Conference Presenters

Billie Bartel, PharmD, BCCCP is a clinical pharmacist at Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center in Aberdeen, SD where she is involved in the implementation and enhancement of clinical pharmacy activities including antimicrobial stewardship, pharmacokinetic services, and anticoagulation management. Billie also serves as a preceptor for pharmacy students. She has received recognition as a South Dakota Pharmacy Association Distinguished Young Pharmacist and SDSU College of Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year award winner. Billie is a graduate of South Dakota State University and completed a post-graduate PGY1 pharmacy residency and PGY2 critical care residency.

Josh Clayton serves as the State Epidemiologist at the South Dakota Department of Health (SD-DOH).  He received his MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan and completed a fellowship with CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, assigned to the Tennessee Department of Health.  He worked previously as the Deputy State Epidemiologist and Director of the Epi Resource Center with the Indiana State Department of Health.  He joined SD-DOH in November 2017 and focuses on informatics for data analytics and visualization, data governance, and infectious disease epidemiology, surveillance, and response.

Heidi Durband has been a nurse for 23 years all in the acute care setting. She has worked in various positions such as Med/Surg, PACU, Preop/PACU Clinical Educator, and in accreditation with an emphasis in CMS and TJC regulations for a large hospital. She also serves as an adjunct clinical nursing instructor for Southeast Technical College and University of South Dakota. She received her undergraduate degree from USD and a master’s degree in nursing at the University of Phoenix. Currently, she works as the Acute Care Advisor for the SD Department of Health Office of Licensure and Accreditation.

She lives in Hartford, SD. She has been married for 21 years and havs two daughters. Her oldest daughter is 19 and is a sophomore at USD studying criminal justice and her youngest daughter is 16 and a sophomore in high school.

Gail Fraine is the System Director of Infection Prevention for Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville, TN. For over 30 years, Gail has led efforts to prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections in a variety of settings using evidence-based guidelines, standardization of practices, and principles of high reliability and patient safety.

Gail is a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology where she served in various roles.  At the national level, she was an APIC Board of Director, chair and co-chair of the Annual Conference Committee, and other various national committees.  She is an active member of the Middle Tennessee APIC Chapter. 

For the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Gail is a board director and served on the first test development committee for the long-term care certification and on the CBIC Recertification Form Review Committee.  She serves on the task force for the development of the Advanced Leadership Certification in Infection Prevention. 

In 2021, Gail received the Patient Safety Leadership Award from the Tennessee Hospital Association for her work related to infection prevention and patient safety.  For Ascension Health, she was the Co-Chair of the Infection Prevention Committee and represented Infection Prevention in a variety of leadership positions related to healthcare associated infections, supply chain, technology, emergency preparedness and associate safety. 

She received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Arkansas State University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Belmont University, and a Master of Management for Health Care from Vanderbilt University.  Gail is board certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) and long-term care.

Gail enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as travel, music, and hiking.

Heather Gilmartin, PhD, NP, CIC, FAPIC is a research health scientist at the Denver/Seattle Center of Innovation at the Rocky Mountain Regional Veteran Health Administration Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. Her research centers on optimizing healthcare culture for employee engagement and patient safety. She is an associate professor at the University of Colorado, School of Public Health and associate director of dissemination and implementation at the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

Dr. Gilmartin is a long-term member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and is the Infographic Editor for the American Journal of Infection Control. In 2023, she was honored as the APIC Distinguished Scientist. 

Darwin Larson has been a regional manager at Spartan Chemical for 31 years. He is an ICE, Certified Disinfectant Specialist. 

Dr. Kelsey Murray is founder and CEO of Evergreen Aquafarms.  She received her A.S. in Respiratory Care from Dakota State University, B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota, and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  From 2018-2024, Dr. Murray served as the Program Director for the Environmental Engineering, Controlled Environment Agriculture, and Pharmacy Technology Programs at Western Dakota Technical College. Dr. Murray’s career has been devoted to establishing connections between the environment and human health, with research emphases on pathogenic and antibiotic resistance potential of microbes in surface and wastewater environments as well as developing sustainable agriculture technologies. 

Stephen is a Lieutenant Commander and nurse epidemiologist in the U.S Public Health Service and is the Lead for the Priority Populations Team in the Health Systems, Strengthening, Resilience and Training Branch within the Division of Health Care Quality Promotion at the CDC. In this role he guides the strategy for collaboration and strengthening infection prevention programs Indian Health Service facilities, U.S. Affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions, and rural healthcare systems.  His team is also responsible for developing implementation guidance for environmental infection prevention and control practices and supporting environmental service workers.  He previously served as an epidemiologist in the Division of HIV Prevention where he provided leadership and technical assistance  for detecting and responding to HIV clusters and outbreaks. Prior to this work he was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the New Jersey Department of Health. He has held various positions in support of CDC’s COVID-19 and mpox responses, including serving as the clinical lead for the COVID-19 Vaccinate with Confidence Team and supporting the mpox policy and partnerships team. Prior to coming to CDC Stephen worked as a nurse and nurse practitioner in a variety of settings and roles including as an infection preventionist at a large academic medical center in Philadelphia, and as nurse practitioner providing care and treatment to persons living with HIV/AIDS and as a quality improvement consultant for Ryan White HIV programs.  He completed his nurse practitioner training at the University of California, San Francisco and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing where he studied the impact of public reporting laws on hospital onset MRSA bacteremia and C. difficile.

Shelly Walstead is a registered nurse with experience in acute, long-term care, and telehealth. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City.

Shelly has been with the SD Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification, since 2015 as a Health Facility Surveyor. She joined the complaint department in 2018 and served as the complaint department advisor from November 2021 to February 2024. In February 2024, she became the Public Health Advisor for assisted living centers, community living homes, residential living, and adult foster care.

Diana is a registered nurse with 40 plus years in multiple healthcare settings as a charge nurse, manager, staff educator, director of nursing and has a comfortable familiarity with regulation.

In 2008, she returned to the South Dakota Department of Health Office of Licensure and Certification as a Public Health Advisor for the long term care community.    

Tiffany Wiksten, DNP, RN, CIC, is currently an Associate Director in the Standards Interpretation Group in the Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations (ACO) at The Joint Commission and is an Infection Control Subject Matter Expert. In this role, Dr. Wiksten is responsible for working closely with accredited and certified organizations to interpret The Joint Commission standards, identify vulnerabilities, and improve their performance. She also responds to inquiries from accredited organizations and the public related to compliance with Joint Commission standards. Dr. Wiksten reviews post-survey reports, clarifications, measures of success, and evidence of standards compliance submitted as part of the survey process. She provides leadership and guidance within the team in all aspects of the accreditation process through clinical expertise in infection prevention and control. She also supports customer relationship management and the field representative cadre as well as other customers through the provision of expert interpretation, guidance, and collaboration.

Dr. Wiksten has worked as an Infection Preventionist for over 10 years. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, she was the Manager of Infection Prevention at a major metropolitan medical center. She has led infection prevention programs and efforts in a variety of health care settings, including large academic medical centers, community hospitals and ambulatory settings.

Dr. Wiksten received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in Population-based Infection Control and Environmental Safety. She received a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in Transformational Leadership. She holds a green belt in Lean Six Sigma and is Certified in Infection Control (CIC).