Infection Prevention Director
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Michele Pedrani, MS, RN, CIC, CSN-NJ is the Director of Infection Prevention at RWJBH Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), a large academic medical center and Level 1 Trauma Center affiliated with Rutgers University and located in the heart of Central New Jersey. Michele has been an RN for 30 years, fifteen of which have been spent in Infection Prevention. Assuming the Director role in Infection Prevention during the height of COVID-19, Michele has continued to build the Infection Prevention program at her facility, supporting the expanding footprint at RWJUH outside the main campus to include a freestanding Cancer Center and Ambulatory Medical Pavilion. Michele also leads the Special Pathogens program at RWJUH, which is a National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center (SPTC). As a Level 2 facility, RWJUH has the capacity to deliver specialized care to patients suspected of or infected by a special pathogen and serve as the primary patient care delivery center and has 2 Biocontainment rooms. Level 2 SPTCs may be pediatric, adult, or both. Level 2 facilities can care for patients for the duration of their illness. In addition to leadership at the local level, Michele co-chairs the System Infection Prevention Collaborative at RWJBH, unifying and standardizing Infection Prevention Practices and Policies across the 13 hospitals in the RWJBH System. Michele is an active member of APIC Northern New Jersey.
