2022 Disaster Planning Conference

REMEMBER, RECHARGE, and RECONNECT

“Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.”

-Thomas Monson

What health care workers experienced over the last two years will be talked about for generations to come. We suffered professional and personal losses, pushed ourselves beyond our limits, and learned more than we ever expected. Fortunately, one of our greatest strengths is resiliency. Through it all, we strengthened ties with our colleagues, communities, and families.

Now it’s time to come together. REMEMBER, RECHARGE, and RECONNECT.

Spend two days with your colleagues as you learn more about disaster planning, past, present, and future. Not only will you hear from experts in the field, but you will get an opportunity to network with peers, share your ideas and lessons learned, and celebrate the milestones that brought you each together. You deserve this!

This will be the first in-person Disaster Conference since 2019. Unable to attend in person? Not to worry. We will have a livestreaming option.

2:00 – 5:00 p.m. | Beat the crowd, check-in early
Pasadena Convention Center lobby

Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions.

Tuesday, September 13

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | Registration & Exhibitor Viewing

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. | Opening Comments

9:15 – 10:15 a.m. | Keynote Session — Resilience Through Chaos
Rebecca Thomas, LMSW, Counselor, Tania Glenn & Associates, PA®
Now, more than ever, first responders and health care workers must be resilient. Resilience means being, living, working, and playing well. It means living the best life possible. While most people want to be more resilient, many simply do not know how. This session helps participants define and understand resilience and teaches ways to build resilience in a no-nonsense and completely achievable way.

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. | Exhibit Show and Best Practices Poster Showcase

10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | General Session — Platinum Pediatric Surge Playbook: Catastrophic Capable
Cynthia Frankel, RN, MN, Pediatric Surge Lead, HPP LEMSA Liaison and EMSC Coordinator, WRAP-EM Working Group & Alameda County EMS; Michael Frogel, MD, Chairman, National Pediatric Disaster Coalition; Vicki Sakata, MD, FAAEM, FAAP, Senior Medical Advisor, Northwest Healthcare Response Network; Damien Siwik, Project Manager University of Michigan, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
This session provides a proposed Model State and Multi-Jurisdictional Pediatric Surge PLAYBOOK (Master Guide Toolkit) to maximize and leverage pediatric surge operational capability during catastrophic events across local, state, and regional borders. It aligns and supports existing national, and state pediatric surge/emergency operations plans, and hospital plans. Recommendations can be utilized by a future integrated command structure across state jurisdictions to collectively leverage and incorporate pediatric situational awareness and response capabilities.

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

12:15 – 12:30 p.m. | Sponsored Session | Maximizing Situational Awareness: An Introduction in Utilizing Building Data to Improve Decision-making During an Earthquake
Brandon Parrott, Manager, Product Development and Marketing, Kinemetrics

The presentation will briefly discuss an approach to capturing data on building impact, non-structural impact, and occupant impact to maximize situational awareness during earthquakes. It will demonstrate how this information can be combined with safety checklists and simple tools to improve emergency response and outcomes.

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

Active Shooter Preparation and Training for Hospitals (Livestream)
Angela Warneke, Hospital Administrator, County of San Diego; Michael Pacheco, Detective, San Diego County Sheriff Department
An active shooter event is likely one of the worst events that can happen within a medical facility due to trauma, loss of potential life, and the continued need for patient care. The active shooter training within hospital settings will assist leadership and educators in establishing protocols, training strategies, community assessment of coverage, and developing a recovery response plan.
Desperate Times Call for Different Measures: Building Crisis Standards of Care During COVID-19
Martha Meredith Masters, Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the health care system and how we deliver care. The Emergency Department is often on the frontline when making difficult decisions regarding care when resources become scarce. It is important to address this with education on crisis standards of care as well as scrutiny of existing models. This includes challenging how they are best designed to meet our current needs, where there might be crucial gaps in the assessment of need and delivery of care, and when they must be implemented.
Hospital Evacuation – Lessons from the Caldor Fire
April Boyde, MSSM, CPP, Safety and Security Manager, and Elizabeth Stork, Chief Human Resource Officer, Barton Health
The primary objective of this presentation is to assist other health care facilities with improving their own response and business continuity plans in the event of a wildfire evacuation. Presenters share lessons learned from the full-scale evacuation of Barton Memorial Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility in response to the Caldor Fire. We will discuss the logistical challenges of evacuating and repopulating a bistate rural health care system, explore staffing and personnel challenges and considerations, and review lessons learned.
Minutes to Hours – The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Evacuation Toolkit
Suzy Fitzgerald, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, Regional EM Training Director & Emergency Physician, Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Shakiara Kitchen, CHEP, CEM, Regional Practice Specialist, Emergency Management, Kaiser Permanante
This session will provide emergency management personnel with an overview of hospital evacuation considerations when there are only minutes to hours to prepare. The life cycle of an evacuation event will be presented including the Pre-Evacuation, Evacuation, and Post-Evacuation stages, with a focus on the preparedness and response actions in each stage. The components of a standardized evacuation toolkit and recommendations for hospitals/health care systems to adapt and implement the toolkit will be reviewed.

