare staff to improve knowledge and performance. Ready to leverage 33-year career to make a lasting impact on hospital frameworks.
Overview
1
1
Certification
39
39
years of professional experience
Work History
Infection Preventionist
Morris Hospital And Healthcare Centers
Morris, IL
01.2017 - Current
- Provide oversight of Infection Prevention and Control program.
- Established policies based on evidence-based recommendations to improve success of infection control measures in all departments.
- Conducted surveillance to gather, analyze and report infection data to Infection Control Committee and other hospital committees.
- Provided direct observation of invasive procedures according to infection prevention standards, including procedures in surgical services, interventional radiology, and cardiac catheter lab.
- Evaluated hospital-onset and healthcare-acquired infections by conducting root cause analysis.
- Gathered and submitted data to regulatory agencies for mandatory report infections such as Illinois National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (INEDSS) and National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
- Identified risks proactively through risk assessment process.
- Established priorities and goals based on risk assessment.
- Conducted environmental surveillance rounds on main campus and all off-sites.
- Investigated outbreaks and revamped control measures to prevent future incidents.
- Worked as integral part of Incident Command during COVID-19 pandemic.
- Educated staff about infection control surveillance findings and evidence-based recommendations to prevent spread of infection.
- Coordinated successfully and with full compliance to prevent infections according to facility and Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) standards.
Infection Preventionist
OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center
Ottawa, IL
05.1987 - 01.2017
- Provided oversight of the Infection Prevention and Control program.
- Conducted surveillance to gather, analyze and report infection data to the Infection Control Committee and relevant hospital committees.
- Evaluated hospital-onset and healthcare-acquired infections by conducting root cause analysis.
- Provided direct observation in surgical services and central line insertion practices based on infection prevention standards.
- Gathered and submitted data to regulatory agencies for mandatory report infections such as the Illinois National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (INEDSS) and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
- Identified infection risks proactively through a risk assessment process.
- Investigated outbreaks and implemented control measures to prevent further cases.
- Conducted environmental surveillance rounds on the main campus and off-site clinics.
- Educated staff about surveillance findings and infection control measures to prevent spread of infection.
- Developed and improved infection control procedures using evidence-based recommendations.
- Coordinated successfully and with full compliance to prevent infections according to facility and Joint Commission standards.
Education
Master of Science - Nursing
American Sentinel University
Aurora, CO02.2020
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL01.1994
Associate of Science - Nursing
Illinois Valley Community College
Oglesby, IL05.1981
Skills
- Surveillance
- CDC Policies
- Prevention and control strategies
- Environmental management strategies
- Disease trend knowledge
- Infection Risk Assessment
- Microsoft Office Suite (Word/Excel/PowerPoint)
- Midas
- Epic ICON use from previous OSF work history
Accomplishments
- Collaborated with nursing staff , the laboratory, and information technology to improve identification and documentation of appropriate stool specimens for C diff testing. This led to an 82% reduction in hospital-onset C diff.
Affiliations
Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC)
APIC-Central Illinois (CI) Board of Directors
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
Sigma Theta Tau International
Chi Alpha chapter of Sigma Theta Tau
Certification
Certification in Infection Control (CIC)
Timeline
Infection Preventionist
Morris Hospital And Healthcare Centers
01.2017 - Current
Infection Preventionist
OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center
05.1987 - 01.2017
Associate of Science - Nursing
Illinois Valley Community College
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Olivet Nazarene University
Master of Science - Nursing
American Sentinel University