APIC appointed a task force of subject matter experts to discuss ways APIC can support members during this public health crisis. The Task Force participates in weekly calls, reviews changing guidance, serves as faculty on COVID-19-related offerings, and develops resources for APIC members, including peer-reviewed articles and fact sheets. These fact sheets and other resources are housed on the APIC COVID-19 web page which is continually updated.
Currently, the task force is holding a series of Town Hall-style webinars which started in July. During each webinar, a panel of experts deliver short presentations followed by Q and A. Upcoming dates and topics are listed on the side of this page. The task force wants to hear from you! If you have questions for the task force, please send them here.
Task Force Webinars
July 30, 2020 | COVID-19 transmission routes: What the science tells us
August 20, 2020 | 1 pm ET | Managing COVID-19 in LTCFs
September 10, 2020 | 1 pm ET | PPE: Extended Use During COVID-19
October 22, 2020 | 1 pm ET | Pre-hospital care and interfacility transport
November 12, 2020 | 1 pm ET | COVID-19 Outbreaks: Lessons Learned
Meet the Task Force
Rebecca Alvino, RN, MS, CNS, CIC
Infection Control Practitioner, UCSF Health, San Francisco, CA
Rebecca Alvino is an infection preventionist at UCSF Health, specializing in perioperative and procedural infection prevention. Originally beginning her career in public health during the early years of West Nile virus in Upstate New York, Rebecca became a surgical nurse in 2005—building the foundation for her knowledge and skills in perioperative and procedural infection prevention.
Rebecca joined UCSF Health in 2013 as an infection preventionist, and concurrently continued her work as a surgical nurse on a per diem basis until COVID-19 arrived at UCSF Health in early February 2020, when her work shifted exclusively to infection prevention and control. In addition to her work as an infection preventionist and as a surgical nurse, Rebecca periodically works as an academic coach with the University of Texas-Arlington for their RN-to-BSN program.
Rebecca graduated from the University at Albany, State University of New York with a bachelor’s degree in human biology, St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Syracuse, New York with an associate’s degree in nursing, and the University of California, San Francisco with her master’s degree specializing in advanced public health nursing and minor in global health. She was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau in 2013, and is a member of several professional organizations, including AORN and IAHCSMM. She is the infection prevention advisor for the California Central Service Association, and an active member of APIC, where she serves as a director for the board of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter and is a member of the APIC’s Annual Conference Committee.
Pam Falk, MPH, CIC, FSHEA, FAPIC
Pamela S. Falk Consulting, LLC Atlanta Georgia, 30328
Pam Falk has worked in the infection control field for more than 40 years, and is currently the President of Pamela S Falk Consulting. She is a fellow of APIC and SHEA. She has experience in university and community acute care and ambulatory healthcare settings. She holds a Master of Public Health in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and is certified in Infection Control. She has authored many papers, and presented nationally at APIC, SHEA, and the AMA. Pam was the APIC representative during the creation of the CDC/Johns Hopkins instructional video for donning and doffing for Ebola, edited the voice over copy, and is seen in sections of the video. She edits sections of the TJC /OSHA Course Review and Updates for Elsevier publishing. Pam is an APIC Consultant.
Pam is the Education Chair of the Atlanta APIC chapter. She is the creator of The Don and Doff Fashion Show at the 2015 and 2016 National APIC Live show and created Battles of the IP (Jeopardy) game at the 2017 and 2018 National APIC Live show. She also created the section of the APIC skills lab “Outpatient Infection Prevention”. Pam is a member of the APIC National Education Committee.
Most recently Pam has been working with long term care facilities and ambulatory care sites on issues related to COVID-19. Her focus has been on hand hygiene, proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), including extended use of PPE, and cleaning and disinfection of the environment. Pam lends her experience of COVID-19 to the national APIC COVIC-19 task force.
Jill Holdsworth, MS, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST
Manager, Infection Prevention | Emory University Hospital Midtown, Peachtree Corners, GA
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.
