Emily Bouzek, MSN, RN, CIC, LTC-CIP
Infection Preventionist
Morrow Home Community • Wisconsin
How did you become an infection preventionist and what does your role look like today?
This journey into infection prevention was not planned on. I never dreamt this is where my nursing career would take me. My career in infection prevention and control (IPC) began as a dual-role transition within long-term care, evolving through hands-on experience and rigorous self-directed research into a specialized, full-time leadership position. I had no experience in IPC beyond the basics, but over time and connecting with other IPCs I began to develop a real appreciation for the craft. Over the past 14 years, I have transformed IPC from a facility "afterthought" into a cornerstone of clinical operations. By deeply engaging with evolving regulations and participating in industry-leading conferences, I have established a robust framework for resident and staff safety.
Key Responsibilities & Expertise:
Clinical Surveillance: Conduct daily comprehensive reviews of nursing documentation to identify and mitigate potential infections or emerging symptoms. Monitor for any trends that may be occurring.
Data Management: Maintain precise line lists for residents and staff, ensuring data integrity for reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and state health departments as required.
Preventative Health: Manage full-scale immunization programs, overseeing record-keeping and vaccine administration for the entire facility population including staff and at the time an onsite daycare center.
Compliance & Quality Assurance: Perform meticulous audits across diverse clinical areas—including wound care, hand hygiene, and environmental services—to ensure strict adherence to state and federal regulations.
Stakeholder Education: Develop and deliver evidence-based training for staff, residents, and families to foster a culture of prevention.
Beyond my facility, I am a dedicated advocate for the long-term care community, volunteering with organizations such as APIC and CBIC to influence industry standards and highlight the unique capabilities of our sector. The global pandemic underscored the critical nature of our work, shifting the Infection Preventionist role from a supporting function to a primary voice in healthcare leadership.
Can you share one specific example where your work made a measurable difference?
Unlike acute-care hospitals, which receive centralized data, long-term care facilities often struggle with fragmented reporting from multiple laboratories, hospitals and pharmacies. This leads to inaccurate or unusable data, contributing to the estimated 40%–70% of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in the sector. Such overuse wastes resources and accelerates the development of life-threatening multidrug resistance.
I spearheaded the development and implementation of a facility-specific antibiogram, manually compiling and validating disparate data to create a reliable clinical tool. This allowed me to provide prescribers with accurate, facility-level susceptibility trends to guide empiric therapy more effectively. Following the implementation, the overuse of Fluoroquinolones was reduced to <10% of all prescriptions. My methodology and findings were published in the Summer 2025 APIC Prevention Strategist, serving as a blueprint for other LTC facilities to enhance their antimicrobial stewardship (AMS).
What is the most challenging part of infection prevention in long-term care?
I believe one of the most significant barrier to a successful Infection Prevention (IP) program in long-term care (LTC) is the frequent imposition of secondary responsibilities that detract from the primary IPC mission. While CMS regulations mandate a trained, onsite Infection Preventionist, the reality in many facilities is a "role-sharing" model where IPs are diverted to manage admissions, resident care plans, or general staffing gaps.
Competing Priorities: Diverting an IP to administrative or floor-nursing tasks reduces the time available for critical surveillance, NHSN reporting, and staff education.
Operational Burnout: This "staffing gap" approach leads to a dismissed view of the IP's specialized role, resulting in high turnover and professional burnout.
Resource Inequity: While smaller facilities may manage dual-roles, many struggle to maintain compliance without a dedicated, full-time IP who can focus exclusively on quality assurance and infection mitigation.
The initial CMS mandate for trained IPs was a foundational step, but the industry now requires more comprehensive guidance that explicitly defines and protects the IP's dedicated hours. To ensure the sustainability of these programs, there must be a shift toward structured funding and reimbursement models that incentivize compliance and account for the increasing complexity of infectious disease management and the ongoing nursing shortage
If you could speak directly to policymakers, what would you want them to understand?
A key point that needs to be expressed to policymakers is that this is not simply a clinical setting but, in fact, someone's home. And we need to be able to balance safety with quality of life. With the changing landscape of nursing home care, regulations must shift by mandating more specialized clinical expertise. Policies are needed to support workforce stability by improving retention strategies and raising minimum training standards. This includes raising minimum training standards to ensure all staff are equipped to handle modern healthcare challenges and implementing living-wage policies to reduce turnover. Funding must be secured to provide adequate supplies and increase the infrastructure to support modern surveillance tools that allow for real-time monitoring without disruption of the home-like environment.