2024 Disaster Planning Conference Resources

“Remember – When disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed.”

Steve Cyros

Advanced warning of an impending disaster saves lives. So can advanced preparation and planning. The California Hospital Association (CHA) wants its members prepared for any emergency. Part of that preparedness is attending the CHA Disaster Planning Conference in September.

This year’s agenda highlights responses and solutions from various disasters. From vulnerability assessments and business continuity planning to lessons learned from colleagues who’ve experienced various disasters – The 2024 Disaster Planning Conference provides value for any disaster professional regardless of their experience level.

Target Audience: Emergency preparedness directors and coordinators, members of the hospital disaster planning team, compliance, nurse managers, case managers, quality and safety executives, clinical directors

Agenda | September 10

Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions being held in the general session room.

8:00 – 8:45 a.m. | Check-in, Breakfast, and Exhibitor Viewing

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. | Opening Remarks

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. | Welcome & Keynote | The Joint Commission’s Emergency Management Update 2024
Angela Murray, MSN, RN, Project Director, Healthcare Standards Development Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission

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Ms. Murray will provide an update on how to best prepare for the emergency management session as part of the hospital accreditation survey process. The presentation will also include tips and actions for survey readiness based on the most frequently cited emergency management standards.

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. | Exhibitor Viewing

10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

Building Business Continuity for Health Care’s Future (Livestream)
Shanley Miller, Business Manager, Mass General Brigham (MGB)

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In January of 2024, Mass General Brigham’s Department of Emergency Preparedness and Continuity (DEPC) embarked on a mission to develop a health care-centric sustainable and effective Continuity Program. DEPC developed tools and adapted traditional practices to focus on capability building and maintaining mission essential functions.

Test Your Cyber Readiness in Real Time
Mitch Saruwatari, Director of Emergency Management, Kaiser Permanente; Kimberly Galey, Kaiser Permanente
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The threat of a cyber-related disruption continues to grow among health care organizations. This session will cover how to test your facility’s readiness for a cyber-attack in real time. It will discuss how one organization conducted a functional exercise to test response capabilities during a full network outage in an outpatient setting. Planning steps and lessons learned will be shared.

It’s Only a Drill! Design, Execute, and Evaluate a Disaster Drill
Erik Angle,RN, MICN, MEP, NHDP, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Sutter Roseville
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This presentation is designed for newer disaster planners or those wishing to update their exercise drill skills. It will provide exercise regulatory information from The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, design strategies, and planning considerations for various types of disaster exercises. Newer exercise design planners will become more disaster resilient while understanding how to effectively evaluate and document an EP exercise to meet their requirements. This training will provide best practice information and the tools for post-disaster exercise meetings, forms, documentation, and after-action/process improvement.

Earthquake Threat: Resources for Quick Response Decisions
Margaret Vinci, Manager, Office of Earthquake Programs and SoCal Regional Coordinator, CalTech; Jonathan Gudel, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, Earthquake Early Warning, Cal OES
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Earthquakes are a national problem with more than 35 million Californians exposed to potentially damaging shaking. California hospitals are regulated to withstand strong shaking; however, they are susceptible to non-structural and critical infrastructure damage and manpower injuries. This presentation will demonstrate efforts that can mitigate earthquake losses. It will also provide earthquake tools to assist emergency managers in making quick response decisions, including earthquake early warning to ease earthquake damage and injuries at health care facilities.

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Hosted Luncheon

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12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

Leading on a Knife’s Edge — Help the Helpers in a Crisis (Livestream)
Andi Tenner, MD, MPH, FACEP, Director, San Francisco Public Health Emergency

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Health crises are among the most challenging events health care leadership will ever be asked to manage. Drawing on experience managing health care teams through events ranging from domestic mass casualty incidents, running Ebola isolation units in Sierra Leone, and supporting frontline emergency care staff during COVID-19, Dr. Tenner will share her experience leading successful teams and averting crisis. She will explore techniques that can be used to help even the most novice leader rise to meet the challenge in front of them and bring their teams along with them.

