Midwest Regional Burn Conference

Sharmila Dissanaike, MD is Peter C. Canizaro Chair of Surgery of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX currently transitioning to Chair of Surgery at the University of New Mexico in August 2024.  She is a clinically active burn, trauma and acute care surgeon who has won multiple awards for clinical, academic and research excellence during her career. Dr. Dissanaike holds multiple national leadership roles including President of the American Burn Association, President-Elect of the Southwest Surgical Congress, Director of the American Board of Surgery, Governor of the American College of Surgeons and on the Surgery Residency Review Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). She is a former Chair of the Verification Review Committee for ABA. In addition to helping standardize verification criteria for burn centers and advancing multidisciplinary participation in site visits, she has worked locally and nationally to increase exposure to burn surgery among medical students and residents in order to grow the pipeline, and integrating burn more cohesively within trauma and disaster management systems.

Gretchen J. Carrougher MN, RN, is a Research Nurse Supervisor at the University of Washington (UW) Medicine Regional Burn Center and Program Coordinator for the Northwest Regional Burn Model System (NWRBMS). Ms. Carrougher graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (1981) and a Master of Nursing degree (1987) in Burn, Trauma and Emergency Nursing. She has held positions as clinical staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, and research nurse during her 43-year burn nursing career. Ms. Carrougher has worked at three distinguished burn centers in the United States: MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC; the US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio; and the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center, Seattle. Ms. Carrougher is national faculty for the Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) course and has been a member of the American Burn Association (ABA) since 1982. She has authored 114 peer-reviewed manuscripts and chapters concerning basic nursing care, long-term outcomes, pain and pruritus management, and employment/return to productivity for individuals living with burn injury. In 1997, Gretchen was honored with the Curtis P. Artz Distinguished Service Award and considers this a cherished acknowledgement of her early nursing career. She is also a longstanding international nurse educator, primarily serving our Central American nurse colleagues. Gretchen has served on many professional committees both within and outside of the American Burn Association to include the ABA Board of Trustees (2023-2026). However, it was the experience with the ABA Nursing Professional Certification Committee (2018-2023) she considers as one of her most important challenges. Through the efforts of this committee, burn nursing is now a recognized specialty by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and ultimately, with the support of the ABA, the work of the Nursing Professional Certification Committee, and the collaboration with the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®), a national Certified Burn Nurse Program (CBRN) became available in 2023. To date, Gretchen views the work to achieve professional recognition and certification as the most significant advancements with the greatest personal reward of her burn nursing career.  

Dr. Wibbenmeyer is a Clinical Professor at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. She was the 2020 president of American Burn Association (ABA) and the 2015 president of North American Burn Society (NABS). She served almost a decade on the ABA board and has had prominent positions on many other ABA committees. She is an active clinical researcher and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles over the span of her career as a surgeon and leader. She has designed, participated and led single center as well as multicenter studies.  In her spare time she enjoys swimming, biking and spending time with her friends, family and dog. 

J. Kevin Bailey completed his undergraduate education at The Ohio State University, and then pursued medical school at the University of Cincinnati, followed by general surgical residency at the same institution. During the following four years of active duty in the United States Air Force, he completed a burn fellowship at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research. After returning to practice burn care in Cincinnati, he then completed a hand fellowship at the University of Louisville. He is currently a full-time burn surgeon at Atrium Baptist Wake Forest Burn Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2017, Dr. Bailey was appointed to the American Burn Association (ABA) Verification Committee, and began serving as Chair of the ABA Verification Committee in 2024.

Trudy Boulter is an Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) and Certified Burn Therapist (BT-C).  She has worked for over 30 years at Children’s Hospital Colorado.   She was instrumental in establishing a hand program and now works exclusively in burn care. Trudy provides clinical care in the inpatient and outpatient setting and is the director of Children's Hospital Colorado Burn Camps program. 

