It’s true, “getting old ain’t for wimps (especially during a global pandemic!)” Nursing home residents and healthcare workers who care for them in these facilities are the “biggest losers” in the fight against COVID-19. The elderly and those living with chronic illness are at most risk for severe illness and death. Learn about the challenges facing this care setting and the opportunities for better infection prevention and control for the future. Listen here.

About the Episode:

Hosted by:

Silvia Quevedo

Cohosted by:

Angela Vassallo, MPH, MS, CIC, FAPIC, Associate Faculty, West Coast University

Angela Vassallo, MPH, MS, CIC, FAPIC is a nationally recognized expert in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology. She is Co-Founder of COVID SMART, the first Infection Prevention online education program for the general public. She led the first Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) funded Infection Prevention project for California’s ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for the quality improvement organization, Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG). She also provided Infection Prevention expertise on the CMS funded Infection Prevention project for long-term care facilities in California and Arizona with HSAG. She is Associate Faculty at West Coast University for MHA, MPH, and BSHA programs.

Angela is certified in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC) and a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC). She currently serves on APIC’s COVID-19 Task Force and is the Chair of the APIC Communications Committee. She is Past-President of California APIC and Greater Los Angeles APIC. She helped design the first Infection Prevention Graduate program for Providence University in 2016.
She has a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, a Master of Science (MS) in Healthcare Management from West Coast University in Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Service from the American University in Washington, DC. She is a Strategic Advisor for Venture Intellect Associates (VIA) and was nominated Healthcare Manager of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2014.

Evelyn Cook, RN, CIC, Associate Director of the Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE)

Evelyn Cook is the Associate Director for the North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE). She is a principal lecturer at all SPICE infection control courses and leads applied research projects in infection prevention and epidemiology of infectious diseases. Evelyn is a registered nurse and is certified in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC). She is active in the North Carolina Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology serving as President and currently board member. She has presented at numerus professional conferences including the National Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Evelyn provides training, education, and consultation to hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare organizations to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections. She has assisted long-term care facilities in writing and developing infection prevention risk assessments, infection prevention plans and policies specific to the long-term care setting. Evelyn partners with and provides infection prevention expertise to the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Division Health and Service Regulation.