Hospital Evacuation: What Happens When the Lights Go Out?
Isabel Sanchez, Disaster Services Specialist, Los Angeles County EMS; Mara Bryant, MBA, Operations Executive, Adventist Health White Memorial; Matthew Conroy, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles City Fire Department
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In the wake of a significant power outage at a major medical center in Los Angeles, hospital, fire department, and EMS Agency personnel faced unprecedented challenges as critical patients had to be transferred. The presentation focuses on the dynamics of emergency preparedness under adverse conditions, where collaboration and communication faced unique challenges within an unfamiliar setting. Attendees will gain insights into the complexities of managing this incident while ensuring the safety and well-being of all those involved and obtain lessons learned for enhancing emergency preparedness response strategies.

Meeting the Need for Pediatric Patient Surge Preparedness
Christopher Riccardi, CHEP CHSP, Manager, Emergency Management and Business Continuity, Children’s Hospital of Orange; Brigitte Glines, CA-PEM, IAEM-CEM, DVM, Hub Manager, UCSF Pediatric Pandemic Network
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Presenters will show attendees how to approach a patient surge involving kids – what to prepare for, important roles and responsibilities, and share resources and best practices. Attendees will have access to either a stand-alone pediatric surge plan or a supplement to adult patient surge plans already in existence. In addition to a plan template, participants will also get access to the 15 ‘til 50 Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Guide, which offers a step-by-step walkthrough for developing an MCI program and the MCI Toolkit Library, which provides supplemental materials to assist with the design and implementation of the 15 ‘til 50 Program.

The Critical Role of Hazard Vulnerability Assessments in Climate Change Preparedness
Kathy Harris, MCRP, Executive Director, Stanford Health Care; Jodie Gregory, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
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Climate change poses many threats to the well-being of our community members as well as disruption to hospital operations. Ms. Harris and Ms. Gregory will review existing Hazzard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) categories associated with climate change and propose how they can evolve to better encompass the risks associated with climate change, explore current and anticipated interdependencies between multiple hazard categories in California, and expand the typical timeline of HVA methodology. Attendees will learn how to proactively identify risks, implement targeted mitigation strategies, and enhance emergency response capabilities to ultimately strengthen hospital operational resiliency in the face of climate.

1:45 – 2:00 p.m. | Break

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | General Session | SNF Evacuation: Exercising and Responding as a Health Care Coalition
Trish Muth-Masayon, MPH, MBA, Emergency Manager and Danisha Jenkins, PhD, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC, NHDP-BC, Director of Emergency Preparedness, Sharp HealthCare; Kyle Whimpey, NHA, Executive Director, Somerset Sub & Acute Care; Donna Johnson, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch, County of San Diego Public Health Preparedness and Response

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In May 2023, the San Diego Healthcare Disaster Coalition, with representatives from the EMS, medical and health community and the San Diego County Medical Operations Center (MOC), participated in a 1,200 patient regional Evacuation and Surge Full Scale Exercise (FSE). Attendees will hear how the lessons learned from the FSE’s After Action Report were applied in January 2024, when Golden Hills Post Acute Care evacuated 88 SNF residents and 22 Subacute patients due to severe storm damage to the building. The MOC coordinated bed capacity with local SNFs, prioritizing load leveling, and supporting facilities receiving any patients with Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDRO’s). Sharp HealthCare’s Coronado campus, having practiced full facility evacuations during the FSE, effectively received evacuees, demonstrating exceptional compassion and resourcefulness.

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Break & Exhibitor Viewing

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Closing Session | Maui’s on Fire! The Coalition’s Emergency Response
Marc Moriguchi, Director, Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management

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This presentation explores the response of Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management to the catastrophic Maui wildfire. Attendees will hear about the strategies and actions implemented to manage the crisis, including coordination efforts and resource deployment. Mr. Moriguchi will highlight the importance of preparedness and effective emergency management in mitigating the impact of natural disasters on health care systems.

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Reception

Agenda | September 11

Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions being held in the general session room.

