Frontline Stories: Infection Preventionists and Clinicians Working Together Against Infections and Sepsis

Ruth Carrico, PhD, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CIC, FSHEA, FNAP, FAAN, is a senior consultant with Carrico & Ramirez, PLLC focused on infectious diseases, infection prevention and control, and vaccinology. She is also a Family Nurse Practitioner based in Louisville, Kentucky.  In addition, Dr. Carrico is a Professor, adjunct faculty, with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Carrico has received training specific for healthcare epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

Dr. Carrico has worked in the field of infectious diseases and infection control for more than thirty years. Her work in infection control began in 1994 when she assumed the position as Director of the Infection Control department at the University of Louisville Hospital. She quickly recognized this as an area of intense interest and began active collaboration, seeking mentoring from national and international experts. From 2005-2012, she served as Editor for the APIC Text of Infection Control and Epidemiology, was appointed to the National Biosurveillance Subcommittee (NBS) Advisory Committee to the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 2010 became a SHEA Fellow. In 2011, Dr. Carrico was appointed by Secretary Sebelius (Health and Human Services), to the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). In 2012, she was presented with the Carole DeMille Achievement Award by APIC, an honor for an Infection Preventionist. In 2013, Dr. Carrico began serving the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases as the Board’s Nurse Planner and in 2014 became a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow alumna.

Dr. Carrico served as the 2016 President of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (CBIC). In 2018, Dr. Carrico assumed the position of President of the Kentucky Nurses Association and in 2020 was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice. In October 2021, Dr. Carrico was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the highest honor in the nursing profession. Also in October 2021, Dr. Carrico assumed the role of Executive Director, then Senior Scientific Officer of the Norton Infectious Diseases Institute (NIDI) at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky, where she supported the scientific and educational activities of the four Centers (Clinical Research, Education & Training, Global Health, Public Health) within the Institute until early 2023. During that time, she also led the CDC-funded Kentucky Infection Prevention (KYIP) Training Center, a broad educational program for infection preventionists and partners across the healthcare continuum. Following successful launch of the NIDI Centers and the KYIP Training Center, in 2023 Dr. Carrico moved to work as a full-time consultant with healthcare organizations, public health workers, providers, and industry partners sharing interests in addressing the challenges of infectious diseases prevention. Dr. Carrico serves on numerous advisory boards focused on vaccines and improving vaccination rates.  She continues to conceptualize and implement novel immunization approaches including training and competence development for healthcare providers and healthcare workers, including an educational website supporting vaccination and international travel health (TH101.com). Dr. Carrico provides consultation and service as Medical Affairs lead for VaxCare, LLC [Orlando] and maintains a clinical practice focused on vaccines, vaccination, and immunization processes (Trifecta Medical Group, Louisville, KY).

Dr. Hudson Garrett is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Infection Prevention and Infection Control from the University of South Florida. He has completed the Johns Hopkins Fellows Program in Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control. He is a Fellow, the American Academy of Project Management, and a Senior Fellow and Ambassador of the Management and Strategy Institute. In 2019, he was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow and Practitioner in the National Academies of Practices. Dr. Garrett was recently selected as 1 of 20 healthcare leaders globally to participate in the 2021 13-month Global Patient Safety Fellowship with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and is a graduate of the IHI Patient Safety Executive Development Program. Dr. Garrett has been awarded the Fellowship Designation by both the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He holds graduate certificates in healthcare leadership from both Cornell and the University of Notre Dame. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Royal Society of Public Health, the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and the American College of the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals. He serves as the lead faculty member for the Medical Device Safety, Infection Control Specialist, and Advanced Medical Device Safety and Risk Management Certificate Programs for the AHVAP Certification Center.

He is a frequent international lecturer in the areas of infectious diseases, healthcare-associated infections, outbreak response and prevention, vascular access, patient safety, healthcare quality and risk management, medical device-related infections and outbreaks, endoscope safety, and infection prevention and control. He holds Board Certifications in Patient Safety, Healthcare Quality, Healthcare Risk Management, Legal Nurse Consulting, Medical and Clinical Affairs, Patient Experience, Vascular Access, Antibiotic Stewardship, Infection Control, Long-Term Care Infection Control, Dental Infection Control, Designated Infection Control Officer, Flexible Endoscope Reprocessing, Critical Care Fundamentals, Ambulatory Infection Prevention, Healthcare Value Analysis, and in Healthcare Management.

He has served on international and national organizational boards in the areas of healthcare environmental services, dental infection control, infection control, acute care infection control, post-acute care infection control, healthcare value analysis, infusion nursing, and vascular access. He has served on expert panels related to disinfection and sterilization with the United States Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, most notably serving on the FDA’s Panel and Working Group for Flexible Endoscope Reprocessing. Dr. Garrett led and completed the first FDA 522 Study on Duodenoscopes evaluating human factors elements of instructions for use and microbiological contamination of flexible duodenoscopes. He presented these results to the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other clinical partner organizations globally. He is a member of the Network of Experts for the US Food and Drug Administration. He currently is the Chairperson for the new national Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses Infection Prevention National Task Force and serves as a member of the National Guidelines Advisory Board for AORN. Dr. Garrett has lectured around the world and provided testimony to government and regulatory agencies on a variety of topics related to infectious diseases and infection prevention and control.