Ashley Shackleford, infection control professional

COVID-19 brought the importance of proper infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures to another level as policies changed through the different stages of the pandemic. Ashley is a reliable, pro-active and supportive team member who is passionate about this topic.

Ashley has been the ultimate professional in her interactions with others, whether in an outbreak setting or in response to a code event at the many sites that she is responsible for. She is open and supportive in assisting others, skilled at bringing forward information in a professional manner, and extremely capable of sharing proper techniques and best practices with staff and others within Covenant Health.

When a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at St. Joseph’s Home on a Friday, Ashley cancelled her plans for the day and arrived at St. Joseph's Home a couple of hours after the outbreak announcement. Ashley was a tremendous support for leadership and staff. She provided guidance and training, and her calm nature and response gave confidence to staff and relieved anxieties related to the situation.

Ashley is diligent in getting all the facts and providing direction to those who rely on her input. During outbreak meetings and debriefs, Ashley offered information to ensure best practices were being followed. She offers solutions to ensure staff and patient safety during the situation and reviews learnings to ensure in future outbreaks the same things do not happen. In cases where Ashley led the debrief meetings, she was able to make people feel comfortable about speaking up about any concerns they noticed throughout the outbreaks. Ashley fosters a transparent and safe, welcoming environment.