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast & Exhibitor Viewing

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | General Session | Trust: The Secret Ingredient
Lizi Oceransky, M.A., MCC, CPCC, CDWF, CDTLD, Facilitator and Coach, Vidl Work

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As Charles Feltman says, “Trust is choosing to make something important vulnerable to the actions of someone else.” Research supports the importance of trust in creating and maintaining connected, collaborative relationships and high performing teams. During this session, attendees will learn a simple but powerful trust inventory for building or repairing trust with another person, understand the difference between trust and psychological safety and how they influence each other, and how to apply the trust framework to a working relationship to identify specific issues and develop the best approach for rebuilding trust with that person.

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | General Session | Fundamentals of Radiation Protection Across Industries
Raj Puri, MD, MPH, Corporate Medical Director, PBF Energy

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This presentation aims to educate a diverse audience of hospital workers and professionals from various sectors on the principles of radiation safety. It covers historical developments, current regulatory standards, and best practices for minimizing occupational radiation exposure. The session will detail types of radiation, measurement units, and protective equipment, emphasizing the ALARA principle and current epidemiological findings. Additionally, the presentation will discuss OSHA standards, health effects from radiation exposures, scatter radiation related to pregnancy, and radiation in the military, airline, and manufacturing industries.

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Break & Exhibitor Viewing

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

Building Relationships in a Health Care Coalition: It’s Everything (Livestream)
Sean Roberts, Emergency Services Specialist, County of Tulare Public Health; Ashley Ave, Emergency Management, Coordinator, Valley Children’s Healthcare

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With disasters increasing in frequency, scope, and duration, for any California medical facility the question of whether you will need outside help is not if, but rather when and from where. When disaster strikes, help can come from unlikely sources. Active participation in a health care coalition provides the opportunity to grow and cultivate relationships before disaster strikes. This presentation will present four different examples of how strong, preexisting relationships proved crucial during emergencies, benefiting both the hospital and the community at large.

Clever Integrations: Teams and Hospital Incident Command
Scott Cossey, Disaster Planner/Surge Coordinator, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
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“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.” Your MS Teams Command Center is the same. During this presentation, you will learn how to integrate any HICS document directly into MS Teams and instantly share it with your entire organization. Gain a better understanding of how to take advantage of the MS Teams platform in a way that facilitates the exchange of data in real time. If you have been looking for the fundamental steps to create a turnkey command center solution, these techniques may be what you have been looking for.

Artificial Intelligence: Tools, Ethics and Risks, Changes Coming
Janette Ducut Ed.D, Director, Training & Education, University of California Riverside
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Artificial Intelligence is here to help you do things faster. If you’ve ever been stuck writing a policy, analyzing thousands of datapoints on a spreadsheet, or creating a presentation, this session will show you free tools that can do the work for you. You’ll learn AI prompts to help write, code, solve problems, translate into different languages, or even generate images of an accident or injury scene you want to create. Using scenarios from risk, health and safety, and emergency management, you’ll learn how to save time so you can do something else in the world of disaster planning.

Preparing Adult Health Care Facilities for Pediatric Disaster Victims
Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN, Manager, Emergency Management, and Vicky Olson, Emergency Training and Exercises Program Manager, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
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During disasters, children may present to health care facilities regardless of those facilities’ pediatric care capabilities, and health care organizations must prepare for those potential pediatric victims. In this presentation, you will gain valuable insight into pediatric disaster planning and response as Children’s Hospital Los Angeles highlights three new resources – a family preparedness activity, a pediatric decontamination picture book, and a virtual training workshop covering many pediatric disaster scenarios.

11:30 – 11:45 a.m. | Break

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

Enhancing Cybersecurity for Health Care: Addressing the IT and Emergency Management Gap (Livestream)
Jan Merrick, BS, ESC HPP Coordinator, and William Luna, Emergency Services Coordinator, County of Riverside Emergency Management Department

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This presentation will cover best practices in Riverside County for integrating information security and emergency management professionals in planning and resiliency efforts against cyber threats posed against partners in the health care and other sectors. Presenters will address emergency management support to include leveraging state and federal resources, on-going training opportunities, inter-agency cooperation, and planning efforts related to templates, work groups, and regional outlining.

