Frontline Connections: Strengthening Our Resilience

In honor of May’s National Nurses Week, EMS Week, Hospital Week, and more, Transmission Interrupted celebrates the frontline professionals who stand at the crossroads of care, safety, and preparedness.

In this special episode, host Jill Morgan is joined by a panel of experts from across the country: Tristan Twohig, an emergency department nurse from Spokane, Washington; Caroline Persson, who co-leads the NETEC IPC and BCU leadership workgroups and joins from Denver Health; and Stefanie Lane, co-leader of the NETEC Regional Coordination workgroup from Mass General in Boston.

Together, they unpack the real-world challenges facing frontline healthcare providers—the moments when communication breaks down between EMS and hospital teams, the risks of missed or unclear handoffs, and the persistent gaps in infection prevention. The panel shares stories from the field, discusses the importance of the “identify, isolate, inform” model, and explores strategies for strengthening resilience and teamwork across emergency settings.

Whether you’re a healthcare worker, a leader, or simply curious about how our health systems come together in high-risk scenarios, this episode amplifies the voices of those who make healthcare resilient from the ground up.

Questions or comments for NETEC? Contact us at info@netec.org.

Visit Transmission Interrupted on the web at netec.org/podcast.

Guests

Stefanie Lane, MS, MPH, NREMT  

Biothreats Program Manager, Center for Disaster Medicine  

Massachusetts General Hospital

Stefanie Lane serves as a Biothreats Program Manager within the MGH Center for Disaster Medicine. In this role, she ensures operational readiness of the special pathogens program, spearheads the development of novel educational modalities (including XR/VR) for high-risk low frequency events, and serves as a SME/liaison between the EMS and healthcare facilities. Stefanie has an extensive background in education and has designed and facilitated a wide variety of training courses. She has eighteen years of experience as an Emergency Medical Technician, where she has served as a training coordinator and board member for ambulance services in Vermont. Stefanie completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Vermont, and holds Masters degrees in Environmental Science & Policy from Johns Hopkins University and Public Health from Harvard University. 

Caroline Croyle Persson, MPH, MPA, CIC , PMP, FAPIC 

Program Director, Denver Health  

Caroline Croyle Persson is the Program Director for Disaster Health at Denver Health & Hospital Authority. Her work focuses on healthcare emergency management, coordination and collaboration, and capacity building to enhance healthcare preparedness and response efforts. Ms. Persson also serves as an agency representative (AREP) for NDMS IMT. Prior to her current role, Mrs. Persson worked in infection prevention and control with a focus on influenza, emergency management, high risk pathogens, program and policy management, hand hygiene, and regulatory compliance. She has worked on various public health projects prior to arriving at Denver Health spanning malaria prevention, community health worker sustainment, emergency management, and HIV/AIDs mobile health application acceptance. Mrs. Persson has an MPH from Columbia University with a certificate in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, an MPA from the University of Colorado Denver, and is a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. 

Tristan Twohig, RN, CEN

Emergency Department RN

Providence Holy Family Hospital, Spokane, WA 

Tristan is a member of the Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital, the Region 10 RESPTC. He is also the chair of the ED’s Unit Based Council.

Host

Jill Morgan, RN

Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA

Jill Morgan is a registered nurse and a subject matter expert in personal protective equipment (PPE) for NETEC. For 35 years, Jill has been an emergency department and critical care nurse, and now splits her time between education for NETEC and clinical research, most of it centering around infection prevention and personal protective equipment. She is a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), ASTM International, and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

Resources

• NETEC: https://netec.org
• NETEC Resource Library: https://repository.netecweb.org
• Transmission Interrupted: https://netec.org/podcast/

About NETEC

A Partnership for Preparedness

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center’s mission is to set the gold standard for special pathogen preparedness and response across health systems in the U.S. with the goals of driving best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources.

Our vision is a sustainable infrastructure and culture of readiness for managing suspected and confirmed special pathogen incidents across the United States public health and health care delivery systems.

For more information visit NETEC on the web at www.netec.org.

NETEC Consultation Services

Assess and Advance Your Readiness for Special Pathogens with Free, Expert Consulting.

NETEC offers free virtual and onsite readiness consulting to help health care facilities and EMS agencies prepare for special pathogen events. Our targeted support services are delivered by experts selected and assigned to each inquiry based on the unique needs of your organization. Have a question? Ask a NETEC expert.

For more information visit: netec.org/consulting-services.