Dr. Brooke Murtaugh received her Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Creighton University in 2004. She began working as an occupational therapist at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Lincoln Nebraska in 2006. It was at Madonna that Dr. Murtaugh began her career in burn rehabilitation. Brooke has practiced in the area of post-acute inpatient burn rehabilitation for fifteen years. She is also Madonna’s burn program manager.  As Program Manager, Dr. Murtaugh is responsible for program development, collaboration and referral development with regional burn centers and education and training of interdisciplinary burn rehabilitation clinical staff. Brooke has presented on burn rehabilitation in the Midwest region and at National ABA conferences and ACRM. Dr. Murtaugh earned her National Burn Therapist Certification (BT-C) in 2019 and serves at the ABA PT/OT Special Interest Group Co-chair and the chair of the newly forming Burn Networking Group for ACRM. 

Nichole Mayer Schiffer is a pediatric occupational therapist at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She earned her Master’s in Occupational Therapy degree from The Ohio State University. She has been an occupational therapist for 14 years treating a variety of diagnoses with specializations in both burn and hand therapy. Nichole holds her burn therapist certification through the American Burn Association and is a certified hand therapist. She further holds a Board Certification in Pediatrics through the American Occupational Therapy Association. Nichole is currently employed by Children’s Hospital Colorado and is part of the hand, burn and burn camps teams. 

Michael A. Serghiou is an Occupational Therapist, Certified Burn Therapist, practicing in Burn Rehabilitation for 35 years.  He began his professional career at Hermann Hospital in Houston Texas where he worked with Adult and Pediatric Burn Survivors for 11 years.  He then continued his career at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston Texas where he directed the rehabilitation department for 17 years.  Michael has published numerous burn rehabilitation manuscripts and authored chapters in the journals of Burn Care and Research and Burns and in various burn care related textbooks.  He has been serving the American Burn Association (ABA) and the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) in various capacities including the ABA Board of Trusties (2012-2016) and the ISBI Executive Board as an Executive Director (2022-present).  Michael has received the ABA Barbara Knothe Outstanding Therapist Clinician Award, The ISBI Andre Zagame Therapist Prize and the Physicians for Peace Medical Diplomat Award for his outstanding service in the international outreach area.  Most recently, in 2023, Michael received the American Burn Association’s Curtis P Artz Award recognizing his service to the Burn Care Community.  Michael has dedicated his career to burn rehabilitation clinical practice, education and research and has helped built burn rehabilitation programs in developing countries around the globe.  Michael currently works for Bio Med Sciences Inc. as a Clinical Care Specialist specializing in Burn Rehabilitation education, clinical training, and research.         

Tabatha Sorenson is an Occupational Therapist, Assistive Technology Professional, and Certified Aging in Place Specialist at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.  She specializes in assistive technology assessment and implementation for inpatients and outpatients with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, neurological disease, burns, amputation, and orthopedic dysfunction.  Tabatha focuses on environmental control, computer access, mobile devices, augmented and alternative communication access, and adaptive gaming. 

Prior to staying home to raise my children, who are now 17, 18, and 20, I was a elementary school teacher for 12 years. I began working with the American Burn Association in 2020 part – time moving to the full-time Verification Coordinator in  2023.  As a teacher, my goal was to provide the best quality education to my students.  As a result, I understand your striving to provide the best quality care for your patients.  My skills as a teacher have transferred well into Verification and my top priority is providing the tools to burn centers to ensure that the (re)verification process goes smoothly. 

Kayla Northrop, RN BSN CCRN-K is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Nursing.  She has dedicated her entire nursing career to the care of the burn patient at the Burnett Burn Center at The University of Kansas Health System since 1989.  She has served in a variety of different roles including Hydrotherapy Technician, Bedside Staff Nurse, Charge Nurse, Clinical Nurse Educator and currently as the Burn Program Coordinator.  She is an Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) instructor as well as an ABLS National Faculty member. She is also passionate that the care of the burn injured patient extends beyond the hospital doors and into the community where she is a member of the Youth Fire-setter Intervention Team of Eastern Kansas, a Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery (SOAR) Coordinator, a Board Member for Burns Recovered which assists burn survivors in their recovery. Additionally, she is dedicated to educating the public in burn awareness and fire prevention as well as burn care to pre-hospital and healthcare providers throughout the region.  In her free time, you can find her enjoying her family, including her two grandchildren at the lake.