2024 Danko Award for Excellence Winner

Westlake is this year’s recipient of the Under Secretary for Health’s Linda H. Danko Award for Excellence in Infection Prevention and Control. 

Established in 2016 to recognize employees who demonstrate adherence to the highest standards of infection prevention and control, Westlake will receive a plaque and a cash award.

“I feel extremely honored to be nominated and chosen for such a prestigious award. I am so thankful for our Veterans and all who care for them and keep them safe.” Westlake said. 

Employing her expertise in informatics and web design, Westlake developed and deployed electronic dashboards that provide the infection control program with visibility of important infection control-related process and outcome measures. 

“The dashboards she created have greatly improved the operational efficiency of our program and have saved her team members countless hours of work that would otherwise be devoted to tracking and reporting,” wrote Dr. Christopher Crnich, Chief of Medicine and Hospital Epidemiologist, Madison VA Medical Center, in his recommendation for Westlake to receive the Danko award. 

“This has allowed our team to interact with frontline staff more directly and played a vital role in our facility’s remarkable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked tirelessly to disseminate the dashboards and tools she created to other VA facilities across the nation”

According to a 2022 study on the importance of infection control, researchers emphasized the important role health care workers perform in protecting patients from infection harm.

“By applying their knowledge, skills, and judgment to carry out efficient and timely infection control activities, nurses can demonstrate leadership in preventing and managing the spread of infections in all roles and situations and maintain strict standards for patient safety.”

“Infection Prevention and Control is a critical service that protects the health and well-being of Veterans, their families and caregivers, healthcare providers, and the community.” Westlake said. “Infection Prevention and Control practices implemented in the healthcare setting can help our Veteran patients maintain their health, reduce their length of stay, decrease health care costs, and prevent complications related to healthcare visits.”

Westlake was nominated for her work at the Madison VAMC, she joined R.L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in 2023. 

Westlake has been a Registered Nurse for 28 years with experience in Post-Surgical Inpatient and Operating Room Nursing, Sterile Processing, Nursing Education, Nursing Informatics, and Infection Prevention.  She earned an Associate Degree in Nursing  in 1996 and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 1997 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In 2021 she completed her Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN-Ed) from St. Xavier University.

Westlake’s career began at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California where she served as active-duty Navy nurse. After attending Perioperative School at Camp Pendleton, she spent over 20 years in the Operating Room as a direct care provider and Nurse Educator at various medical facilities in California, Wisconsin, and Washington. She went on to serve in roles of Sterile Processing Services Nurse Educator, Education Services Nursing Instructor, Infection Preventionist and Nurse Informaticist.

Asked about her current aspirations Westlake said, “I aspire to continue to support our Veterans and those who care for them in innovative ways to improve health care delivery and prevent illness.”