Thank you to the healthcare providers who contributed to this program! 

Dr. Amy Acton

Former Director, Ohio Department of Health

Dr. Amy Acton served as Director of the Department of Health for the State of Ohio at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She not only became the top health adviser to Gov. Mike DeWine, but also the voice of calm and courage as she combined scientific facts with an empathetic nature to guide the people of Ohio during an unprecedented crisis.  Dr. Acton is a licensed physician in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, whose previous positions include:  Assistant Professor-Practice at The Ohio State University College of Public Health, Visiting Faculty Professor at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Adjunct Professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, and Director of Project L.O.V.E. (Love Our Kids, Vaccinate Early). 

Dr. Acton attended medical school at Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine. She completed her internship in pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, and Children's Hospital, and completed her residency in preventive medicine at The Ohio State University. She holds a master's degree in Public Health from The Ohio State University.

MEMORIAL HEALTH

  Jolene Headings

Jolene has dedicated over 33 years to the nursing field, serving nearly 30 of them at Memorial Hospital in Marysville, Ohio. Her experience includes assignments in Cardiac Care, ICU, Labor & Delivery, with the last 28 years in the Memorial Hospital Emergency Department. 

"As I mark 30 years at Memorial, I feel quite blessed to work with an amazing team of co-workers at a wonderful organization. There have been numerous experiences, a ton of learning opportunities, and many advancements. Nursing has certainly been my life's calling but I am looking forward to retirement later this year!"

 Crystal Cleland

Crystal is a Registered Respiratory Therapist with over 18 years of experience in the field and over three years at Memorial Hospital in Marysville, Ohio. Crystal has worked in various units throughout the hospital, from NICU, ICU, and CVICU, to Critical Care and the Emergency Department. She completed her college education in her thirties, and she is a shining example of fulfilling lifelong dreams and aspirations.

"I have a deep compassion for those we care for, and I feel very blessed to be doing exactly what I love. I strive to let the needs of my patients be the primary motivation in everything I do - from offering reassurance and respiratory education to holding the hand of a patient during an emergent situation. I care for my patients as I would want to be cared."

MOUNT CARMEL HEALTH SYSTEM

Dr. Mark Herbert, Infectious Disease Specialist 
 

 Mary Jo Dickinson

Mary Jo is an experienced leader with over 25 years in management. She has been with Mount Carmel Health System for 15 years and has played a vital role in expanding programs that serve both pregnant and post-partum moms. Mary Jo currently serves as Director of Operations of Community Health & Wellbeing for Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio where she oversees daily operations for all programs within the Community Health & Well-Being departments.

  Stacey Conrad

Stacey started with Mount Carmel Health System in 2015 and joined the Healthy Living Center team in June 2018. She received her Master of Public Health degree from The Ohio State University and her BA in Business Administration from Otterbein University. Prior to her time with Mount Carmel, Stacey spent 18 years with the Ohio Hospital Association, during which she oversaw the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the Association's public health promotion programs.

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

  Dr. Mike Patrick

Emergency medicine physician at Nationwide Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He serves as Medical Director of Digital Health for Nationwide Children's and hosts two podcasts for the hospital: the award-winning PediaCast for parents? and PediaCast CME for healthcare providers. He began his journey in social media and podcasting in 2006 as a means to promote health literacy and advocate for children and families in his primary care practice. Since then, millions of listeners in all 50 U.S. states and over 100 countries have tuned-in to his weekly podcasts for pediatric news, answers to listener questions, interviews with pediatric and parenting experts and free Category 1 CME Credit. In addition to podcasting, Dr. Mike promotes health and wellness on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He appears weekly on local CBS affiliate 10TV and has contributed to several digital and print publications, including the 700 Children's Blog, KevinMD, Parents Magazine, Working Mother and Reader's Digest. He is a Spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and serves on the Executive Committee of the AAP's Council on Communications and Media. Most recently, Dr. Mike developed and directs an academic healthcare communications curriculum and co-authored the textbook, Social Media for Medical Professionals. These endeavors equip students, residents and his colleagues with skills needed to engage the public in an efficient, effective and professional manner.

