Sharon Vanairsdale Carrasco, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, NP-C, CEN, FAEN, FAAN, FNAP is an Associate Professor in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.  She is the Director of the Region 4 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) based at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA.  As the Director for the Emory RESPTC, she oversees preparedness efforts for special pathogen events locally and regionally while also managing unit and hospital readiness for patients with special pathogens. She was involved with the COVID-19 pandemic response at Emory as well as the clinical care of patients with Ebola virus disease and Lassa Fever. 

Dr. Vanairsdale Carrasco is also the Director of Education for the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, a training program to prepare healthcare workers to safely and effectively manage patients with special pathogens. She is a fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nurses and the American Academy of Nursing as well as a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice. In 2016, Dr. Vanairsdale Carrasco has been awarded the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Nurse of the Year for Exemplary Professional Practice and the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year for Nursing Administration. 

Herstein, J. J., Lukowski, J., ElRayes, W., Lowe, J. J., Mehta, A. K., Mukherjee, V., Stern, K. L., Carrasco, S. V., Vasa, A., Vasistha, S., & Sauer, L. M. (2024). High-Level Isolation: A Landscape Analysis of Global Capabilities and Opportunities to Advance the Field. Health security, 10.1089/hs.2023.0181. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2023.0181

Flinn, J. B., Arguinchona, C. L., Vasa, A., Carrasco, S. V., Agreiter, I., Boxnick, S., Stadtmann, B., & Tennill, P. A. (2024). Frontline Leadership: Nurses in Special Pathogens Preparedness and Response. Health security, 10.1089/hs.2023.0149. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2023.0149

Wiesner, L., Flinn, J., Brewer, B., Resnick, A., Carrasco, S. V., Garibaldi, B. T., Wohl, D. A., Little, B., Schnell, N. A., Wortmann, G., DeAtley, C., Kappler, S. B., & Fischer, W. A. (2024). Building Clinical Care Capacity for Patients With Special Pathogens in Advance of the Next Outbreak. Health security, 22(S1), S66–S75. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2023.0163 

Persson, C., Levine, C. B., Marshall, K., Shea, S., Arguinchona, C., Carrasco, S. V., Sauer, L. M., & Herstein, J. J. (2024). Building a Biocontainment Unit: Infrastructure and organizational experiences of the 13 regional biocontainment units in the United States. American journal of infection control, S0196-6553(24)00584-4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2024.06.021

Stone, E., Peta, D., & Carrasco, S. V. (2024). An Introduction to the Semantics and Statistics Behind the Firearm Policy Debates. Journal of emergency nursing, S0099-1767(24)00134-X. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2024.05.005

Vanairsdale Carrasco, S., & Peta, D. (2024). Infectious Diseases in the Emergency Care Setting. Journal of emergency nursing, 50(1), 8–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2023.10.005

Gibbs, S.G., Schwedhelm, M.M., Lowe, J.J., Tennil, P., Persson, C.C., Carrasco, S., Biddinger, P.D. (2024). Category A Waste Processing and Disposal is a Critical Weakness in the United States Response Plans for Outbreaks of High Consequence Infectious Diseases. American Journal of Infection Control.  DOI:  10.1016/j.ajic.2023.08.022

Carrasco, S., Denke, N., & Carman, M. (2024). Advanced practice registered nurses in the emergency care setting [Position statement]. Emergency Nurses Association. https://enau.ena.org/URL/Advanced-Practice-Registered-Nurses-in-the-Emergency-Care-Setting-Position-Statement 

Peta, D., Carrasco, S., & Stone, E. (2023). Firearm safety and injury prevention [Position statement]. Emergency Nurses Association. https://enau.ena.org/URL/FirearmSafetyandInjuryPreventionPositionStatement 

Peta, D., Carrasco, S., & Stone, E. (2023). An Overview of Firearm Safety and Injury Prevention Position Statement. Emergency Nurses Association. https://enau.ena.org/Users/LearningActivity/LearningActivityDetail.aspx?LearningActivityID=4b2GVStBpw1YDxwG%2bWLuxw%3d%3d 

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• 2022 Distinguished Fellow, National Academies of Practice
• 2020 Young Professional Voices honoree, American Organization for Nursing Leadership
• 2018 Doctor of Nursing Practice Silver Bowl for Exceptional Clinical and Scholastic Abilities while serving as an Inspiration for other students, Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
• 2018 Endowed Doctoral Scholarship, Emergency Nurses Association Foundation
• 2017 Fellow, American Academy of Nursing 
• 2017 Fellow, Academy of Emergency Nurses 
• 2016 Nurse of the Year for Nursing Administration, March of Dimes, Georgia Chapter
• 2016 Magnet Nurse of the Year for Exemplary Professional Practice, American Nurses Credentialing Center
• 2015 National Patient Safety Foundation’s DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses