5 Second Rule

For five decades, APIC has been a leading voice in the area of infection prevention and control. Listen as 2022 APIC President, Linda Dickey, and 1994 president and decades-long pioneering member, Barbara Russell, speak on the progression from the early days of infection prevention and control to the current-day focus on patient safety culture. What can we learn from the path already travelled and where will it lead?

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guests:

Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC, Sr. Director, Epidemiology & Infection Prevention

Linda Dickey is Sr. Director, Epidemiology & Infection Prevention at UCI Health and 2022 President-elect for APIC. Linda's background includes serving on the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI) committee to develop design criteria for health care facilities. She has also taught for over 15 years for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) in courses related to healthcare design, construction and water management and has served on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 188 committee to establish the standard for Legionella management. Linda's clinical experience is in adult critical care and over 25 years of experience in epidemiology & infection prevention and quality, patient safety. She earned a nursing degree from the University of South Carolina and her Master in Public Health degree from the University of South Florida.

Barbara S. Russell, MPH, BSHSA, RN, CIC, FAPIC

After retiring from Baptist Hospital of Miami, Barbara still wanted to be active and involved in her passion, Infection Prevention. In early 2020, Barbara was contacted by the Florida Hospital Association (FHA), who were working with the State of Florida Department of Health, to contract with certified Infection Preventionists to help assess and assist LTC's with preventing and controlling COVID-19 in residents and staff. Barbara was assigned to Region 7 which encompasses Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties, the epicenter of COVID in Florida, especially in their long-term care facilities. In January 2021, Barbara became a full-time employee with the Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Team of the Florida Department of Health. Visits included walking rounds to assess infection control practices, providing education and training for staff and residents, review and development of specific related policies and procedures, assisting in acquiring needed supplies and in some cases how to set up a COVID unit within their facility – to care for cases in residents who do not require hospitalization. As the COVID pandemic slows down our team is visiting facilities regarding other HAI's. During Barbara's extensive career, she has served in many leadership roles in Infection Prevention and Nursing organizations. Including, but not limited to, President of APIC and CBIC. She has been fortunate to be the recipient of many awards including the Carol DeMille and APIC President Awards.

This episode highlights how accrediting bodies fit in to the overall patient safety landscape and their role. We are joined by Sylvia Garcia-Houchins. MBA, RN, CIC, who sets the record straight on the role of healthcare accreditors and some of the myths that are circulating about what surveyors do. This episode is a must listen for all healthcare personnel!

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guest:

Sylvia Garcia-Houchins, MBA, RN, CIC, Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Division of Healthcare Improvement

Sylvia Garcia-Houchins is the Director, Infection Prevention and Control in the Division of Healthcare Improvement. In this role, she is responsible for the oversight of infection prevention and control for The Joint Commission.

Ms. Garcia-Houchins has over 30 years of experience in infection control in both hospital and long term care settings, as well as eight years of clinical microbiology experience. Most recently, she served as the Director, Infection Control at University of Chicago Medicine and was also an intermittent consultant for Joint Commission Resources for 10 years. Ms. Garcia-Houchins has provided infection prevention and control consultation, assessment and education in a variety of health care settings including hospitals, health clinics, ambulatory surgery, and dialysis centers both domestically and internationally. Her specialty areas of interest include disinfection and sterilization, dialysis, infection prevention during renovation and construction, and control of Legionella. One of the highlights of her career has been training health care professionals in Saudi Arabia as Infection Preventionists. She served as a test writer and reviewer for the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, and has also authored numerous articles and book chapters related to infection control including a chapter in the APIC Text and the Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization Chapter in The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, Third Edition.

Ms. Garcia-Houchins earned a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, a master's of business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management, and her nursing degree from Truman College.

Many people think that Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease safely tucked away in human history, but that's not the case. Not only does it still lurk in communities around the globe, but it also claims over a million lives each year. Join us as we discuss this preventable and treatable disease with our guest Maureen Murphy-Weiss, BSN, RN, as she walks us through TB's lengthy history, common symptoms, and current treatments. Additionally, the episode tackles the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB from both the patient's and the infection preventionist's perspective.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guest:

Maureen Murphy-Weiss, BSN, RN, Director, Ben Franklin TB Program, Columbus Public Health

Maureen is the Tuberculosis Program Director at Columbus Public Health in Columbus, Ohio. She is a registered nurse in the state of Ohio and received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Kettering College and Bachelor's Degree in nursing from Capital University in 2006. In 1997, Maureen started in local public health and later moved to the state health department. While working at the Ohio Department of Health, from 2003 to 2016, she filled a variety of leadership positions, including state TB Controller, and manager for the viral hepatitis and healthcare-associated infection programs. She left the state in late 2016, after accepting a position at Columbus Public Health.

In March 2020, Maureen was named operations chief for Columbus Public Health's pandemic incident command structure. Her experience with respiratory isolation, contact tracing, and health care service delivery in community settings informed many decisions in the agency's COVID-19 response. Maureen is the immediate past president of the National TB Nurse Coalition, and currently serves on national workgroups for issues pertaining to tuberculosis prevention and COVID-19.

It's 2019. Facilities are seeing an encouraging decrease in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) on a state and national level. Fast forward a few months and a global pandemic has taken the world by storm, putting a lot of the progress made by infection preventionists (IPs) in jeopardy. How exactly did this major global event affect HAIs in facilities and what does its impact mean for the future? Our guest Lisa Sturm, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, walks us through these timely questions and more, including staffing and reporting gaps as well as the changing role of the IP.

Hosted by: Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guest:

Lisa Sturm, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, Sr. Director, Infection Prevention, Quality, Clinical & Network Services, Ascension

Lisa has been in the field of Infection Prevention for almost 30 years, is certified in Infection Prevention, and is a Fellow of APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control). She is active at the local and national levels with APIC. She joined her local chapter, then called APIC-Greater Detroit, in 1992 when she was a graduate student. She knew then she wanted to be an "IP" when she grew up. She is currently the Chair of APIC's Public Policy Committee and Legislative Co-Chair for the APIC Great Lakes Chapter. She is widely published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, is the author of infection prevention chapters in books, and has presented internationally on infection prevention. Her latest research is centered around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). She's recently been published in Infection Control & Epidemiology (ICHE) as well as the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC). Lisa currently works as the Senior Director of Infection Prevention at Ascension, a nonprofit faith-based health system that operates in 21 states with over 140 hospitals. There are approximately 165 IPs at Ascension that form a very tight-knit group called the IP Community. Lisa is proud to represent such an amazing group of professionals, who she feels have contributed significantly to the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.

Since Pliny, the Elder of ancient Rome, the effects of proper and improper ventilation techniques have been observed. As the world continues to transform, so too has the industrial hygiene profession and its overlap with infection prevention. Join us for a conversation with Lewis Johnson MS, CIH, CIC, FAPIC, on everything you wanted to know and more about air ventilation and filtration. This topic is particularly relevant given the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, changing standards, and applications of filtration/ventilation best practices in non-healthcare settings like public schools, office buildings, and airplanes.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo,CAE

About our Guest:

Lewis Johnson, MS, CIH, CIC, FAPIC

Lewis is certified in both industrial hygiene and infection control and has a Master of Science in Industrial Health from the University of Michigan. He works for the Lee Health System in Fort Myers, Florida where he is the interim director for environmental standards. His primary focus is environmental infection control including water hygiene and quality, ventilation and filtration, cleaning, disinfection, and pharmacy environments. He wrote the current construction and renovation chapter for the APIC Text Online and chapters on dust control and equipment resources for the APIC Infection Prevention Manual for Construction and Renovation. He frequently presents on industrial hygiene topics to infection preventionists and on infection prevention topics to industrial hygienists. He is a past member of the APIC Practice Guidance Committee, a Fellow of APIC, and a member and past Chair of the American Industrial Hygiene Association Healthcare Working Group. He serves on the ASHRAE committees 188 Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems, and 514 Risk Management for Building Water Systems: Physical, Chemical, and Microbial Hazards. He was on the Steering Committee for the FGI Emergency Conditions guide and a member of the FGI 2022 Health Guidelines Revision Committee.

