Use of Retired Infection Preventionists to Supplement Infection Prevention Department Staffing

Background Infection Prevention (IP) programs are facing national shortages due to a workforce nearing retirement age and challenges recruiting and retaining incoming Infection Preventionists (IPs). This study assesses the use of retiring IPs to continue working remotely in an as needed (PRN) status to support centralized surveillance as part of a plan to address staffing shortages. Methods IP department staffing was assessed at a 1543 licensed bed hospital system in Texas comprising 12 acute care hospitals, including 2 critical access hospitals, and one acute psychiatric hospital. The staffing complement was 1 IP for every 171 licensed beds. This includes 8.0 full time IPs and one IP director. Requests for additional full-time IP resources were deferred due to COVID constraints. A staffing model using retired IPs was developed to increase on-site IP capacity during a period of increased IP program demand. Results Two IPs had been retained in a PRN status at the time of their retirement to support specific projects. Another IP retired in March 2020 and approval was received to maintain that IP in PRN status. The three PRN IPs agreed to perform remote surveillance and electronic COVID reporting, as required, beginning in March 2020. The IPs required no onboarding or training due to prior knowledge of surveillance methodology, electronic health records, and surveillance software systems. A PRN status was preferred over full or part-time status by both the IPs and the organization. Full-time IPs reported increased availability for unit-based activities. Conclusions Use of retiring IPs as remote centralized surveillance support is a viable model to increase the capacity of hospital-based IPs on a short or intermediate-term basis. In departments with lean staffing complements, reducing surveillance burden can also ease the training demand of new novice or becoming proficient IPs and support retention of new staff.