Katie Gardner, RN, BSN, is a public health nurse and health educator with 18 years of experience in clinical care, harm reduction and infectious disease care and prevention. Katie received her RN at Bluegrass Community and Technical College in 2007 and her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from Eastern Kentucky University in 2022. Katie also currently serves on the board of the Kentucky Youth Health Network, which works to create public awareness of health risks and promote healthy outcomes for Kentucky youth. 

In her role as Program Coordinator for the Viral Hepatitis Program at the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH), Katie leads efforts to expand hepatitis C prevention, education, and linkage to care in communities most impacted by hepatitis C and the overdose epidemic.  

In 2021-2022, the Viral Hepatitis Program developed the Kentucky Hepatitis C Elimination Plan in collaboration with multidisciplinary partners across the state, including Local Health Departments, Syringe Services Programs, community health centers, recovery and treatment programs, community corrections, and other stakeholders. Evidence-based interventions were identified utilizing a syndemic framework to address not only viral hepatitis and infectious disease, but all the harms associated with the overdose epidemic.  

Katie provides statewide leadership in coordinating and establishing linkage-to-care initiatives outlined in the Elimination Plan. Her efforts support hepatitis C education, testing, treatment, linkage, and cure. She works closely with both government- and community-led programs to build a coordinated system of care across the full hepatitis C care continuum, with a particular focus on serving vulnerable and socially marginalized populations. These populations include people who use drugs, currently and formally incarcerated individuals, perinatal populations, and racial and ethnic populations that have been historically excluded.  

In addition to program coordination, Katie identifies and evaluates existing linkage-to-care models and shares best practices to inform continuous improvement. She provides technical assistance to community partners and develops and delivers trainings and educational materials to community care providers and other key stakeholders. She also actively identifies additional funding and supportive resources to expand and sustain linkage efforts statewide.  

In recognition of her leadership, professionalism, and commitment to advancing health equity, Katie received the KDPH Rise Up Award in 2025 for her meaningful and lasting impact on public health.