Educational Ideals

NICN emphasizes the prevention and control of infectious diseases through educational programs offered to healthcare workers. Education has focused on:

  • Educational Conferences: Conferences are sponsored at sites throughout the state from Omaha to Scottsbluff. Over 6,000 participants have attended conferences with outstanding evaluations. NICN attempts to meet the educational needs of infection preventionists (IPs) and healthcare workers throughout the state.

  • Primary Infection Prevention Course: This intensive, two-day course is held annually and includes acute care and long term care tracks. Over 4,000 individuals have attended these courses since the beginning of the NICN. This course offers an additional certificate process for long term care IPs.

  • Intermediate Infection Prevention Course: This course offers more advanced information regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) concepts and is offered as needed.

Dr. Phillip Smith Distinguished Service Award Recipients

This honor is awarded annually to those who have exhibited exceptional service in infection prevention. The award was renamed in 2025 to honor the contributions of NICN Founder, Phillip Smith, MD.

Recipients of this award include:

  • 2025: Sarah Stream; Nebraska ICAP

  • 2024: Mark Rupp; Nebraska Medicine

  • 2023: M. Salman Ashraf; Nebraska ICAP

  • 2022: Bryan Alexander, Lisa Brand, Heather Jensen, Dan German, Jason North, Daniel Schroeder, Brandon Scott, Mounica Soma, and Andrew Watkins; Contributors to the NE Statewide COVID-19 Therapeutics Program

  • 2021: Margaret Drake; Ne DHHS

  • 2020: Maureen Tierney; Creighton University

  • 2019: Tammi Schaffert; Douglas County Health Center

  • 2018: Kate Tyner; Nebraska ICAP

  • 2017: Peg Gilbert; Quality IC, LLC

  • 2016: Gerri Means, Laura Hoogestraat, and Karen Spenner; Dodge County Memorial Hospital, Faith Regional Medical Center, and St. Francis Memorial Hospital

  • 2015: Shelly Schwedhelm, Shawn Gibbs, John Lowe, Beth Beam, Angela Hewlett, Kate Boulter, and Chris Kratochvil; Nebraska Medicine

  • 2014: Tom Sofranek, and Janet Riese; Nebraska DHHS, and Marry Lanning

  • 2013: Kristi Felix, Larry Krebsbach, and Lori Snyder-Sloan; Madonna, Bryan Health, and St. Elizabeth

  • 2012: Pat Infield, and Howard Grendelman; Nebraska DHHS, and University of Nebraska Medical Center

  • 2011:Steve Hinrichs, Pete Iwen, and Tony Sambol; University of Nebraska Medical Center

  • 2010: Marsha Meyer, and Chris Mason; Scottsbluff Clarkson College

  • 2009:Sue Swindells; University of Nebraska Medical Center

  • 2008: Adi Pour, and Carol Allensworth; Douglas County Health Department

  • 2007: Phyllis Dutton, and Pat Lenaghan; Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System (OMMRS) Bioterrorism Unit

  • 2006: Judi Dunn, and Mary Arends; Clarkson College, and Nebraska DHHS

  • 2005: Connie Wagner, Richard Morin, Peg Lubbert, and Chris Newton; Nebraska Healthcare Association (NHA), Bryan LGH, Alegent Health, and Nebraska DHHS

  • 2004: Jose Romero; Creighton Hospital

  • 2003: Sharon Meeker-Medcalf; Nebraska Medical Center

  • 2002:Richard Raymond; Nebraska DHHS

  • 2001:Amy Longo; Attorney

  • 2000: Eugene Sanders, Christine Sanders, and John Weston; Creighton Hospital, and Nebraska DHHS

  • 1999: Dorothy Sonksen; Burgess Hospital

  • 1998: Jane Roccafort; Clarkson Hospital

  • 1997: Ted Schultz; Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA)

  • 1996: Lorraine Zoucha, and LaVonne Gingrich; Columbus Community Hospital, and Hastings Hospital

  • 1995: Virginia Helget; Clarkson Hospital

  • 1994: Peggy Crist; Jennie Edmundson Hospital

  • 1993: Linda Horning; Clarkson Hospital

  • 1992: Delight Wreed; Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA)

  • 1991: Pam Daly

  • 1990: Harlan Heald: Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA)

  • 1989: Marietta Henry; Clarkson Microbiology Department

  • 1988: Sue Miller; Clarkson Hospital

  • 1987: Pat Rusnak; Clarkson Hospital

  • 1986: Harry McFadden; UNMC Microbiology Department

  • 1985: Paul Stoesz; Nebraska DHHS

Photo Gallery: 1980-Present

Photo from the first NICN Conference

Clarkson Hospital, 1980; Left to right: Pat Rusnak, Sue Miller, Phil Smith, and Linda Horning 

Four women and one man dressed in formal clothing, standing together at an indoor event, with some wearing ribbons or badges.

