Planning Committee

Kelly Baloun graduated from South Dakota State in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She has worked in a variety of settings until landing in Faulkton in 2012. She began her current role as the Director of Quality in 2014, which includes Infection Control, Employee Health and Antibiotic Stewardship. She is dedicated to expanding her knowledge of Infection Control and applying them to Faulkton Area Medical Center which is a small critical access, independent hospital and clinic.

Leah works as an Infection Preventionist for the South Dakota Department of Health with the CDC Foundation. She is also a critical care nurse, with over ten years of experience both in pediatric and adult populations, and prior experience with diabetes research. She has spent time in Nepal and Honduras working with local and international health professionals, providing health screenings, as well as post cardiac surgery care in underserved areas. Her diverse interests include integration of her nursing experience with global health and prevention programs, infection control promotion and education, and advocating for health equity. As a public health graduate, and registered nurse, she understands and supports the need for communities and cultures to collaborate resources, and share knowledge in order to create healthier and happier societies.

Brady Carda is an Infection Preventionist and Employee Health Nurse with Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Brady has over 15 years’ experience as a Registered Nurse in a variety of acute and ambulatory settings. He has 2 years experience as an Infection Preventionist and Employee Health Nurse. Brady received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from South Dakota State University in 2005. He has served on the South Dakota Infection Control Council for 2 years.

Tanya Cuppy is a registered nurse with a Master’s Degree in Nursing Leadership with more than 28 years of healthcare experiences. She has held a wide variety of roles in different healthcare settings, most recently in orthopedic surgery at an ASC for eleven years where she developed her skills in perioperative services, including instrument reprocessing and sterilization. Her experience in various healthcare settings has equipped her with knowledge and proficiencies she has been able to apply to her work in Infection Prevention, most recently accepting a role of increased responsibility as the manager of Infection Prevention at Sanford USD Medical Center (SMC) and Clinics. She provides Infection Prevention program oversight at SMC, clinics and Critical Access Hospital’s throughout the Sanford Health south region network, which includes all of South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. Tanya has been in Infection Prevention for nearly five years and certified infection control, stepping in to her current leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is an APIC member and also joined the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) workgroup to aid in development of nationally recognized standards. Tanya has been instrumental in aligning the strategy and goals of the infection prevention program with Sanford Health’s journey towards high reliability and zero patient harm.

Whitney Lutkemeier has been the Laboratory Biosafety Official and State Training Coordinator at the South Dakota Public Health Laboratory since 2015. Her responsibilities in those roles have included performing risk assessments, laboratory safety assessments, implementing mitigation activities, and coordinating training opportunities for sentinel laboratories and public health laboratory staff. In 2018, Whitney took on the role of Special Pathogens Coordinator. In this position, she is responsible for all Biological Laboratory Response Network activities including select agent testing for infectious diseases such as Anthrax and Ebola and response to potential bioterrorism events.

Tiffany is the Director of Infection Prevention for Avera Health and has over 20 years of experience in Infection Prevention with knowledge of public health, infectious disease, immunizations, surveillance, and risk reduction counseling. In her current role, Tiffany supports Avera facilities with their accreditation surveys, infection prevention programs, surveillance, policies, and more. Tiffany holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing and Biology from the University of Sioux Falls and is certified in Infection Control.

Susan Smith, RN has worked at the Marshall County Healthcare Center in Britton, SD for the last 20 years. She has been the Infection Prevention Nurse since 2014. Susan got her start as a Veterinary Technician and a Laboratory Technician and in the early 90’s worked at both a veterinary hospital in Oakes ND and the Oakes Community Hospital. Her love of microbiology sparked her interest in becoming active in infection prevention.

Nick has been with Avera since 2012 and currently serves as an Infection Prevention RN Specialist where he focuses on infection prevention in Avera’s LTC facilities. He also assists to consult with acute and ambulatory services on their infection prevention practices. He has extensive experience in Long Term Care leadership that includes infection prevention, survey readiness, and quality assurance/performance improvement. Nick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Augustana College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Sioux Falls and is a Quality Certified Professional through AADNS. He is certified in infection control through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Kristal graduated from Mount Marty College in December of 2005 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. After graduation she began working at the Human Services Center primarily with adolescents until October 2012 at which time she switched career paths. Since October of 2012 Kristal has been with the Yankton Medical Clinic P. C. working internal medicine for 5 years before taking on her current role as the Occupational Medicine and Infection Control Coordinator for the clinic.