Abby Smart, MPH is a Clinical Research Associate at Healthmark. She has 7 years of experience designing and conducting real-world studies that evaluate medical device processing effectiveness and patient safety across a variety of clinical settings. Her work has focused on topics including endoscope processing, surgical instrument cleaning and inspection, and contamination risks within sterile processing environments and has been published in leading journals including the American Journal of Infection Control and Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology. Abby is passionate about translating complex data into meaningful insights to support evidence-based improvements in patient safety.

Len Sparks is a seasoned Technical Leader with experience in multiple industries including Healthcare.  His more than 30 years in product development has afforded him with enhanced abilities to provide insight into technical and process problems large and small.  As project manager on the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, Len led a team of engineers and manufacturing personnel that developed a modular hospital on a cargo jet that would serve as a teaching hospital.  During that project, Len and his team tackled the problem of providing a complaint water purification system for Sterile Processing anywhere in the world.  In 2019, Len led the VERDA team that developed the first AAMI TIR34 compliant water treatment system in a mobile sterile processing platform, which included a comprehensive remote monitoring system.   Len is an AAMI committee member that wrote the ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 standard, “Water for the processing of medical devices” and is helping author the follow-up AAMI TIR guideline on how to implement ST108 and develop a water management program for Sterile Processing departments.  Mr. Sparks currently serves as the Director of Operations for VERDA where he and his team provide turnkey Water Quality Management Services at multiple hospitals throughout the United States.  Len has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.  

Renee brings over a decade of clinical sales and commercial leadership experience in the sterile processing and medical device industry, with a proven track record at large organizations such as STERIS and Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP). She is now leading the Clinical Services division at MMIC/VERDA Water Quality Systems.

Renee is known for her passion and energetic ability to partner closely with healthcare executives to improve operational efficiencies within the Peri-Op services, develop innovative solutions, and align clinical needs with strategic business growth.

Dr. Mary Ann Drosnock is the Director of Clinical Affairs at Healthmark, a Getinge company, where she provides expertise in medical device processing and infection prevention and leads an experienced team of Clinical Educators. For 9 years, she was co-chair of AAMI WG 84, which writes ST91, the national standard on flexible endoscope reprocessing, and TIR99 on the processing of ultrasound probes and dilators. Previous to Healthmark, Mary Ann managed the Infection Control Program for Olympus America, worked and managed labs as a pharmaceutical microbiologist, and taught Microbiology courses at the college level. MaryAnn has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Quality and Regulatory Affairs, and a DrHSc in Healthcare Administration and Management. She is certified in Drug Development, Pharmaceutical Science, Infection Control, Flexible Endoscope Reprocessing, is a Nationally Certified Registered Microbiologist and is a fellow of both APIC and AAMI.

Dyan Darga RN, MSN, CGRN, NE-BC is a Clinical Education Specialist with extensive expertise in Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, and high-level disinfection of endoscopes. She holds a BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, a BSN from Wayne State University and an MSN in nursing leadership and administration from Capella University.

With 30 years of nursing experience, including 20 years in gastroenterology, Dyan has worked in various endoscopy roles, from circulating and assisting physicians to technical operations and scope reprocessing.  She has spent the last decade in endoscopy leadership managing Gastroenterology Departments at Emory Healthcare, Northside Hospital (Atlanta, Georgia) and Henry Ford Health (Michigan).

Dyan is certified in Gastroenterology (CGRN) and is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC). She serves as the Membership Director for the Michigan Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (MSGNA) Board of Directors and has been an active SGNA national member for over 10 years, attending annual conferences.

Dyan is passionate about continuous process improvement, operational efficiency, and patient safety. Dyan is dedicated to advancing best practices in gastroenterology and endoscopy.

Cheron Rojo is a CRCST, CIS, CER, CFER, CHL, and FCS (Fellow Central Service). He served on the PDRC (Professional Development Resource Committee) for HSPA in his career, and currently on the board of Directors for the CCSA (California Central Service Association) Chapter as president-elect.

Mr. Rojo has 30 years in the Sterile Processing arena as a has a Sterile Processing Technician, SPD Educator, an Instrument Coordinator, and a Surgical Technologist in the Surgical realm. Mr. Rojo is currently one of the Clinical Education Specialists for Healthmark Industries and has been with the company for over four years. Mr. Rojo currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He graduated with his BS in Communication and with a certificate in Marketing in April of 2021. Mr. Rojo will start working on his master’s in health administration in October as well. He is also currently on the AAMI working groups for ST79, ST91, TIR108, TIR99, and current co-chair for PB70.

Mr. Rojo has also presented to seminars/webinars across the country and internationally for numerous organizations like; APIC, SGNA, AORN, CBSPD, and HSPA, with topics relating to communication and human relations, insulation quality testing programs, and the use of effective magnification to name a few.

