2025 Kansas Immunization Conference
Thursday, May 22
Wichita Marriott
STEADY IN THE STORM
The Kansas Immunization Conference is the premiere event for local health departments and other healthcare professionals. This conference serves as a beacon of collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation, uniting experts from diverse fields to address the pressing challenges and opportunities within the realm of vaccination and localized healthcare delivery.
Together, we aim to explore groundbreaking strategies, share best practices, and cultivate partnerships that will propel us towards a healthier, more resilient future for all. Join us as we embark on this pivotal moment in advancing global health equity and safeguarding our communities against infectious diseases.
Online registration is now closed. Call 316-978-6493 for questions.
Continuing Education
Nursing: Wichita State University is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the Kansas State Board of Nursing. The KIP Conference is pending approval for 5.4 contact hours applicable for RN, LPN, or LMHT relicensure. Kansas State Board of Nursing provider number: #LT0090-0327
Certificate of Attendance qualifies for 4.5 seat hours.
To receive your certificate: All conference and session evaluations must be completed and attendees must sign in daily. Evaluation deadline: May 29, 2025. Registration fees must be paid in full to receive CNE or Certificate of Attendance. Partial credit will not be awarded. Certificates will be emailed to attendees who have met these criteria no later than June 23, 2025. Evaluation will be emailed to attendees on May 22, 2025 and linked at www.wichita.edu/kip.
Speakers
Dr. Kevin Ault
Kevin A. Ault, MD, is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist. He is a professor in the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). He served as department chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at WMed from 2022-2024. He is a graduate of Butler University and Indiana University School of Medicine, both in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America. His clinical and research interests include women's health and infectious diseases.
Allison Zaldivar
Allison Zaldivar is a Senior Epidemiologist with the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Response (IDER) Section at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). She has worked in IDER since July 2017. She oversees the vaccine-preventable disease and influenza surveillance programs and directs the Field Epidemiology Services Program. Allison earned a master’s of public health degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2017.
Heather Braum
Heather joined Kansas Action for Children in 2020, and now serves as the Senior Policy Advisor, focusing on health policy, particularly at the Kansas statehouse. She works on Medicaid and CHIP health insurance coverage for kids and families, as well as immunization and maternal health policy. She currently serves on the Immunize Kansas Coalition board as policy chair and on the Kansas Maternal and Child Health Council. Thanks to more than a decade of experience working in libraries and technology, she brings a passion for building coalitions, sharing information with lawmakers and partners, and finding common ground amidst differing opinions. She is the 2022 recipient of the NCICP Excellence in Immunization Advocacy Award. A fifth-generation Kansan, Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master's degree in library and information science from Emporia State University. She lives in Topeka with her two troublemaking rescue kitties, Charis and Oliver, and enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, and catching the occasional musical or symphony concert.
Dr. Daniel Salmon
Dr. Salmon’s primary research and practice interest is optimizing the prevention of childhood infectious diseases through the use of vaccines. He is broadly trained in vaccinology, with an emphasis in epidemiology, behavioral epidemiology, and health policy. Dr. Salmon’s focus has been on post-licensure vaccine safety, determining the individual and community risks of vaccine refusal, understanding factors that impact vaccine acceptance, evaluating and improving state laws providing exemptions to school immunization requirements, developing systems and science in vaccine safety, and developing and evaluating provider, practice and patient interventions to improve vaccine informed decision-making. Dr. Salmon has considerable experience developing surveillance systems, using surveillance data for epidemiological studies, and measuring immunization coverage through a variety of approaches. Dr. Salmon has worked with state, federal and global public health authorities to strengthen immunization programs and pandemic planning.
Katie Van Tornhout
Katie Van Tornhout is the founder of Callie Cares, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2010 that supports parents with hospitalized children and raises awareness about the seriousness of whooping cough (pertussis) and the importance of routine immunizations for pregnant people and children. Katie became a vaccine advocate after her 37-day-old daughter passed away from whooping cough. Callie was too young to be vaccinated herself and came into contact with someone unknowingly carrying the virus. Through Callie Cares, Ms. Van Tornhout also frequently works with local public health officials to bring vaccine clinics to her area. Katie is your average small-town working mom who spends all of her free time raising awareness for the Tdap booster. She has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, CBS News with Katie Couric, and is acknowledged in Dr. Richard Besser’s book “Tell Me the Truth Doctor.” Katie Van Tornhout was awarded the 2015 CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award for her significant contributions to public health through her work in childhood immunizations.