Title: Infection Prevention Director, Manager & Leader
Company: BE Smith
Location: Fort Worth Texas, United States
Cheryl Ruth Sharp, BSN, RN, CIC, infection prevention director, manager, and leader at BE Smith, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Nurses for dedication, achievements, and leadership in health care.
With over two and a half decades of experience to her credit, Ms. Sharp has built a successful career in health care, specializing in infection prevention nursing. Her areas of expertise also include infection prevention, program management, and people management. She currently excels as an infection prevention director, manager, and leader at BE Smith, a role she has held since 2021, and has been a director, manager, and leader in infection prevention at AMN Healthcare since 2020. Her responsibilities include traveling to hospitals across the country to provide her expertise on a contract basis and assisting the current department manager with implementing a new data mining system. Additionally, she identifies opportunities for improvement within the hospital, assesses patient risks, and maintains regular communication with the public health department.
Ms. Sharp’s experience also includes serving as system director of infection prevention and employee health at Wise Health System from 2019 to 2020, infection prevention manager at Baylor Scott & White Health in 2019, and infection preventionist and interim manager at Texas Health Resources from 2007 to 2019. Additionally, she held the position of coordinator of infection prevention and patient safety at St. Joseph Medical Center from 2005 to 2007 and was an education resource specialist at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System from 2002 to 2005. She is also a board member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology – Dallas/Fort Worth (APIC DFW) from 2014 to 2016, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and dedicates her time as a board member of Hands of Mercy Guatemala since 2015. In light of her expertise, she has presented at APIC International and has received various awards from APIC DFW.
Laying a solid educational foundation, Ms. Sharp earned an Associate of Arts and sciences in nursing from Houston Community College from 1995 to 2001, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Western Governors University from 2015 to 2018, and she is currently pursuing a master’s in nursing informatics at Western Governors University. She also holds certifications in various areas from LinkedIn, including Jodi Glickman on Pitching Yourself, Remote Work Foundations, Managing Stress, Becoming a Manager Your Team Loves, Boosting Your Confidence, Public Speaking and Performance, Executive Presence on Video Conference Calls, Smart Thinking: Overcoming Complexity, and The Six Morning Habits of High Performers. Additionally, she is a licensed registered nurse in Texas, California, Connecticut, and New York, with a certificate in infection prevention and control from the CBIC Board and a licensed vocational nurse certification from the Texas Board of Nursing.
Ms. Sharp takes great pride in her work with multidrug-resistant organisms, in which she concentrates on carbapenem-resistant organisms, which are resistant to antibiotics, within a burn unit. Her team identified critical opportunities to determine the source of these organisms and address existing gaps. They discovered that enhancing hand hygiene, improving environmental cleaning, and maintaining meticulous attention to detail between patients were essential for preventing the spread of these resistant organisms. She attributes her success to the relationships she has built, emphasizing the importance of having the right people in her life at the right time. She also credits the grace of God, as she has overcome significant challenges.
In the coming years, Ms. Sharp looks forward to obtaining a system leadership position, whether as a director, assistant director of prevention, or eventually a vice president of infection prevention or quality. In the short term, she aims to complete her master’s degree. After achieving this academic milestone, she plans to prioritize her personal life, specifically focusing on her husband, who has been a steadfast supporter and cheerleader throughout her journey.
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