Mr. Rojo is a published author in the AORN Journal in the December issue in 2018 on “The Importance of Leak Testing Flexible Endoscopes “and the PROCESS magazine Jan/Feb issue in 2022 on “Inspection and Integrity Testing of Insulated Instruments: Concerns for Failure and New Guidelines for Testing.”

Cheron Rojo was named the 2018 “Educator of the Year” by the Golden West Central Service Chapter. And he also received his (FCS) Fellowship through HSPA in October of 2021 on a study regarding the issues surrounding insulation testing. Mr. Rojo is a great advocate for providing education throughout the county and globally and believes “Attitude is Everything!”

Dr. Mary Ann Drosnock is the Director of Clinical Affairs at Healthmark, a Getinge company, where she provides expertise in medical device processing and infection prevention and leads an experienced team of Clinical Educators. For 9 years, she was co-chair of AAMI WG 84, which writes ST91, the national standard on flexible endoscope reprocessing, and TIR99 on the processing of ultrasound probes and dilators. Previous to Healthmark, Mary Ann managed the Infection Control Program for Olympus America, worked and managed labs as a pharmaceutical microbiologist, and taught Microbiology courses at the college level. MaryAnn has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Quality and Regulatory Affairs, and a DrHSc in Healthcare Administration and Management. She is certified in Drug Development, Pharmaceutical Science, Infection Control, Flexible Endoscope Reprocessing, is a Nationally Certified Registered Microbiologist and is a fellow of both APIC and AAMI.

Dyan Darga RN, MSN, CGRN, NE-BC is a Clinical Education Specialist with extensive expertise in Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, and high-level disinfection of endoscopes. She holds a BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, a BSN from Wayne State University and an MSN in nursing leadership and administration from Capella University.

With 30 years of nursing experience, including 20 years in gastroenterology, Dyan has worked in various endoscopy roles, from circulating and assisting physicians to technical operations and scope reprocessing.  She has spent the last decade in endoscopy leadership managing Gastroenterology Departments at Emory Healthcare, Northside Hospital (Atlanta, Georgia) and Henry Ford Health (Michigan).

Dyan is certified in Gastroenterology (CGRN) and is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC). She serves as the Membership Director for the Michigan Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (MSGNA) Board of Directors and has been an active SGNA national member for over 10 years, attending annual conferences.

Dyan is passionate about continuous process improvement, operational efficiency, and patient safety. Dyan is dedicated to advancing best practices in gastroenterology and endoscopy.

Stephen M Kovach is Clinical Educator Emeritus at Healthmark Industries. He has been active in the medical field since 1975, where he started as a sterilization orderly and held many different positions since his first job in healthcare. Stephen has many publications to his credit, both peer and non-peer-reviewed, varying on subject matter from perfusion to cleaning and everything in between. Stephen has also organized and participated in numerous seminars, tutorials, conferences, webinars, and podcasts on all levels from local, state, national, and international on a variety of processing topics. He has received many awards in his career, such as the Award of Honor from IAHCSMM for his dedication to the Sterile Processing field. Also, HPN named Stephen as one of the most influential people in the field of Sterile Processing. Stephen is always proud to say, “I have worked in the Heart of the Hospital, Sterile Processing.” Lastly, Stephen has a BS in Biology from Central Michigan University and holds various professional certifications. Stephen, “The CPDGUY,” can be reached by email at cpdguy@hmark.com.

Early on, Wava became a Certified Nursing Assistant supporting the military at several US military facilities across the nation as a volunteer. This enabled her to experience a vast array of medical complications and a deep desire to make a difference. For several years, she worked at the Microbiology Development and Control Laboratory in Utah (precursor to Nelson Laboratories), testing devices for medical safety. Wava received her PhD at the University of California School of Medicine, Davis Campus, where she majored in Comparative Pathology, focusing on human and animal disease systems. She volunteered at a small medical facility focusing the patients with immune deficiency, AIDS. In 1985 universal precautions were introduced due to the increasing number of AIDS/HIV cases among hospital personnel.  Shortly thereafter, Dr. Truscott graduated, and joined Baxter Healthcare in southern California.  

While participating in glove quality assessments for Baxter, she was asked to work with FDA to determine the level of protection provided by medical gloves. At that time, there were no glove performance requirements. Test methods were established for all medical gloves by FDA and ASTM improving their protection level. There were also increasing staff and patient complaints of serious allergic reactions from what appeared to predominantly be related to gloves. Wava went to Malysia, where most medical gloves were produced, to collect samples from the Rubber trees and at each stage of glove production. While doing so, she received a call from FDA to expand the volume of samples collected, bringing some to their labs. There, she worked to separate the latex proteins (via gel electrophoresis) while FDA ran tests utilizing blood, they had collected from individuals having severe allergic reactions. It was confirmed that the proteins isolated from glove production samples matched the allergens in the blood samples.  

