Acute Care Education Associates, Inc. has assembled a fine group of sought after faculty. Rest assured that our consultants and faculty are qualified and respected professionals who remain approachable and grounded in real-life clinical nursing practice. Our faculty and consultants will exceed your expectations.

Ms. Thornton co-founded Acute Care Education Associates in 1999. She is a dynamic speaker with vast experience experience practicing inpatient-critical care nursing in a wide range of military and civilian settings. Her background includes clinical staff nursing in medical-surgical and intensive care nursing, clinical education for LPN and RN's, as well as management positions in within healthcare organizations, academia, and in business. She has spoken in on a variety of topics at the local and national level.

She holds a Master's in Nursing as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Washington State University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seattle Pacific University. Ms. Thornton is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau.

Ms. Overbay has given lectures in a variety of settings including national and local symposiums, in-hospital, and to nursing students as a clinical and adjunct faculty member.

Ms. Overbay has been providing patient care and continues to do so for more than 16 years. Patient care settings include intensive care, cardiac surgical recovery, oncology, renal transplant and currently liver transplant.

Ms. Overbay holds a Master's in Nursing as a Critical Care/Cardiovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington.

Ms. Paulson is a retired Army Nurse Corps Major with 16 Years of experience in a variety of settings. Her most notable assignments are staff nurse medical/oncology, head nurse of a large family practice clinic, head nurse of the emergency treatment section of 2 deployed Combat Support Hospitals (Kosovo and Kuwait), head nurse of a post anesthesia care unit, and emergency department Clinical Nurse Specialist for a Level II Trauma Center.

Ms. Paulson's areas of expertise include moderate sedation, pain management, trauma management and disaster preparedness. She has given lectures at local and international conferences during her career.

Ms. Paulson holds a Master's in Adult Medical/Surgical Nursing with an emphasis on emergency services from Armstrong Atlantic State University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington. She is also certified as a PALS and ACLS instructor.

Margaret Voelker, MN, RN

Ms. Voelker’s thirty years of nursing experience cover many areas of acute nursing care.  As the case manager for the bariatric population at a regional medical center in Washington, Ms. Voelker is dedicated to the highest quality clinical practices.  She has effected change by developing the Gastric Bypass Pathway, educating the bariatric/gastric bypass population, and is a member of the Obesity Guideline Workgroup that developed guidelines through evidence based literature.  Ms. Voelker is currently chairing the Allied Health Gastric Bypass pathway.  Ms. Voelker is a published author with articles in the perianesthesia patient population and the bariatric population.
            Ms Voelker’s active leadership within her past and present organizations includes multiple committees, including Geriatric, Ethics, Staff Nurse Council, and Clinical Practice Committee (Nursing Leadership). Ms. Voelker, a founding member of a nursing committee, helped write the initial draft of Multicare’s Professional Excellence Program, a clinical career ladder for the advancement of nursing.  Ms. Voelker holds a Master’s of Nursing from the University of Washington. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses and American Medical Writer’s Association.

Cassandra Krumplemann, MN, RN, CCRN

Ms. Krumpelmann has been in the health care arena for 20 years.  She has worked in several health care areas from outpatient clinics, oncology, PACU, to the surgical intensive care unit. Ms. Krumpelmann has taught to hospital staff as well as lecturing as a clinical faculty member to novice and returning students.

Ms. Krumpelmann holds a Master’s in Nursing with a minor in Health Care Policy from the University of Washington. Ms. Krumpelmann has a strong background in the health sciences and anesthesia from Albany Medical College. She is an active AACN member, AACN liaison of critical care knowledge, and holds her CCRN.  Ms. Krumpelmann is a member of Sigma Theta Tau.

Ms. Krumpelmann’s area of expertise includes hemodynamics, conscious sedation, pain management, preceptorship and leadership in our current changing healthcare environment.