Aimee Russell
Aimee Russell has worked in Infection Prevention at St. Luke’s for a little over two years. Prior to that, she worked in the laboratory at St. Luke’s with the majority of that time in Microbiology. She is a native Idahoan and lives in Meridian with her husband and three children.
Donald Rock
Don’s background includes more than thirty years in surgical services working in various roles from environmental technician to scrub technician to circulating nurse. After serving five years as the Sterile Processing Department manager, Don transitioned to Infection prevention, where he as been for the past three years. A Montana native, Don has lived in Southern Idaho since 1990. He currently resides in Twin Falls where he is a proud grandparent along with his wife of 37 years.
Sheri Tolley
Sheri is an Infection Preventionist for the St. Luke’s Health System. She has a microbiology background and has been working in infection Prevention or 3 ½ years. She has worked with Ambulatory service line and is currently working as Infection Prevention in the Acute Care areas.
Along with 2 other IPs She covers three facilities 2 CAH’s in Jerome and Wood River, and Magic Valley Regional Medical Center.
Sheri has been working with the Magic Valley Antimicrobial Stewardship team (Bug Squad) for more than 15 years. First as a microbiology representative and now as Infection Prevention.
Along with 2 other IPs She covers three facilities 2 CAH’s in Jerome and Wood River, and Magic Valley Regional Medical Center.
Sheri has been working with the Magic Valley Antimicrobial Stewardship team (Bug Squad) for more than 15 years. First as a microbiology representative and now as Infection Prevention.
Debbie Cutforth
Debbie Cutforth, Infection Preventionist and Laboratory Manager at Power County Hospital District (PCHD) in American Falls, Idaho. PCHD is a small Critical Access Hospital (10 Acute care beds, 18 Long term beds and 2 rural health clinics). Debbie graduated from Idaho State University, Pocatello campus in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) and worked as a generalist in the laboratory from 2005-2014. In 2014, Debbie became the lab manager. In 2016, Debbie become the Infection Preventionist as well. When I took on the Infection Prevention position, I had no idea how many areas of the facility was involved. My first tag was a cracked floor tile in the ED and couldn’t be more surprised that it wasn’t a maintenance problem. Since 2016 I have learned so much and have enjoyed networking with other IPs to see how things are done in all the different facility types.
I have lived in south east Idaho my entire life. I have two adult children and I am hoping to replace their cats (fur grandbabies) with actual grand babies. I was married last year in Las Vegas by Elvis which was a total blast and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get married but not in the traditional white dress kind of way.
I have lived in south east Idaho my entire life. I have two adult children and I am hoping to replace their cats (fur grandbabies) with actual grand babies. I was married last year in Las Vegas by Elvis which was a total blast and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get married but not in the traditional white dress kind of way.
Nikki Ripplinger
I am Nikki Ripplinger, Registered Nurse, Infection Preventionist and Employee Health Nurse at Teton Valley Health in Driggs, Idaho. I have been a Registered Nurse for 22 years. Except for 1 year of that time, I have worked at our critical-access, 13-bed hospital in our small, rural town as a medical/surgical nurse. We provide care to patients in our Emergency Department, Surgical Suite or Medical Floor with a variety of diagnosis. Four years ago, I was asked to take the position of Infection Preventionist and Employee Health Nurse. My learning curve has gone back up to the time of my nursing student days. I have enjoyed learning about infection prevention and all the areas in which an IP can improve patient outcomes.
Tommy Askins
In 1992 Tommy Askins built the hospital all 3 of his future child would be born in…. Sharp Mary Birch of San Diego. Tommy and his wife Farrah enjoy supporting their teenage daughter and her activities of rodeo queen pageants, barrel racing horses and raising show cattle in 4H. Tommy has over 30 years of building construction experience with 27 of those years spent working for a large-scale family owned drywall & plaster contractor in San Diego. He has helped develop and deliver training to construction professionals for over 12 years and currently works for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters as an ICRA Specialist delivering ICRA training & collaborating construction projects inside healthcare facilities with both construction and healthcare professionals across the Southwestern United States. Tommy truly believes infection prevention is everyone’s responsibility!