About the Nebraska Infection Control Network (NICN)

History

The Nebraska Infection Control Network (NICN) was founded in 1980 by Phillip W. Smith, MD. Dr. Smith’s mission was to improve the quality of healthcare in Nebraska healthcare facilities through the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

The NICN uniquely combines the volunteer efforts of key agencies to accomplish these goals:

  • Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NE DHHS)

  • Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA)

  • Nebraska Healthcare Association (NHCA)

  • APIC Nebraska

  • Nebraska Infectious Disease Society

  • Academic medical centers

  • Other interested parties

In November 1988, the NICN received a National Health Promotion Award from Dr. Otis Bowen, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in recognition of outstanding community health promotion activities.

The organization was one of the first to measure educational outcomes for its training programs and received a 3 year federal grant in the 1990s to help California and Pennsylvania build similar programs.

The NICN provides information and resources through its website and district representatives, who provide regional support to healthcare workers throughout Nebraska. The NICN also supports research through various infection control projects.

About the Founder: Phillip Smith, MD

Dr. Smith was known as the father of biopreparedness in Nebraska, was the state’s first hospital epidemiologist, and served as President of NICN from 1980-2016. He has left a lasting legacy as the man whose foresight and leadership helped place UNMC and Nebraska Medicine at the forefront in the global fight against high-consequence infectious diseases. He was a pioneer and innovator in his field and the impact of his contributions to infection control and biopreparedness live on.

A middle-aged man in a gray suit and patterned tie, standing indoors in front of a window with greenery outside.
A nurse administering a tetanus vaccination to a woman in medical uniform. The woman is seated with her sleeve rolled up, while the nurse is focused on giving the shot. There is a height measurement chart on the wall behind them.
Three men in suits seated at a round table set for a meal, with a vintage horse-drawn carriage displayed behind them in a museum setting.
Four women and one man standing together, with the woman second from the right holding an award plaque that reads 'The National Junior Honor Society Award, 1994, Outstanding Service Award.' They are dressed in business attire, smiling, in front of a
Black and white photograph of Pat Rusnak, a nurse, and Philip W. Smith, a doctor, sitting at a table reviewing published statistics on nosocomial infections, with papers and folders spread in front of them.
Three people standing inside a building, all smiling and holding drinks. The woman on the left is wearing a blue patterned blouse and glasses, with a name tag that says Janet Riese. The man in the middle is dressed in a suit with a red tie and has a
A group of seven women in white lab coats gathered around a woman holding a piece of lab equipment, discussing bacteria growth. They are in a laboratory setting, likely a microbiology or medical research facility.
Three women in a medical setting, two dressed in patient gowns, and one in a blazer, standing around a medical instrument with a wall-mounted blood pressure monitor in the background.
A group of five women and one man dressed in formal attire, posing together outdoors at night, smiling for the camera.
Group of six people sitting around a conference table in a meeting room, with papers, folders, cups, and a whiteboard behind them.
Group of people sitting around a dining table in a large indoor space, with a yellow train car visible in the background.
Person receiving an intravenous injection while three people assist. Medical supplies on the table.
Group of ten people sitting and standing around a table with magazines and a vase of pink flowers in a cozy living room, smiling for the camera.
Two women standing next to each other, one in a blue dress and the other in yellow protective clothing with a face mask, in front of a sign about OSHA pathogens standards.
Group of seven women and one man standing side by side indoors, all smiling, dressed in professional attire, with a plain beige wall and ceiling lights in the background.
A mounted deer head with horns, wearing glasses and a blue face mask, with a blue cloth on top of its horns, in a room with a yellow safety box on the left and a monitor on the right.
Two women standing beside a presentation board about exposure, with a yellow curtain in the background.
A scientist working in a laboratory hood, handling a test tube with a pipette, wearing safety gloves and glasses, surrounded by laboratory equipment and supplies.
Four people standing in a room, three of them holding plaques, posing for a photo.
Four individuals, three women and one man, standing around a wall-mounted container for disposal of latex exam gloves, with leafy medical gloves on top, as one woman in a white lab coat shows a pair of gloves to the others.
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