Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2022 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 5 through Aug. 10. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.
Elizabeth Dauch has achieved several key clinical milestones.
After graduating from West Virginia University in 2002 with an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Nursing, she served as a RN for more than 13 years at Charleston Area Medical Center. During this time, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ohio University.
In 2015, Dauch began working for Genesis Healthcare. It was there, while serving as an infection preventionist and certified nursing assistant instructor, that she gained her passion for infection control.
In her present role, Dauch is the corporate infection preventionist at Stonerise Healthcare. At Stonerise, she is responsible for implementing disease outbreak intervention procedures and for ensuring that each of the company’s 17 care centers is equipped to handle any potential outbreaks, a job that has become even more complicated and difficult over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Elizabeth joined Stonerise early on in the global pandemic when emotions were running high, and nothing felt certain,” Stonerise Director of Marketing Kristin Anderson said. “And yet, Elizabeth stepped in as a critical leader to help Stonerise make urgent and sometimes difficult decisions required to keep our patients and team members safe.”
Colleagues describe Dauch as “extremely dedicated” and “always willing to go the extra mile,” according to Anderson. She also is said to be incredibly passionate about teaching and assisting other employees.
Her “Educate the Educator” certification in 2016 validated Dauch’s passion for teaching. The certification, issued by Professional Healthcare Development in conjunction with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, indicates nurses who are trained in educational theory and lesson planning.
Despite her many accomplishments, colleagues say that Dauch remains very humble and often puts her colleagues’ needs above her own. She treats any project she works on, no matter the size, with the highest priority, Anderson said.
“There is no one more deserving of this honor,” she said.
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare. Silver sponsors include OnShift and PharMerica, and the Bronze sponsor is Reliant Rehabilitation. Table sponsors included Dreamscape, Gojo/Purell and Sound Physicians.