Giovanna Santovito-Carducci
I have worked in healthcare for 30 years with nursing experience in Trauma, Burns, Critical Care, Quality, Administration, and Critical Care Education. I added Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention to my nursing career in 2006, beginning at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, NV as an Infection Preventionist. I broadened my scope of practice to Public Health by working as the first Health-care Associated Infection (HAI) Prevention Coordinator for the Nevada State Health Division where I developed and implemented the Nevada HAI Plan based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) National Action Plan. In addition to the HHS action plan my responsibilities included; grant writing and grant management, providing infection prevention and control expertise to the State of Nevada Board of Health, developing Infection Prevention education, Infection Prevention consultation, and outbreak assistance to all health care facilities, surveyors, and consumers in the state of Nevada. In addition, I also participated in writing Nevada HAI regulations and implementation HAI laws. I assisted with data analysis for Nevada’s mandatory reporting into the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) the state healthcare report, and the Nevada State Health Division Annual Sentinel Events Report. In 2015, I joined the team at Healthcare Management Solutions to work with government entities on a pilot project to improve assessment of transitions of care, and infection control and prevention regulations in long term care facilities and hospitals.
I have extensive knowledge in evaluating facilities for compliance with infection control requirements, as well as identification of infection control risks and vulnerabilities. I am certified in Infection Control and have a Master’s Degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Biostatistics and Epidemiology. I am also a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA.
I am energetic and passionate about quality patient care and the use of best practice in all facility types. I enjoy teaching and working with teams, have a strong work ethic and strive to improve my knowledge on a continuous basis.
I have extensive knowledge in evaluating facilities for compliance with infection control requirements, as well as identification of infection control risks and vulnerabilities. I am certified in Infection Control and have a Master’s Degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Biostatistics and Epidemiology. I am also a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA.
I am energetic and passionate about quality patient care and the use of best practice in all facility types. I enjoy teaching and working with teams, have a strong work ethic and strive to improve my knowledge on a continuous basis.
Kathryn Turner
Dr. Turner has over sixteen years of experience in state level public health in the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, disease surveillance, and informatics. As the Idaho Deputy State Epidemiologist and Chief of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention, she oversees several of Idaho’s public health programs including Epidemiology, Immunizations, Healthcare Associated Infections, Food Safety, and Refugee Health. Dr. Turner earned her undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics and an MPA from Boise State University; she also received her MPH and PhD in Public Health Epidemiology from Walden University.
Joseph Antonucci
Joseph Antonucci is a Senior Environmental Health Specialist at Central District Health Department. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Occupational Health. He is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist, a Certified Pool Operator, and is certified as an instructor for the ServSafe® food safety and certification course. Among his duties, he conducts food facility inspections in Ada County and is the CDHD lead for norovirus and other gastrointestinal illness outbreak investigations in non-acute care healthcare settings.
Karen Hoffmann
Karen is a contractor with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, serving as the infection preventionist in the Quality, Safety and Oversight Group. Since 1988, she has been a clinical instructor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Karen has specialized in infection prevention and control for more than 35 years, beginning at the Detroit Medical Center, then at the University of Virginia, and for 23 years as the associate director of the North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE). She is a Fellow in the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and served on the SHEA Journal Editorial Board from 1991 to 2001. She is also a Fellow of APIC and has maintained her certification of infection prevention and control since 1988. Karen has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2010 SHEA Advanced Practice Infection Preventionist Award and the APIC Chapter Leadership Award. She was the first recipient of Infection Control Today’s Infection Control Educator of the Year. In 2011, she received the Old North State Award for her dedicated service to the citizens of North Carolina. Karen has been an invited speaker to state, national, and international conferences, and has authored many abstracts, articles, and book chapters. She is currently serving as the 2019 APIC president. Karen earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University and Master of Science in healthcare epidemiology from the University of Virginia.
Christine Hahn
Dr. Hahn attended medical school at Michigan State University, completed a residency in Internal Medicine at May Clinic’s Graduate School of Medicine, and an Infectious Disease Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. After a 2-year training as an EIS Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Hahn became the Idaho State Epidemiologist in 1997. Other roles that Dr. Hahn serves includes the state’s TB controller and the medical director for the Division of Public Health. Dr, Hahn has been Board Certified in Infectious Disease since 1995.