A+ After-Action Reports
Janet Gutierrez, BA, HEM, Safety Officer, Sutter Health – Bay Area
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In the wake of massive emergency exercises or real-life crises, emergency management coordinators often find themselves tasked with a crucial responsibility: writing After-Action Reports (AARs). Discover practical strategies for leveraging resources, technology, and emergency management expertise to streamline the AAR writing process. From exercises to real-life incidents, learn how to transform insights gathered into actionable recommendations that enhance organizational resilience. Don’t miss this opportunity to equip yourself with the tools and knowledge to excel in post-event analysis and planning.

Multi-Sector Collaborative Approach to Emergency Preparedness
Andrew Ward, NREMT, TLO, Program Manager of Emergency Preparation, Providence
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Collaboration matters! This presentation will demonstrate the importance of a multi-sector and community-based approach to Emergency Preparedness. It will include key steps to take to succeed at collaboration and highlight its importance by tying it to real world events. Attendees will learn simple steps that can be easily applied to help build collaborative efforts in the community.

Understanding and Managing Hospital Surge: A Comprehensive Approach
Steve Shrubb, Emergency Management Coordinator, Long Beach Medical Center
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This presentation will delve into the critical issue of hospital surge. This phenomenon poses significant challenges to health care systems. We will explore the various factors contributing to hospital surge, including but not limited to, increased patient volume, resource scarcity, and workforce shortages. We will also discuss the potential impacts of hospital surge on patient care quality, health care worker morale, and overall hospital operations. We will also touch upon the role of technology and data analytics in predicting and managing surge situations.

12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | Hosted Luncheon

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1:45 – 2:45 p.m. | General Session | Frontline Facility: Initial Management of a Patient with a Suspected Special Pathogen
Jennifer Cuzzolina, Special Pathogens Program Coordinator, Jennifer Garland, and Ryan Tuchmayer, MPH, Director, Emergency Management, Environmental Health & Safety, Cedars Sinai

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In a time of increasing emerging special pathogens threats, The Joint Commission will implement new standards for which hospitals must adhere for the initial management of a patient with a special pathogen. During this presentation, Cedars Sinai will discuss the management of a patient with a special pathogen who presents to a frontline facility. Considerations for PPE selection, waste management, and enhanced infection control measures will be discussed and interactive case studies for possible patient scenarios will be presented.

2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Closing Keynote Session| Enhancing Health Care Emergency Preparedness: Tools for Success
Rachel Lehman, ASPR TRACIE Program Director, HHS Strategic Preparedness and Response Center for Prepare

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) provides stakeholders easy access to health care emergency preparedness information, promising practices, and relevant new knowledge. This session will highlight recent resources and tools ASPR TRACIE developed in coordination with its subject matter expert, Cadre, in response to current hot topics in health care preparedness such as: cyber threats, hospital and regional patient surge management, pediatric resources, workforce shortages, utility outages, behavioral health and workforce resilience, and health care coalition engagement.

Speaker Biographies

Erik Angle, RN, MICN, MEP, NHDP
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
Sutter Roseville
Mr. Angle has been in Emergency Medical Services for more than 30 years. Currently, he is an Emergency Department Registered Nurse and has been for 24 years with a specialty in Emergency Management for 18 years. He is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the Sutter Roseville Medical Center and a former EMS, Trauma and Emergency Management Coordinator for Rideout Health. Mr. Angle has also been an instructor at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) which is the nation’s leading training center for emergency management education.

Ashley Ave
Emergency Management Coordinator
Valley Children’s Healthcare
Mrs. Ave began her career at Valley Children’s Healthcare in 2000 focusing on Clinical and Patient/Family Education. In 2014, she transitioned into the role of Emergency Management Coordinator where she provides oversight, coordination, and continuous evaluation of Emergency Management Program activities for the health care network. She is dedicated to equipping leaders and their teams to participate in all phases of the emergency management process. Mrs. Ave is an active member of the Central California Healthcare Coalition and the Madera County Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee.

Mara Bryant, MBA
Operations Executive
Adventist Health White Memorial (AHWM)
Ms. Bryant leads by integrating the Malcolm Baldrige vision into AHWM’s health care transformation, its business framework, strategic planning and organizational performance to strengthen the continuum of care.

Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN
Manager, Emergency Management
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Ms. Cheung is a pediatric nurse who works as the emergency preparedness manager at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). While initially working bedside at CHLA, Ms. Cheung took on additional duties as the nurse champion for special pathogens preparedness. Her enthusiasm for conducting meaningful trainings and developing sustainable processes has bolstered CHLA’s preparedness and response for children infected with high-consequence infectious diseases. Now, she leverages her expertise to keep not only CHLA prepared but also increase the overall pediatric disaster readiness across LA County and the Southern California region.

Matthew Conroy
Battalion Chief
Los Angeles City Fire Department
Matthew Conroy currently serves the City of Los Angeles as a Battalion Chief assigned to the Fire Department’s EMS Bureau. In this role, he is responsible for EMS-related training and administration within the Department. Matthew is passionate about improving the quality of care received by EMS patients, as well as the quality of life for EMS providers.

Scott Cossey
Disaster Resource Coordinator/Trauma Surge Coordinator
Henry May Newhall Hospital
Mr. Cossey is a Disaster Resource Coordinator/Trauma Surge Coordinator for Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Mr. Cossey serves as the Regional Disaster Resource Coordinator for Region 5, supporting 8 umbrella organizations, over 22 Long-term Care Facilities, and over 9 Ambulatory Service Companies. During a crisis, Mr. Cossey is tasked with deploying badly needed Hospital Preparedness Program-funded resources.

Jennifer Cuzzolina, RN, MSN-CIC
Special Pathogens Program Coordinator
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Ms. Cuzzolina began supporting the Special Pathogens Program in 2017 as an Infection Preventionist in the Department of Epidemiology. In June of 2020, she transitioned to a full-time role as Special Pathogens Program Coordinator, focusing on curriculum development of special pathogen preparedness and training of response team members. Ms. Cuzzolina serves as a subject matter expert on multiple workgroups for the National Emerging Special Pathogens Education and Treatment Center (NETEC).

Janette de la Rosa Ducut, Ed.D
Director, Training & Education
University of California, Riverside
Ms. Ducut is the Director of Training & Education at University of California, Riverside where she established the Center of Excellence for Risk & Safety Training. Ms. Ducut has used technology to teach people stuff for the last 24 years. Over the past decade, Ms. Ducut has changed the way universities provide training by publishing hundreds of online training courses in risk, health, and safety. She specializes in eLearning, video production, and integrating active learning experiences using emerging technology.

Kimberly Galey
National Emergency Management Consultant
Kaiser Permanente
Kimberly Galey is a National Emergency Management Consultant with Kaiser Permanente. She supports the National Command Center (NCC) and national initiatives such as overseeing and shaping policies related to emergency management, providing ongoing education and regulatory survey support, partnering with internal and external stakeholders on emergency management projects and exercises, and leading and supporting groups focusing on planning, mitigation, response and recovery efforts.

Jennifer Garland, RN-BC, PhD, CIC
Nurse Epidemiologist and Special Pathogens Clinical Program Manager
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Hospital Epidemiology
Dr. Garland is a nurse epidemiologist and the Special Pathogens Clinical Program Manager at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Hospital Epidemiology. She was previously a disease specific care reviewer for The Joint Commission. Dr. Garland was deployed to central Sierra Leone in 2015 with Partners in Health and provided patient care and infection control support in the Maforki Ebola Treatment Unit, and again in 2016 to support the Ministry of Health with the implementation of the Comprehensive Programme for Ebola Survivors.

Brigitte Glines, CA-PEM, IAEM-CEM, DVM
Hub Manager
USCSF Pediatric Pandemic Network
Dr. Brigitte French is the University of California- San Francisco Hub Program Manager for the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN), an all-hazards network of children’s hospitals in diverse regions of the United States. The vision of the PPN is for all children and families to receive high-quality, equitable pediatric care in everyday emergencies, disasters, and global health threats. She was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 2005 as a Public Health Officer and transitioned to civilian healthcare emergency management in 2015. Dr. French became a Certified Emergency Manager with the International Association of Emergency Managers in 2017 and earned her California Professional Emergency Management certification in 2023.

Jodie Gregory, MSNPA, MBA, CATSM, CCI
Emergency Management & PBS Operations Manager
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Ms. Gregory’s health care emergency management experience follows a long-standing health care career. Over the last decade, her expertise included supporting hospital construction and activation projects, designing emergency training exercises, and coordinating responses to various incidents on both the East and West Coasts, including pandemics, natural disasters, and power outages. Before joining UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, she worked at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley, Orlando Health, Inc., and the Center for Domestic Preparedness where she continues serving as a subject matter expert and adjunct instructor.

Jonathan Gudel
Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, Earthquake Early Warning
Cal OES
Jon Gudel is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) program, which includes System Operations, Education and Outreach and Research and Development. Prior to EEW, he worked in the Crisis Communications and Public Affairs office at California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).

Janet Gutierrez, BA, HEM
Environmental Health & Safety Specialist III
Sutter Health – Sutter Delta Medical Center
Ms. Gutierrez is an Environmental Health & Safety Specialist III at Sutter Delta Medical Center. At Sutter Health, Ms. Gutierrez manages safety programs, including emergency management for acute care facilities. Previously, Ms. Gutierrez was an emergency preparedness coordinator for county health departments. With certifications in health care environmental management and experience in both government agencies and hospitals, she brings a comprehensive approach to health care regulatory compliance and emergency preparedness programs.

Kathy Harris, MCRP
Executive Director
Stanford Health Care
Ms. Harris’ emergency management experiences include supporting activation new hospital buildings, designing and directing emergency exercises, and coordinating response to many planned events and unplanned incidents including pandemic, work stoppage, utility outages, inclement weather, and wildfire. Prior to joining Stanford Medicine, she served at the University of Oregon, Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 Risk Management Program, Stanford University, and City and County of San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.

Danisha Jenkins, PhD, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC, NHDP-BC
Director of Emergency Preparedness
Sharp HealthCare
Dr. Jenkins is the System Director of Emergency Preparedness at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego and an Assistant Professor of Nursing at San Diego State University. She is passionate about health equity in emergency management, and the nurse’s unique role in disaster response and recovery.

Donna Johnson
Senior Emergency Services Coordinator
Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch
County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency
Ms. Johnson provides coordination support for the Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch, which oversees the local preparedness and response activities. She coordinates with citizens, public officials, and representatives of stakeholder groups including emergency managers, first responder agencies, healthcare providers, military, academia, and state and federal partners. Ms. Johnson assists in the coordination of various disaster preparedness grants. She functions as a Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator Duty Officer.

Rachel Lehman
HHS ASPR TRACIE Program Director (Acting)
HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Center for Preparedness
Ms. Lehman is the Acting Director of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) Program. In her role as acting director, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the program, provides guidance on emerging issues and gaps/challenges, and acts as a liaison for the program. Previously, Ms. Lehman was an analyst in ASPR’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection where she held multiple roles including leading communications, helping manage the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector Partnership, and working on all-hazards risk assessment for the HPH Sector.

William Luna
Emergency Services Coordinator
County of Riverside Emergency Management Department
With over five years of experience within the field of emergency management, Mr. Luna represents the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department by working with local agencies to develop and administer tactics that bolster their cybersecurity programs. As an advocate for unity and a one team, one fight perspective, Mr. Luna has been successful bringing together emergency management and cybersecurity professionals across his area of responsibility through a variety of exercises, work groups, and training courses.

Jan Merrick, BS
Emergency Services Coordinator
County of Riverside Emergency Management Department
With over 40 years of experience in the health and medical fields, Ms. Merrick represents the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department leading the Riverside County Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and local Healthcare Coalition (HCC). As the coalition lead, she ensures the revision and evaluation of multiple HCC hospital agreements, preparedness, and surge plans, as well as provides ongoing collaboration with surrounding counties’ HPPs to prepare for, respond to, and recover from all hazards.

Shanley Miller
Business Manager
Mass General Brigham
Shanley Miller is the Business Continuity Manager with Mass General Brigham (MGB), Department of Emergency Preparedness and Continuity. In this role, she develops an emerging Continuity Program to serve the demands of a healthcare system while meeting the needs of its individual entities. Prior to joining MGB, Ms. Miller developed her passion for preparedness working within the United States federal government and biotechnology industry.

Marc Moriguchi, EMTP
Director
Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management
Mr. Moriguchi was promoted to Director with the Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management in 2020. He is a licensed paramedic in the state of Hawaii with 30 years of experience in prehospital care and 14 years as a Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) member.

Angela Murray, MSN, RN
Project Director, Healthcare Standards Development Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation
The Joint Commission
Angela Murray is a Senior Product Director for Healthcare Standards Development. Her background includes over 25 years as an ER/Trauma nurse at Level I and II Trauma Centers in the Chicagoland area. She has also served as adjunct faculty in the College of Nursing at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL and now leads The Joint Commission’s Emergency Management Chapter standards for all accreditation programs as well as manages the cardiac certifications programs offered by The Joint Commission.

Trish Muth-Masayon, MPH, MBA
Emergency Manager
Sharp HealthCare
Trish Muth-Masayon, MPH, MBA is the Regional Emergency Manager for Sharp HealthCare in over three hospitals, three skilled nursing facilities and three hospice homes. Before that, she worked for the County of San Diego Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch helping to coordinate the training and exercise program for the San Diego Healthcare Disaster Coalition and as one of the Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator Duty Officers during the Golden Hills Post Acute Care Evacuation.

Lizi Oceransky, M.A., MCC, CPCC, CDWF, CDTLD
Facilitator and Coach
Vidl Work
Ms. Oceransky has over 20 years of experience assisting individuals, teams, and organizations in enhancing their effectiveness, impact, and cohesion. At the core of her work is her passion for helping her clients reach their full potential by connecting with their authentic voices, passions, and skills, boosting their confidence, and enabling them to thrive. Ms. Oceransky is trilingual (Spanish, English, and Hebrew) and her work involves coaching individuals and teams from diverse cultural backgrounds, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Vicky Olson, MPS, BSN, RN
Emergency Training and Exercises Program Manager
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Ms. Olson is the Emergency Training and Exercises Program Manager for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). She started in the Emergency Management field as a wildland firefighter before becoming a nurse. She is passionate about increasing health care and community emergency preparedness and response capabilities.

Raj Puri, MD, MPH
Corporate Medical Director
PBF Energy
Dr. Raj Puri is the Corporate Medical Director for PBF Energy. He specializes in Occupational Medicine and Clinical Informatics and oversees the company’s medical clinics as well as the health and well-being of employees across the company nationwide. Dr. Puri is a physician with expertise in exposure-related incidents and works at the intersection of medicine, public health, and technology involving workplace safety.

Christopher Riccardi, CHSP, CHEP
Manager of Emergency Management and Business Continuity
Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC)
Mr. Riccardi’s responsibilities include the development, implementation, and management of Emergency Management planning and exercises and of the enterprise-wide Business Continuity Program. He serves as Chair of the Southern California Pediatric Disaster Coalition developing best practice resources for pediatric hospitals. Mr. Riccardi also serves as Chair of the Health Care Coalition of Orange County’s Hospital Advisory Committee. He was the visionary behind the 15 ‘til 50 project – a nationally recognized best practice in health care mass casualty incident response planning. Chris is a certified health care safety and emergency management professional.

Sean Roberts
Emergency Services Specialist II
County of Tulare Public Health
Mr. Roberts is an Emergency Services Specialist II for the County of Tulare Public Health. He is currently assigned to the PHEP, HPP, and MHOAC programs within the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency and serves as his agency’s ICS instructor. Mr. Roberts began his emergency management career in Tulare County Public Health in 2022 having seen firsthand the importance of emergency preparedness and planning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining Tulare County, he was a paramedic supervisor, spending 20 years in EMS culminating with coordinating his agency’s response to COVID-19, closely working with hospitals and public health to support both testing and vaccination efforts including a mobile vaccination team.