Kathleen McMullen, MPH, CIC, FAPIC
Manager, Infection Prevention & Occupational Health | Christian Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Kathleen received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Masters in Public Health concentrating in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from St. Louis University. She is the interim director of Quality and Analytics at Christian Hospital, a 300 bed community facility located in St. Louis, MO. Kathleen is Board Certified in Infection Prevention and Control and a Fellow of APIC.
Kathleen has been an active participant in APIC. She is the chair of the Practice Guidance Committee and an active liaison to AAMI, and has held several positions on her local APIC chapter board (Chapter 073, St. Louis, MO). She was a reviewer for the Infection Prevention Competency Review Guide and served as a mentor for the Project Protect CAUTI Prevention program with HRET. She has been a presenter at APIC, SHEA and ID Week national meetings and is the author of many IP-related papers and abstracts.
Terri Rebmann PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC
Director, Institute for Biosecurity, Professor, Dept of Epidemiology & Biostatistics | St. Louis University, College for Public Health and Social Justice, St. Louis, MO
Dr. Terri Rebmann is the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Director of the Institute for Biosecurity, and a Professor of Epidemiology in the Saint Louis University College for Public Health & Social Justice. She is a PhD Nurse researcher with an emphasis in infectious disease emergency preparedness.
In addition, she is board certified in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology and an APIC Fellow. Her past work experience includes research and clinical practice with HIV/AIDS patients and hospital infection prevention and epidemiology. In her current role as Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, she is responsible for providing administrative support to all academic programs in the College for Public Health and Social Justice. In her current position with the Institute for Biosecurity as the Director, she is responsible for managing all aspects of the Institute’s Certificate, MPH, and PhD academic programs, as well as teaching classes in the programs and conducting research.
Her research areas of focus include healthcare and public health professional disaster preparedness, long-term use of respiratory protection, and addressing barriers to vaccine uptake. She publishes and lectures on bioterrorism, pandemic planning, emerging infectious diseases, and infection prevention practices on a national basis. Dr. Rebmann has served on several national and international task forces and committees aimed at minimizing morbidity and mortality related to emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism threats. Examples include being a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) COVID-19 Task Force, a member of the APIC Ebola Task Force, and being a former member and Chair of the APIC Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Barbara Smith, BSN, MPA, CIC, FAPIC
Nurse Epidemiologist | Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s/Mt. Sinai West Hospitals, New York, NY
Barbara A. Smith, RN, BSN, MPA, CIC, FAPIC is a Nurse Epidemiologist at the Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West campuses in New York City. She is the infection prevention consultant for Mount Sinai International currently advising Taikang Xianlin Drum Tower Hospital in Nanjing, China.
She is an independent infection prevention consultant for multiple ambulatory practices including surgical, endoscopy and dialysis centers in the metropolitan region.
Ms. Smith recently served on the Board of Director for the national Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She is a member of APIC’s COVID Task Force which was convened to provide expertise to the members and the public about prevention of COVID in healthcare and community settings. She is a clinical editor of the APIC Text Online.
She serves on the Advisory Board of Medical Reserve Corps of New York City and the American Council for St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo.
Angela Vassallo, MPH, MS, CIC, FAPIC
Infection Prevention Expert Consultant
Angela Vassallo is a nationally recognized expert in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology. She is CEO and Co-Founder of The Safe Set, which is a team of epidemiologists, doctors, and television/film producers who provide guidance in bringing productions safely back to work. She is also Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Advisor of COVID SMART, the first Infection Prevention online education program for the general public. She is also Associate Faculty at West Coast University.
Angela 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 nursing homes in California and Arizona with HSAG.
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 enjoys mentoring future Infection Prevention leaders and 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 the Infection Prevention Advisor for Beckton Dickson (BD), a Strategic Advisor for Venture Intellect Associates (VIA) and on the Board of Directors of Infectious Disease Association of California (IDAC). She was nominated Healthcare Manager of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2014. She speaks French, Spanish, and Italian.