2023 Infection Prevention Bootcamp for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities

Barbara DeBaun has over 40 years of experience in the field of infection prevention and quality improvement.  She is currently an Improvement Advisor with Cynosure Health where she provides vision and leadership in the development, implementation and facilitation of infection prevention and quality improvement initiatives for healthcare organizations.  Previously, she was an Improvement Advisor for BEACON, the Bay Area Patient Safety Collaborative, and was the Director of Patient Safety and Infection Control at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Barbara is a certified Infection Control Practitioner and holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pace University in New York and a Master of Science Degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University.

Barbara served two years as an elected member of APIC Board of Directors. Prior to her board service, she served as APIC’s liaison to the Centers for Disease Control’s Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC).  Barbara has lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of patient safety and infection control topics and has published over a dozen articles and several book chapters.  In 2008, she was selected as Infection Control Today’s Educator of the Year. 

Shoshannah J. Anderson BSN, RN, CIC received her BSN from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2004. She received her Certification in Infection
Prevention and Control through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology in 2018.

She has a passion for all things Infection Prevention and Control. Currently, she has a concentration in Infection Prevention in Long-Term Care Facility
settings. Her previous background includes Perioperative/Endoscopy Practices, Surgical Inpatient/Outpatient Nursing, High Level Disinfection & Sterilization, and Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Prior to becoming an Infection Preventionist, she had an extensive background in the Operating Room for 10 years, working as a Circulating nurse and in Operating Room Leadership, in which she has gleaned a wealth of knowledge and hands on experience.

She is committed to sharing the “why” behind the practices of infection prevention. The mantra she embraces is, “People will be more inclined to do the
right thing, if they know and understand its importance.”

Dr. Natalie Baker is an Associate Professor at UAB School of Nursing, teaching in the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner program and doctoral leadership course. Dr. Baker also serves as the Infection Prevention Control Supervisor of the Alabama Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Facility
Strike Team, administered through UAB School of Public Health. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and American Academy of Nursing. She is a recognized Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. In 2021, Dr. Baker was named a Visionary Leader alumnus by the UAB School of Nursing. Dr. Baker maintains a nurse practitioner practice at a rural skilled nursing facility in northern Alabama. She is an advocate for the rights of vulnerable older adults, championing changes in care delivery in long-term care facilities. She is the Immediate Past President of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA), an advanced practice nursing organization dedicated to improving care delivery of older adults. She has worked on health policy initiatives and represented GAPNA at numerous national forums and disseminated her work through peer reviewed publications and national presentations.

Dr. Rachael Lee, is an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,  and chief healthcare epidemiologist for the UAB Health System. Dr. Lee completed medical school at UAB School of Medicine, residency at UAB in Internal Medicine, and fellowship at UAB in Infectious Disease Quality and Patient Safety. Dr. Lee joined the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases at UAB in 2016. In her role as UAB Chief Healthcare Epidemiologist, she utilizes evidence based medicine to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections. Her research focuses on multi-drug resistant pathogens as they relate to infection control. Dr. Lee is an expert in all things infectious disease-related, ranging from the spread of diseases like the flu, to infection prevention and control.

Wade Menefee, BSN, RN, LNHA, has been an RN since 2011. Graduating from Calhoun Community College with an Associates of Applied Science in Nursing in 2011 then receiving his BSN in 2020 from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University. Wade has worked in long-term care in many roles as Infection Preventionist and Director of Nursing as well as being licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator for the past seventeen years. Wade is currently employed with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Public Health on the Long-Term Care Strike Team as Lead Infection Prevention Specialist.