Julie Bryan, BS, RN, CIC, and Erica Disharoon, MSN, RN, ICP, infection preventionists for Shore Health System, were recently elected officers of the Greater Baltimore chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC). A national organization, APIC’s mission is to improve health and patient safety by reducing risks of infection and other adverse outcomes. The Greater Baltimore Chapter serves metropolitan Baltimore, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland.
As President Elect, Bryan is a member of the organization’s executive board and chair of the education committee. Bryan has been a member of the Greater Baltimore APIC for 12 years ands served on various committees, including the education committee and the nominating committee. Disharoon is chair of the membership committee.
A native of Cambridge, Bryan began her healthcare career in 1973 as a secretary at Memorial Hospital. She graduated from Chesapeake College in 1975 as a medical laboratory technician. She worked in the lab at Memorial Hospital then transferred to Dorchester General Hospital, where she worked part-time while she completed nursing school at Wor-Wic Community College. In 1982, Bryan began her nursing career at Dorchester General Hospital and held staff nurse positions in the multi-specialty care unit, ICU and in the post anesthesia care unit. She completed her bachelor of science in nursing from Salisbury University in 1985. The following year, she returned to Memorial Hospital, where she worked as a staff nurse in ambulatory surgery and in nursing staff development. In 1997, Bryan became an infection control nurse, earning certification in this specialty in 1999.
Disharoon earned a bachelor of science in nursing and a master’s of science in the family nurse practitioner track from Salisbury University. She joined Shore Health System in 2003 as a nurse in the emergency department at Dorchester General Hospital. She was promoted to administrative supervisor before moving into infection control in 2007.
Robert Carroll, director of performance measurement and improvement for Shore Health System, says, “I am honored to have Julie and Erica on our quality team. Their dedication to the field of infection control is clearly recognized in their appointments to these leadership roles. Through their commitment, patients, visitors and staff can be assured that all of Shore Health System’s facilities meet the highest standards in the areas of infection prevention.”