Clean Talk | Ep 42 | Infection Prevention Begins With Kindness w/ Priya Pandya-Orozco

Clean Talk - The State of Infection Control w/ Brad Whitchurch

In this week’s episode of Clean Talk, Priya Pandya-Orozco, Infection Prevention and Control Nurse Manager at O’ Connor, Santa Clara County Hospital and Health System, joins us to share her expertise and knowledge around infection control.

Tune in to hear about a range of topics including:

• Priya’s background and what brought her to where she is today

• Her role as Infection Prevention and Control Nurse Manager at O’ Connor, Santa Clara County Hospital and Health System

• APIC Film Festival Award (Grand Jury Prize) & other achievements

• Incorporating team building in hand hygiene

• What is Clean 20?

• Speak up safety culture and the benefits

• Contributions to Infection Control Today (Infection Control begins with kindness)

• What we learned from the past and Covid & how we can improve infection control in the future

Bernadette “Priya” Pandya-Orozco, MSN, RN, PHN, CIC is the Manager for Infection Prevention at O'Connor Hospital which is part of the County of Santa Clara Hospital and Health System. She has served in several critical leadership roles in the field of infection prevention and communicable disease over the last twenty-five years. Most recently, in 2019, she became the Manager of O' Connor Hospital Infection Prevention, where she serves as a subject matter expert to hospital staff and leaders for infection prevention and control.

Priya has worked for high reliable organizations to reduce hospital acquired infection rates. She encourages the use of creative performance improvement projects which utilize evidence-based practices to engage frontline champions and leaders. Priya attributes her successes to her ability to understand and value every member of a healthcare system, recognizing how each person in a hospital can affect infection prevention efforts and contribute to performance improvement.