When the Baxter facility moved to Illinois, Dr Truscott stayed in Southern California with her two young sons and joined the young SafeSkin glove company as Vice President of regulatory affairs and clinical education. The company grew rapidly. Truscott started lecturing. While studying for the lectures, she noted several surgical doctors were reporting post-surgical complications associated with the crosslinked glove powder left in surgical patient’s bodies. Wava lectured on the complications encountered. Then, She, along with several researchers, petitioned the FDA to ban powder on surgical gloves. SafeSkin was sold to Kimberly-Clark in Gorgia in 2020, where Wava joined them. After 15 years of lectures and petitions, the FDA finally banned powder on all medical gloves in the United States. 

In 2015, Wava Founded Truscott MedSci Associates, LLC.  She has been working on regulatory affairs issues for several companies while developing and presenting medical courses focusing on infection prevention, biofilms, small colony variants, staff complication associated medical Radiation, and the often-ignored Lint and Particle complications too often introduced into patients during surgery.

Rebecca Peplau began her career as a veterinary assistant, where she discovered her passion for surgical procedures and found her niche in reprocessing surgical instruments. After 11 years in veterinary medicine, she transitioned to sterile processing in human healthcare at a small community hospital, where she further honed her skills. She then explored opportunities at different facilities including Level-1 trauma hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, endoscopy units and smaller community hospitals. During this time, she took on roles such as Lead Technician, Manager, and Educator.  A graduate of Unity College with a B.S., she holds multiple certifications, including CRCST, CER, CHL, CSPDT, and LSSWB. Rebecca is a dedicated professional, recognized for her contributions as a published author in PROCESS Magazine and Healthcare Purchasing News. Her insights and expertise have garnered attention, leading to her being awarded Healthcare Purchasing News’s 40 Under 40. Rebecca is currently the President of the Northern New England Chapter of HSPA, covering Maine and New Hampshire.  She is an active member of several AAMI working groups and a former podcast host, having also appeared on additional industry podcasts to discuss hot topics and issues faced by the sterile processing community. She strives to advance sterile processing practices and sharing her knowledge and 20 years of experience with the next generation of professionals.

Dyan Darga RN, MSN, CGRN, NE-BC is a Clinical Education Specialist with extensive expertise in Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, and high-level disinfection of endoscopes. She holds a BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, a BSN from Wayne State University and an MSN in nursing leadership and administration from Capella University.

With 30 years of nursing experience, including 20 years in gastroenterology, Dyan has worked in various endoscopy roles, from circulating and assisting physicians to technical operations and scope reprocessing.  She has spent the last decade in endoscopy leadership managing Gastroenterology Departments at Emory Healthcare, Northside Hospital (Atlanta, Georgia) and Henry Ford Health (Michigan).

Dyan is certified in Gastroenterology (CGRN) and is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC). She serves as the Membership Director for the Michigan Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (MSGNA) Board of Directors and has been an active SGNA national member for over 10 years, attending annual conferences.

Dyan is passionate about continuous process improvement, operational efficiency, and patient safety. Dyan is dedicated to advancing best practices in gastroenterology and endoscopy.

Ron Hunsucker began his career as a Central Service Supply Technician in 1979 at Santa Rosa Medical Center. In 1984 he began the CRCST course through Purdue University and was certified by IAHCSMM in 1986. Studying for the certification led to instituting changes, to meet standards, within his department. Shift Manager by 1985 and Manager by 1988, helping design a new Sterile Processing Department in a new facility and implementing a Cart Exchange System for Nursing Units. Transferring to the new facility he introduced count sheets and inventory control solutions. Ron was hired at Metropolitan Hospital in 1989 by an RN that had just been assigned as SPD Manager and wanted to get his entire staff certified. Metro’s SPD was the first fully certified SPD in San Antonio, TX. Working PRN for the first month, becoming Supervisor and working with his Manager to form and act as Secretary for the South Texas Sterile Processing Society he eventually becoming Manager. In 1996 he was recipient of the Caregiver Of The Year Award from Methodist Healthcare Systems. In 1999 Ron was hired as the Implant Procurement Manager. In 2008 Ron was recruited into a career in sales, eventually becoming and Independent Sales Representative and a Sterile Processing Consultant, he sold everything he had purchased in the past for all the Perioperative Departments. In 2019 Ron was hired as a Clinical Director and Business Development Manager for Streamline Hospital Services. As a partner he helped grow the company from a $300,00.00 to a $3,000,000.00 a year company. Ron recruited and worked with Hank Balch to create the South Texas Association of Sterile Processing Services and is now the acting President. Accepting a position as a Clinical Education Specialist with Healthmark Ind., Ron hopes to help everybody understand the importance of all that Sterile Processing does to help keep patients safe. Doing it right, the first time, all the time!!