1071: Culture, Coordination, and Care: From Dialysis Safety to Disaster Response

What do infection prevention in dialysis clinics and hurricane response in the Caribbean have in common? More than you might think. This episode explores how culture, leadership, and coordination shape health outcomes, whether in a treatment chair or a disaster zone. First, Shalini Nair, a Senior Analyst of Infection Disease at ASTHO, breaks down the growing concern around dialysis-related infections and what the CDC’s Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition is doing to address it. She shares frontline-informed strategies that health departments and facilities can use right now: building a “see it, say it” culture of safety, using short, role-specific training and real-time coaching, and ensuring visible leadership support that reinforces infection prevention as everyone’s responsibility.  Then, the focus shifts to disaster response with Maggie Nilz, Senior Analyst of preparedness at ASTHO and Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization. Nilz reflects on her decade of deployments, from chainsaw operations in U.S. disaster zones to coordinating international health response in Jamaica after a devastating hurricane. She explains how public health leadership, interagency coordination, and pre-disaster data systems are critical when hospitals are damaged, infrastructure is down, and communities still need everyday healthcare. Key Insights to Improve Infection Prevention in Dialysis Settings | ASTHOMeeting Home PageLeading Humanitarian Aid Organization in the US | Team RubiconLeadership Power Hour: Your Launchpad for Impact | ASTHOMeeting Home Page