1:45 – 2:15 p.m. | Break, Exhibit Show and Best Practices Poster Showcase

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. | General Session — Spill Drill Thrill: Prepare Your Facility for a Chemical Emergency!
Jason Wilken, PHD, MPH, CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer, and Danny Kwon, MPH, REHS, California Department of Public Health
Chemical emergencies can happen at any time at health care facilities. The impact may not only be to the facility but patients, staff, and the surrounding community. To assist hospitals and all health care partners, ASPR/TRACIE has developed a “Chemical Emergency Considerations for Health Care Facilities” resource to assist in preparing and responding to chemical emergencies.

3:15 – 4:15 | General Session — Emergency Management Chapter Revisions
Angela Murray, Project Director, Healthcare Standards Development, and Jim Kendig, Field Director, Surveyor Management and Support, The Joint Commission
This presentation provides information about the new and revised Emergency Management chapter standards and elements of performance (EPs) and provide recommendations for implementing the new and revised standards/Eps as well as understand the new survey process . It is specifically for Joint Commission Accredited Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals. At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

Describe new and revised Emergency Management chapter standards for HAP/CAH Accreditation Programs
Discuss and understand the new Survey Process
Identify Emergency management available chapter resources

4:15 – 4:30 p.m. | Sponsored Session | Being Predictive and Proactive: Saving Minutes When Seconds Count
Alok Jain, CEO, Quicklert

During an emergency, every minute, every second counts – whether it is a patient falling, a shooter in the building, a pandemic or a weather-related event. Every healthcare organization needs the right tools – the right technology that is designed to work together intelligently. The Quicklert Connected Healthcare Platform delivers enhanced communications and provides real-time situational awareness during these types of events. Quicklert will share how it helps healthcare organizations create Safe-Smart hospitals by providing AI-based solutions that detect guns, patient falls, mask compliance coupled with advanced video monitoring and nurse call system that saves money and saves lives through a reimagined patient-nurse-physician experience throughout the hospital.

4:30 – 6:00 p.m. | Exhibit Show Reception and Best Practices Poster Showcase
Mingle with colleagues, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, and learn about useful products and services that can help you with disaster planning and response

Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions.

Wednesday, September 14

7:00 – 7:45 a.m. | Registration, Continental Breakfast, Exhibit Show and Best Practices Poster Showcase

7:30 – 7:45 a.m. | Sponsored Sunrise Session | Plan, Develop, Evaluate and Improve Emergency Management Activities
Mary Connelly, BS, MEP, ORAU

Since 2008, ORAU has been working alongside the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Emergency Management (VHA OEM) designing, developing, maintaining, and refining the Performance Improvement Management System (PIMS) – an integrated, secure software suite that unifies critical preparedness activities for emergency managers and their leadership. VHA PIMS is a web-based system that provides a consistent and efficient approach to plan, develop, evaluate and improve emergency management activities throughout the VHA and enables multi-level participation and collaboration supporting 170 medical centers and 1,100 outpatient sites. ORAU will share a brief overview of VHA PIMS focused on the Event Builder tool, developed in accordance with HSEEP methodology using National Performance Measures and Accreditation Standards to generate evaluation criteria, after-action reporting, and exercise requirement tracking highlighting features and functionality used in more than 5,000 exercises/incidents.

7:45 – 8:00 a.m. | Opening Comments

8:00 – 9:15 a.m. | Keynote Session — Uvalde Texas: School Shooting Medical Response Teams
Eric Epley, Executive Director & CEO; Jordan Ghawi, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and TX-EMTF Task Force Leader, Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC); and Julia Rodriguez, Emergency Director, Uvalde Memorial Hospital
On May 24, 2022, 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot, and 17 others were wounded, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In a community of just over 16,000 people, responders faced one known factor — they likely knew victims involved in the shooting. In spite of this, emergency responders had to keep their focus on their jobs: saving lives. The dialogue will take a profound dive into the on-scene perspective, regional mutual aid response, resources deployed, and the role of the Incident Commander at the Uvalde Memorial Hospital on that tragic day.