The infection prevention profession has been rapidly growing as the need for health protocols increases in various environments. What we traditionally think of as a hospital-based position is now appearing in areas like entertainment, sports, and the government. In this episode, we will be discussing how to get started as an infection preventionist and what you can expect in the role. Please join us and our guests, the Executive Director of Infectious Disease Management and Prevention at Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, WA, Dr. Rebecca Bartles, DrPH, MPH, CIC, FAPIC; and Division Manager of Infection Prevention for HCA Healthcare North Florida Division, Chaz Rhone, MPH, CIC, FAPIC.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guests:

Rebecca Bartles, DrPH, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, Executive Director of Infectious Disease Management and Prevention at Providence, St. Joseph Health in Renton, WA

Rebecca (Becca) Bartles is the Executive Director of Infectious Disease Management and Prevention at Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, WA. Becca has practiced Infection Prevention for the last 16 years in a variety of healthcare settings and has numerous publications focused on infection prevention staffing and endoscope safety. She received both her BS in Public Health, Health Education, and her MPH in Epidemiology from East TN State University. She completed her Doctorate in Public Health in 2021 with a dissertation topic of "Assessing efficacy of an evidence-based Clostridiodes difficile screening tool using electronic medical record data." Becca also teaches courses at the University of Providence for a Masters in Infection Prevention degree program that she founded in 2016. She has been CIC certified since 2008 and is an APIC fellow. Most notably, though, Becca is the mother of four beautiful daughters, ages 7-22.

Chaz Rhone, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, Division Manager of Infection Prevention for HCA Healthcare North Florida Division

Chaz earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Florida (UF) and began his career as an Infection Preventionist (IP) in 2007. He is currently a Division Manager of IP for HCA Healthcare North Florida Division. Chaz has been certified in infection control since 2012, recognized as an APIC Hero (2016), and accepted as an APIC Fellow (2019). He was also named as one of UF's College of Public Health and Health Professions Outstanding Alumni (2018). His professional passions include advancing the field of IP through leadership development of IPs and advocating for professionals with an M.P.H. as qualified candidates for IP positions. To that end, he is currently vice-chair of the APIC Academic Pathway Steering Committee and a member of the APIC Professional Development Committee. On a personal note, Chaz is a New Orleans native, an extroverted introvert, a musically inclined Jeep and motorcycle enthusiast, and a spontaneous "xennial" (Gen X/Millennial). He is a husband to Tara, who also works in infection prevention, and a dad to two beautiful "flowers" Lily (6) and Iris (3).

While none of us wants to ever need to call 911, the truth is, many of us will. It is good to know that emergency medical professionals are required to follow infection prevention and control best practices but that is not always so easy. This episode sheds light on the unique needs of the EMS professional setting.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guests:

Alexander Isakov, MD, MPH

Dr. Isakov is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and the director of Emory's Section of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. He is also the Executive Director for Emory's Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response. Dr. Isakov is on the American College of Emergency Physicians Epidemic Expert Panel. He is the EMS lead for the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) and is a designated Subject Matter Expert for ASPR TRACIE, with whom he led the development of the EMS Infectious Disease Playbook. He is the medical director for the Emory-Grady EMS Biosafety Transport Program.

Dr. Isakov has an MD from the University of Pittsburgh and an MPH from Boston University. He completed his residency training at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and his EMS fellowship with Boston EMS. Dr. Isakov practices clinically in the emergency department of Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA.

Jill Holdsworth, MS, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST

Jill obtained a Bachelor of Science from West Virginia Wesleyan College in Biology and a Master of Science from Marshall University in Exercise Science. She began her career as a cardiac rehab therapist in Huntington, WV. Jill began working as an IP in 2009, obtained her CIC after 1 year in the field, and became a Fellow of APIC in 2016. Jill became involved in APIC in 2009 with the DC Chapter, becoming the secretary in 2012, President-Elect in 2013 and the President in 2014. Jill was the 2015-2016 APIC Emergency Management Committee Chairman and is currently the AAMI Protective Barriers Committee co-chair. Jill is a certified EMT and is certified in sterile processing through IAHCSMM. She is currently working in Atlanta, GA as the Manager of Infection Prevention at Emory University Hospital Midtown.

