Consulting 101: How to Get Started Now!

DeAnn Richards has worked in Infection Prevention and Occupational Health for over 29 years. She has an associate degree in occupational therapy and nursing, followed by her bachelor's in nursing. She is certified in infection control, long-term care infection control, healthcare quality, and patient safety. DeAnn combined her experience in long-term care, ambulatory, and acute care as a regional lead at Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network to support the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) priorities for health care quality improvement) in all types of settings.  She supported the Wisconsin Hospital Association in the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks (HIIN) and WI Department of Health Services regarding new Infection Preventionist education. She has held chapter leader positions with two of the four WI Chapters, including President, three times and past chair of the APIC Membership Support Committee.  In 2020, she started her own consulting business – D. Richards Infection Prevention. This opportunity allowed DeAnn to apply her experience in multiple settings and her love of infection prevention and share her knowledge as an APIC Faculty member.

Kathryn Hitchcock, MBA is the Vice President of Business Development at APIC Consulting Services. LLC. Moving to Washington D.C. in 2011, Kathryn held her first of several roles at the nonprofit, the Association for Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). In 2013, she moved over to APIC Consulting Services, the fully owned APIC for-profit subsidiary, helping to grow it into the multimillion-dollar business it is today. Before embarking to the East Coast and into the world of nonprofits, Kathryn held marketing and sales roles at Becton Dickinson (BD), a medical supply and technology company, and Scripps Health System both based in California. While she is not formally trained in infection prevention and control (IPC), earning a BA from Loyola University, Chicago, and an MBA from the University of Maryland, University College, she has professionally worked in the industry for over 15 years. Kathryn considers herself fortunate to have worked with a multitude of public health and healthcare professionals known as infection preventionists.