Planning Committee

With a vast background in healthcare leadership and clinical care, sharing knowledge and expertise in the areas of infection prevention, respiratory care and project management are a passion that drives successful and energized day-to-day work. Innovative and fresh ideas to foster opportunities for new growth and learning lend to the efforts that are brought to South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care (SDFMC) projects Jess interacts with. 

As a program director at SDFMC, Jess offers guidance and oversight to numerous projects. The opportunity to help SDFMC teams drive their projects to positive and successful outcomes is a rewarding piece of her work. Additionally, helping healthcare and long-term care facilities to drive positive outcomes in areas of infection prevention and control tap into an area of knowledge that Jess enjoys providing education and information sharing on. This can be seen in the recent chapter published in the APIC Text that Jess co-authored for Respiratory Care Services. 

Jess obtained a Master of Administrations with both a Healthcare and Long-term Care specialization from the University of South Dakota in 2021. She also holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies and an AS in Respiratory Care from Dakota State University. Jess earned a Certification in Infection Prevention for the Long-Term Care setting in 2022.

A lifelong learner, Rebecca Sime is passionate about learning and education and feels they are key to continual improvement.

After graduating from the University of South Dakota and obtaining her RN licensure, she quickly went to work learning, gaining knowledge and developing expertise in long term care, critical access hospitals, the emergency department, dialysis, the operating room, and sterile processing.  

While serving on the frontlines during the worldwide pandemic she became passionate about the need to get infection prevention and control education into the forefront of healthcare systems. She is a Program Manager with the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care. She has earned her LTC-CIP professional certification from CBIC. She currently serves as the Team Lead for South Dakota’s nationally recognized Project Firstline program, where she shares her passion with other members of the frontline by providing training and education throughout the state.