Fungi exist all around us from yeast and mushrooms to rust and mold. One species of fungus, Candida auris, is particularly problematic especially for hospitalized patients and Long-Term care residents. Join us as we discuss the challenges for this specific fungus species with expert guests Jessica Arias, BSN, RN, CIC, and Shaunté C. Walton, MS, CIC.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guests:

Jessica Arias, BSN, RN, CIC

Jessica Arias, BSN, RN, CIC, is a Nurse, Infection Preventionist, and the Infection Control Assessment Response (ICAR) Lead with New Jersey Department of Health, Communicable Disease Service. In her 15+ years in healthcare, Jessica has practiced in a variety of settings including acute psychiatric, correctional, post-acute, and public health in various front-line nursing or leadership roles. Jessica serves as the Legislative Director in the Southern NJ APIC chapter and on the national APIC Public Policy committee. Jessica is currently pursuing her Masters in Healthcare Leadership at Western Governors University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Wilmington University, and is board certified in Infection Prevention and Control.

Shaunté C. Walton, MS, CIC

Shaunté Walton, MS, CIC, is the Health System Director of Clinical Epidemiology & Infection Prevention at UCLA Health. She is responsible for oversight of the infection prevention program of all inpatient hospitals and 200+ ambulatory clinics. Shaunté is a trained Molecular Microbiologist and has over thirteen years of Infection Prevention experience, including pediatric and women's services, adult and pediatric transplant services, oncology, neurology, critical care, heart and vascular services, rehab services, and orthopedic services. She has a proven record of healthcare associated infection reduction. Most recently, overall infection reduction efforts at UCLA Health were highlighted in the following award application: Newsweek's World's Best Hospitals and U.S. Best Hospitals for Infection Prevention Award in 2021.

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a coordinated effort that promotes the appropriate use of antibiotics. In this episode, we'll be discussing how the pandemic has impacted AMS and the prescribing trends. We are joined by Dr. Allison Weinmann, infectious diseases physician at Henry Ford Health System and Medical Director of its Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guest:

Dr. Allison Weinmann, MD, Antimicrobial Stewardship Director, Henry Ford Hospital

Dr Allison Weinmann is an infectious diseases physician at Henry Ford Health System and Medical Director of its Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Wayne State University. Dr. Weinmann leads the health system's immunization committee and has played a key role in Henry Ford's preparation and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Weinmann earned her medical degree from Monash University in Australia. She completed her specialty training at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and additional training at the Mayo Clinic before coming to Detroit.

With students, faculty, and staff returning to their school systems, the question of how to keep those within these institutions safe is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Join us and our guest, Lead Clinical Editor of APIC Text Kelley Boston, for a discussion on how to get creative in adhering to CDC guidelines for returning to classrooms, acquiring community buy-in on safety precautions, and concerns surrounding routine vaccination schedules for children.

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo, CAE

About our Guest:

Kelley M. Boston, MPH, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC

Kelley M. Boston, MPH, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC is an infection preventionist with nearly 20 years of experience, and brings a background in public health and epidemiology to her infection prevention practice, providing insights on team-focused change processes and disaster preparedness.

Her primary expertise is in acute care settings and she has held leadership roles in multi-facility systems that have included both community hospitals and major academic teaching centers, and specialized practice areas including pediatrics, transplant, and trauma. She was honored as an APIC Hero of Infection Prevention in 2016 for her work in program integration and development within a large multi-facility healthcare system, leading to significant sustained improvement in infection outcomes.

She is an active member of both the Society for Healthcare Epidemiologists of America (SHEA) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), where she has served as president and board member in multiple local chapters, and at the national level on the Communications Committee and APIC Text Editorial Panel. She is currently the President and Legislative representative for the Houston APIC Chapter and the Lead Clinical Editor for the APIC Text.

Kelley holds a Master's of Public Health in international and family health, with a concentration in epidemiology from The University of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health. In addition, she holds a degree in Geography with a focus on environmental resources management and medical geography from The University of Texas at Austin. She holds certifications in infection prevention and control (CIC), healthcare quality (CPHQ) and is recognized as a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC).

Back to School Safety During COVID-19