When Measles Is the Best-Case Scenario: Special Pathogens Preparedness in Alaska

Session Description: This presentation discusses the preparedness and coordinated response to a suspected high-consequence infectious disease (HCID) case in Alaska, highlighting the distinctive challenges faced by facilities in remote regions. Through a detailed case study, we explore how a critical access hospital’s initial evaluation of a patient for suspected HCID triggered a statewide mobilization involving air transfer to a tertiary facility and collaboration among the state department of health (DOH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency medical services (EMS), and the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) facility.
The session discusses a hospital’s real-world experience in navigating a rigorous three-day period of HCID management, including the implementation of the Identify, Isolate, and Inform framework, caregiver just-in-time training, and patient management. The session also details the key lessons learned from the event and subsequent preparedness measures taken by the facility, including personal protective equipment (PPE) selection and competency building, policy refinement, waste management coordination, medical evacuation planning, and extensive joint exercises with public and private partners. Drawing from the insights of an infection preventionist and a regional RESPTC director, this presentation offers actionable strategies and real-world solutions for professionals in critical access hospitals, tertiary care facilities, public health, and EMS, aiming to enhance readiness for future HCID events.

Lindsey Sprinkle

Infection Preventionist, Providence Alaska Medical Center & Children's Hospital

Lindsey serves as an Infection Preventionist at Providence Alaska Medical Center and Children's Hospital (PAMC&CH) in Anchorage, Alaska. Trained as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Lindsey worked for over a decade as an acute care SLP before transitioning to Infection Prevention in 2024. Since becoming an IP, Lindsey has co-led the PAMC response to high-consequence infectious diseases, implemented processes to reduce adult central line-associated blood stream infections by more than 50%, and facilitated the alignment of neonatal and pediatric processes with current evidence-based infection prevention practices.

Christa Arguinchona

Manager Special Pathogens, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital

Christa is the Manager for the Special Pathogens Program at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital (PSHMC&CH), the Region 10 Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center (RESPTC). Her responsibilities include maintaining internal operational readiness for the special pathogens unit and being a resource for special pathogens preparedness for healthcare partners in region 10. These efforts include collaboration with community, regional, national, and international partners to increase readiness for the next known or emerging pathogen outbreak. Christa has her Master’s and Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and is certified in Critical Care. She has over 30 years of critical care experience in the neurological/trauma ICU at PSHMC&CH and 10 years of experience in special pathogens preparedness. She is a subject matter expert for the National Emerging Training and Education Center (NETEC) and leads a Biocontainment Unit Leadership workgroup across the RESPTC network.

Roger Stienecker

Medical Director for Clinical Care Reliabilty--Growth Markets, Parkview Health

Roger Scott Stienecker MD FACP FSHEA FIDSA is a graduate of The Ohio State University School of Medicine with Internal Medicine Residency at Wake Forest University then fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Emory School of Medicine. After 22 years in private practice seeing over 27,000 unique patients, he pursued hospital epidemiology with a desire to better serve population health. Starting 2012, he became the Medical Director of Epidemiology Infection Prevention, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials for Parkview Health System. The department has 25+ members in IP, epidemiology and data analytics. Parkview Health is a 1284 bed, 15 hospital system, plus several affiliated hospitals. As of January 2026, he assumed responsibility to provide Infection Prevention and Stewardship services to the affiliated hospitals as the Medical Director for Clinical Care Reliability--Growth Markets. He is on the planning committee for Association for Professionals of Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) national meeting.