9:15 – 9:45 a.m. | Break, Exhibit Show and Best Practices Poster Showcase

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.| General Session — Pros and Cons: Protection Dogs in Hospitals for Security
Mark Bosque, Founder & CEO, K9 X-Factor; Marcus Brown, K9 Security Officer, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center; Mike Dunning, Principal Consultant, The Healthcare Security Consulting Group, LLC; Michael Vestino, Dr, PH, MHA, EML, FACHE, Vice President of Support Services, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center; and Enox, K9 Officer
K9s represent an effective way to prevent and reduce hospital violence and increase safety for patients, staff and visitors. This panel discussion explores the pros and cons of using protection dogs in hospitals and/or hospital emergency rooms. Presenters currently work in hospitals using protection dogs or with security companies providing canines for hospital security.

10:45 – 11:00 a.m. | Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

Trial by Fire: Building the Strength to be Flexible
Morgan Jarus, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Sutter Lakeside Hospital
Disruption is now the norm, and hospitals must be prepared to respond to multiple types of disasters – sometimes running simultaneous responses or prolonged Incident Command Centers. Learn from an emergency preparedness coordinator whose hospital has opened HICS 17 times in seven years, responding to a wide variety of disasters. During this session, you’ll learn how to engage staff and leaders in a meaningful way to build a living, relevant EM program that has the strength to be flexible, adding resilience to your team to emerge stronger after disasters.
Social Media Roles in Emergency Management
Valerie Lakey, Executive Director, Mayers Memorial Hospital District
The public information officer (PIO) is a vital part of the incident command team, charged with delivering accurate information to the right people at the right time. This session will review the role of the PIO and present attendees with strategies for utilizing social media for emergency communications.
Health Systems’ Partnerships with Public Health for Disaster Response
Tiffany Rivera, Deputy Director, PHEPR, San Francisco Department of Public Health; and Gino Cifolelli, Clinical Support Planner, San Francisco Department of Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health care delivery systems world-wide by straining scarce resources, such as critical care therapeutics, hospital beds and clinical staff, necessitating drastic public health measures. Cross-institutional collaborations within communities offer unique opportunities to prevent or mitigate health disparities in resource utilization and access to care. In this session, San Francisco Department of Public Health will present on their collaboration with health systems that allowed them to do just that.
NDMS Pilot Program: Enhancing Capacity, Capability and Interoperability across the NDMS Definitive Care Network (Livestream)
Clair Pelura, Manager, Deloitte Consulting; Patrick Femia, Business Analyst, Deloitte Consulting; and Gabriela House-Lee, Project Manager, Operations, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot Program is identifying opportunities to enhance partnerships between military and civilian health care systems to improve military-civilian interoperability and medical surge capabilities and capacity to care for combat casualties repatriated to the United States. This session will provide an overview of the pilot program, activities completed to date, highlight medical surge readiness and opportunities for improvement in the Sacramento region based on stakeholder feedback. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of opportunities and mechanisms to improve medical surge readiness in California.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Plated Lunch, Raffle and Grand Prize Drawing

1:15 – 2:15 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)