  Beth Rodriguez  

I've been a nurse for the last four years and can't imagine a career doing anything else! Prior to COVID-19, I spent my shifts at NCH working with patients diagnosed with mental and/or behavioral health issues. When the pandemic hit, I knew I wanted to help in any way possible. This last year has been scary for a lot of patients and families and I've been fortunate to be able to help assist the community through such trying times. When I'm not working, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my family, especially my two very silly nephews!

Kelly Kranz 

RN, BSN, MS, NEA-BC

Director Clinical Communications 

OHIOHEALTH

  Dr. Joseph Gastaldo

OhioHealth System Medical Director, Infectious Diseases, has been at the helm of COVID-19 vaccine education for our associates and the community.  Dr. Gastaldo has been practicing medicine for over 20 years, attending Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for his internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship.  Joining OhioHealth in 2002, Dr. Gastaldo held many leadership positions including Medical Director of Quality and Safety at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, Chairperson of the Infectious Disease Clinical Guidance Council, Physician Advisor to OhioHealth Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee and more.

  Lisa Bordner

Infection Prevention Practitioner at OhioHealth. With a background in community health education, Lisa has maintained her career focus in the healthcare setting with the last 4 years dedicated to Infection Prevention. Lisa supports the OhioHealth team's mission to implement infection prevention best practices and providing innovative partnership collaboration while also maintaining a vision to protect patients, healthcare workers and the community by eliminating infections.

 Jo Henman

OhioHealth Director of Infection Prevention. With a background in clinical microbiology and over 25 years of experience in Infection Prevention, Jo has dedicated her career to preventing infections by educating healthcare workers, mentoring new infection prevention practitioners and championing the field of infection prevention.

 Trever Thompson 

OhioHealth Infection Prevention Practitioner. My healthcare background started in 2010 and includes nursing experience on a cardiac stepdown unit, Endoscopy, Orthopedic OR, and Administrative Nurse Manager of OR at OhioHealth Shelby Hospital. I joined the infection prevention team in 2017.

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER

 Eugene Oltz, PhD, Chair, School Biomedical Sciences Microbial Infection and Immunity 

Gene's research has focused on how specific genes are turned on or off by the many cell types that compose our immune system. During the past year, he became involved in many aspects of Ohio State's response to the COVID pandemic, especially testing for the virus and antibodies. This led to the creation of our Center to STOP-COVID, which cross-cuts numerous colleges at OSU and is supported by a large grant from the National Cancer Institute. The Center leads a study of COVID transmission and protection in Columbus area first responders and their household contacts. Gene and his wife Lisa, who is in the music business, look forward to traveling and spending time with family and friends, once it is again safe to do so.

 Daniel J. Bachmann, MD, FACEP

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director for Disaster Preparedness at The OSU Wexner Medical Center.  With prior service as a military physician in the US Navy, Dr. Bachmann has dedicated his efforts outside the OSU Emergency Department to emergency preparedness and disaster response. He is actively involved with multiple facets of disaster medicine including administration and leadership of the OSUWMC Emergency Preparedness Committee, providing multidisciplinary education to a variety of different learner groups, and academic scholarship with multiple publications and invited lectures in this field. He serves on several local and regional advisory boards aimed at improving community preparedness and he also provides operational service at the national level as a member of Ohio Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search & Rescue team. He loves the outdoors and prefers to be there with his wife and three children.

 Erin Farrell, MSN, RN, NEA-BC

Currently serving as the Director of Nursing for Emergency Services at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. In her current role, she oversees all operational leadership aspects of the University Hospital Emergency Department and Wexner Medical Center's, Center for EMS. Erin joined Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in 2013, as an Emergency Department Nurse Manager before progressing to the Director role. Erin moved to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center after holding progressive leadership roles in the community hospital setting in both Montana and Indiana.

Erin has provided leadership for both community and academic Emergency Departments. Beyond her clinical knowledge, Erin has extensive experience in budgeting and fiscal stewardship, professional development, team-building, leading through transition and change, quality improvement, and strategic planning. These skills and others are leveraged daily in her leadership and multidisciplinary collaborations.  

Erin obtained her MSN in Health Systems Leadership from Gonzaga University and is also Board Certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced.