Faculty and Staff

Nancy M. Tofil, MD, MEd, Medical Director
Dr. Tofil is a professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care. She obtained her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and her masters of education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Tofil is the division director of pediatric critical care working in the pediatric intensive care unit and with the deep sedation service. Besides directing the simulation center, Dr. Tofil is the Senior Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Training Program and the Ann Dial McMillan Endowed Chair in Critical Care Medicine.

Chrystal Rutledge, MD, Co-Medical Director
Dr. Rutledge is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine. Her clinical time is spent taking care of critically ill children in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's of Alabama. She is also medical director of Children’s of Alabama Critical Care Transport Team. Her non-clinical time is devoted to simulation education. She is the associate medical director of the Pediatric Simulation Center at Children's of Alabama as well as the program director for the Children's of Alabama Community Healthcare Education Simulation (COACHES) Program.

Stacy L. Gaither, MSN, RN, Director of Research
Stacy Gaither started her job as Director of Research for the Pediatric Simulation Center in February 2016. She is also the research coordinator for the Children’s of Alabama Community Healthcare Education Simulation (COACHES) Program. Stacy has completed the Comprehensive Simulation Instructor Course given by the Center for Medical Simulation. She has been a nurse for 26 years and prior to stepping into her research role she was in the position of charge nurse in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Children’s of Alabama. She also has over 20 years of operating room experience.

Carrie Norwood, MSHI, BSN, RN, CPN, Advanced Nurse Educator
Carrie Norwood has been with the COA Pediatric Simulation Center since 2016. She is a double graduate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she obtained her nursing degree and a Master’s in Health Informatics. She has completed the Center for Medical Simulation’s Comprehensive Simulation Instructor Course. Carrie has been a pediatric nurse since 2005, and her past experience includes 10 years in a pediatric step-down unit, and 2 years of inpatient documentation review.

Kandi Wise, BSN, RN, Nurse Educator
Kandi Wise is a nurse educator in the simulation center as well as in the acute care area of the hospital. She is a Graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelors in Nursing. Kandi has been a nurse at the Children’s of Alabama for over 15 years, with 11 spent in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the others as an educator.

Adjunct Faculty

Jennifer Beall, Pharm-D
Kim Benner, Pharm-D
Beth Benton, RN, Hematology/Oncology
Shaundra Blakemore, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Adam Brakefield, RRT, Respiratory Care Services
Christina Cochran, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Carl Coghill, MD, Neonatology
Chris Coleman, RN, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
Brenda Denson, Pharm-D
Candice Dye, MD, General Pediatrics
Suzanne Gurosky, RN, Renal Care
Leigh Hardy, RD, Nutrition Services
Sheila Herron, RRT, Pediatric Pulmonary
Megan Hofto, MD, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Daryl Ingram, RN, Renal Care
DeeAnne Jackson, MD, General Pediatrics
Collin King, MD, Pediatric Anesthesiology
Kayla Clary, RD Nutrition Services
Maria McAtee, MSN, PNP-AC/PC, Cardiovascular Services
Lauren Nassetta, MD, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Sarah Novara, MD, Pediatric Neurology
Kyla Owen, RN, Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU
Tammy Pope, BSN, RN, RNC, Neonatology
Leslie Rhodes, MD, Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU
Jenny Ross, RN, ECMO
Will Sasser, MD, Pediatric Critical Care
Paul Scalici, MD, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Mary Lauren Scott, MD, Pediatric Endocrinology
Donna Slayton, RN, Pediatric Pulmonary
Michael Stalvey, MD, Pediatric Endocrinology
Julie Stone, RN, Pediatric Pulmonary
Kristen Waddell, CRNP, Pediatric Critical Care
Susan Walley, MD, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Marjorie Lee White, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Lindy Winter, MD, Neonatology
Aaron Woods-Walker, CA, Specialty Care Services
Mary Worthington, Pharm-D
Brittany Yeager, RN, Neonatology