How to Manage a Response Using Virtual & Hybrid Command Centers (Livestream)
Kelly Anderson, Enterprise Emergency Management, City of Hope
When health care workforce moved to home offices to minimize the effects on COVID-19 in the workplace, it created changes for the traditional hospital command center. How do you run a virtual/hybrid command center while continuing to experience COVID-19 surges and other code triages? This session addresses incident response and management, including what technology, planning, training and education is needed to make a virtual/hybrid command center successful.
Hospital Guidebook for Access and Functional Needs (AFN) in a Disaster
Kevin Muszynski, Project Manager, Support Services, and Steve Storbakken, Director, Emergency Preparedness & Environment of Care Compliance, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center; and L. Vance Taylor, Chief, Office of Access and Functional Needs, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
The AFN Guidebook is a tool hospital emergency managers can use to broaden their understanding of diverse AFN communities while empowering them to develop hospital policies and procedures, risk assessments, and Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) capable of meeting the complexities associated with serving the AFN community during disasters.
Incident Response and Maintaining Situational Awareness Across Multiple Facilities/Regions
Kimberly Galey, National EM Consultant, and Shakiara Kitchen, CHEP, CEM, Regional Practice Specialist, Emergency Management, Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente embarked upon a journey to standardize emergency response and research and deploy an incident response tool which will allow the organization to communicate effectively in an accurate and timely manner. Join us in a discussion to review the research, development and implementation process Kaiser has utilized to adopt and standardize a hospital incident response system covering eight regions, 42 hospitals and a national command center. The purpose of the discussion will be to help others identify technology needs, potential questions, issues and strategies.
Leading, Learning and Laying the Course Through COVID-19
Christopher Riccardi, CHSP, CHEP, Manager, Emergency Management & Business Continuity, and Calvin Fakkema, Director of Support Services, Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC)
This presentation demonstrates how CHOC adapted to the barrage of issues that were faced during COVID-19. The hospital command center (HCC) implemented day care for staff families, outdoor preprocedural drive-through testing, staff guidance and information sharing through “Source of Truth” messaging and two-way situational reporting amongst coalition peers. Documenting all activities through a virtual HCC tool with over 6,000 activity log entries over 36 operational periods has proven to be a best practice that made a daunting task manageable.

2:15 – 2:30 p.m.| Break

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. | General Session — UC Davis Meets TJC Emergency Management Standards While Increasing Program Quality
Kristina Spurgeon, Emergency Manager, and Charles Schafer, Emergency Management Coordinator, UC Davis Health
Learn how UCDH conducted an in-depth inventory of the current EM program and used a focused self-assessment protocol to identify and address gaps that can be easily applied to your hospital’s EM Program. Hear how this collaboration opportunity with stakeholders increased the success of the EM program, and what The Joint Commission surveyors thought of these efforts. Available tools for attendees include an updated Hazard Vulnerability Analysis template and standards cheat sheet spreadsheet.

3:30 p.m. | Closing Remarks

Mark Bosque has 20 years in event, entertainment, and corporate security. Mr. Bosque has had a passion for canines since he was a child. In 2007, he started a security company with a business partner which specializes in event and corporate security. The company went from four accounts to sixty accounts in five years. He stresses customer service and goes out of his way to make sure the client is receiving exceptional customer service.

In his free time, he has volunteered with Guide Dogs with the Blind for several years and has experience with explosive detection dogs in Southern California after 9-11.

April Boyde is the Safety, Security, and Emergency Manager for Barton Health, a bi-state health care system serving the South Lake Tahoe community and surrounding areas. Previously, Ms. Boyde served 20 years with the U.S. Coast Guard where she conducted maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and port security operations as a small boat captain and senior enlisted leader. She enjoys world travel and long hikes to remote hot springs.

Marcus Brown currently works as a K9 Security Officer at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, a Level II trauma hospital located in Los Angeles County. His K-9 partner is a stealthy male Belgian Malinois fondly named “Enox.” Brown received his “Basic Handler and K9 Explosive Detection” certifications through Adlerhorst International, LLC, in Jurupa Valley, CA.Mr. Brown has over eight years of hospital experience and 5 years of experience as a K9 handler. He is passionate about helping others in need and continues to be involved in training with other K9 teams in the Inland Empire region of California.

Gino Cifolelli joined Emergency Preparedness and Response branch of San Francisco Department of Public Health in December 2020. He began his career in EMS in 1994 and has over 20 years’ experience as a Paramedic and EMS instructor.

Mike Dunning is currently the Executive Hospital Security consultant for K9 X-Factor.

Prior to K9 X-Factor, Mr. Dunning was Vice President of Healthcare Operations, Allied Universal Healthcare, where he was responsible for the oversight of all Allied Universal Healthcare account operations in over 4,000 health care facilities, including over 800 hospitals across the United States and Canada. He also served as the National Director for Healthcare Operations and as the Director of Security and Emergency Management for two health care systems, which included inner-city Level I Trauma Centers.

He is an active member of, and has served in multiple volunteer positions with, the International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety, the American Society for Training and Development, A.S.I.S., the Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals, and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Mr. Dunning serves as the subject matter expert for health care security operations and provides support for a wide variety of operational, financial, regulatory, and compliance-related tasks associated with health care security operations. He is a published author, including: “K9 Teams Press ‘Paws’ on Healthcare Violence and Crime.”