Isabel Sanchez
Disaster Services Specialist
Emergency Coordination Programs
Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency
Isabel is the Disaster Services Specialist with L.A. County EMS Agency Emergency Coordination Programs in the Disaster Response Section. She oversees the Medical Health Operational Area Coordination (MHOAC), Region 1 Regional Disaster Medical Health Coordination (RDMHC) programs as well as the Department Emergency Coordination/Building Emergency Coordination (DEC/BEC) programs. Ms. Sanchez assists in the planning, development, evaluation and coordination of the countywide emergency preparedness and disaster services programs.

Mitch Saruwatari
Director of National Emergency Management
Kaiser Permanente
In this role, Mr. Saruwatari helps lead Kaiser Permanente in building resiliency through strategic planning, developing coordinated response activities and partnering in recovery capabilities resulting from any adverse event impacting health care delivery or business operations. Throughout his 25 years of emergency management experience, he has responded to many state and federal disasters including the September 11th Attacks, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, multiple California Wildfires, Covid Pandemic, Ebola Outbreak. He has served on state and national committees including Chair for the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) Center for Education and Training. He has published several articles and serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California and an instructor and curriculum developer for the U.S. Center for Domestic Preparedness.

Steve Shrubb, RN, BSN
Emergency Management Officer and Disaster Resource Center Coordinator
Long Beach Medical Center
Mr. Shrubb currently works as the Emergency Management Officer and Disaster Resource Center Coordinator at Long Beach Medical Center. Mr. Shrubb has over 20 years of experience in emergency management, including extensive experience in Emergency Department operations and administration. As an experienced Lean Management Fellow, Mr. Shrubb provided leadership and guidance in multiple performance improvement projects throughout the MemorialCare Healthcare System. Previously, Mr. Shrubb served 24 years with the U.S. Army Reserve where he was a senior enlisted leader.

Andi Tenner, MD, MPH, FACEP
Director, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Andrea (Andi) Tenner is a board-certified physician in both emergency medicine and internal medicine. She also holds a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health from the American Society for Tropical Health and Hygiene. She is currently serving as the Director for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response for the City and County of San Francisco. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and is UCSF Global Health Sciences Affiliate Faculty.

Ryan Tuchmayer
Director, Emergency Management
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Mr. Tuchmayer is the Director of Emergency Management at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He organizes the medical center’s emergency preparedness and response efforts, including as a Co-PI for the Region 9 Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center. Mr. Tuchmayer also co-leads the Westend Disaster Resource Center, which coordinates preparedness efforts among umbrella hospitals, clinics, and pre-hospital providers in the Western region of LA County.

Margaret Vinci
Manager, Office of Earthquake Programs and SoCal Regional Coordinator
Caltech
Margaret Vinci is the Manager of the Office of Earthquake Programs, Communication, Education and Outreach and the So California Regional Coordinator for ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning. She serves as the liaison between Caltech seismologists and critical users of earthquake information including lifelines, emergency managers, and responders. She also works with community leaders to assess potential earthquake risks to life and property, research & development of earthquake tools to reduce losses, make quick response decisions, and provide education and training to promote earthquake resiliency.

Andrew Ward, NREMT, TLO
Director of Emergency Management/Environment of Care, Facility Safety Officer
Antelope Valley Medical Center
Mr. Ward is the Director of Emergency Management/EOC for Antelope Valley Medical Center. Mr. Ward also serves as the LA County Region 10 Disaster Resource Center (DRC) coordinator. He has been involved in Emergency Preparedness for 20+ years, first as a Disaster Lead and Decon instructor in the ED then as part of the Emergency Preparedness Department. He is a former Paramedic and works as an EMT skills instructor.

Kyle Whimpey, NHA
Executive Director
Somerset Sub Acute & Care
Of the 9 years in health care, Mr. Whimpey spent 7 of them in the skilled nursing industry, primarily dedicated to administrative roles with organizations that include PACs, Aspen Skilled Healthcare, and most recently both Golden Hill Post-Acute Care & Somerset Sub Acute & Care. His operational leadership has impacted various regions including Northern California, West Los Angeles, San Diego, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Sponsors & Exhibitors

The California Hospital Association would like to thank our 2024 annual conference sponsors and exhibitors!