Enox is a nine-year-old Belgian Malinois. Enox was born in Germany and brought over to the U.S. to train at the age of two. All of Enox’s commands are in the German language. He is certified in explosive detection and apprehension. Currently, Enox trains weekly and has over one thousand hours of training. He is required to recertify every year in detection and apprehension with California POST. In 2019, he won second place in the toughest dog competition held at the Inland Empire Police Canine Association. Enox’s favorite toy is a Kong ball and any large-sized stick.

Eric Epley has been executive director at Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council for more than 20 years. He is a certified emergency manager and has been a nationally-registered paramedic for more than 30 years. Mr. Epley was also a licensed police officer and was a tactical paramedic at the Branch Davidian standoff. He was a flight paramedic for 10 years with San Antonio AirLife, where he received the National Flight Paramedic of the Year award in 1996. More recently, he served as director of the Regional Medical Operations Center for Hurricanes Rita, Dean, Dolly, Eduard, Gustav, Ike, and Harvey.

Calvin Fakkema has 17 years of experience in safety, security, facilities, and emergency management. In his current role at Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC) he provides leadership to safety, security, workplace violence program, parking, and valet services, emergency management, food services, and environmental services. Additionally, he plans, develops, and directs an enterprise-wide environmental safety program that ensures a safe environment for patients, employees, and visitors. Mr. Fakkema is the administrator of the Safety Program, Environment of Care Committee, and the Emergency Management Program. Additionally, he is a certified Healthcare Safety Professional and certified Healthcare Emergency Professional.

Patrick Femia is an Analyst within Deloitte’s Crisis and Grants Management practice, supporting the Department of Defense National Disaster Medical System Pilot Program in the Sacramento region, working with Travis Air Force Base and David Grant Medical Center. Before NDMS, he supported the Centers for Disease Control with its COVID-19 response efforts and a midwestern state department of health with its Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Patrick’s interest area lies at the intersection of federal health emergency preparedness and response.

Suzy Fitzgerald is an emergency physician with Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, California. She is also the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KP NCAL) Emergency Management Training Director, the COVID-19 Training Lead for The Permanente Medical Group in KP NCAL, and works regionally for KP NCAL on crisis care guidelines, simulation training, and workflow initiatives. Ms. Fitzgerald is part of the KP Northern California Regional Emergency Management Team and assisted with the KP Santa Rosa hospital evacuations in both 2017 and 2019.

Cynthia Frankel leads the Surge Group for the Western Regional Alliance for Pediatric Emergency Management, supported by the Office of the ASPR’s Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence. Ms. Frankel is on the HRSA Pediatric Pandemic Network Capacity & Capabilities Domain Steering Committee. For more than 30 years she has worked for Alameda County EMS as the Pediatric Surge Lead, HPP LEMSA Liaison, and EMSC Coordinator. For the COVID-19 response, she was the Med/Health Branch Director, Health Care Services Agency DOC. Her honors include the California 2013 EMS Distinguished Service Award for statewide leadership advocacy to improve pediatric surge preparedness coalitions. She was President of Global Vision Consortium, Strategic Emergency Management, which provided resiliency solutions to state/local governments. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she deployed on the “Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees.”

Michael Frogel, MD, is Chairman of the National Pediatric Disaster Coalition and Senior Advisor to the ASPR WRAPEM Pediatric Center of Excellence. As a recognized expert in the field, he frequently lectures on pediatric emergency and disaster preparedness in the United States and abroad. Dr. Frogel’s main areas of interest are pediatric emergency preparedness, disaster mental health, child advocacy, sports medicine, and preventive pediatrics. Since 2008, he has served as Principal Investigator for the New York City Department of Health, Pediatric Disaster Coalition. Dr. Frogel has participated as a subject matter expert on different local and national committees and panels. He is Chairman of the National Pediatric Disaster Coalition and recently was named Senior Advisor to the ASPR WRAP-EM Pediatric Center of Excellence. As a recognized expert in the field, he frequently lectures on pediatric emergency preparedness in the United States and abroad.

Jordan Ghawi is an emergency health care and disaster response leader with a passion for civic engagement, working to make Texas communities more resilient. He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC), the regional emergency health care system. He oversaw the creation of the state’s disaster medical response team’s Infectious Disease Response Unit (IDRU) and was instrumental in the state’s response during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Ghawi was previously the Division Chief of Operations for a local fire/EMS agency. Outside of his role at STRAC, he is deeply engaged in community advocacy and volunteers in various capacities to advance health equity, civic engagement, and affordable housing. He is a board member of the San Antonio Housing Trust, a director at Texas Lyceum, and previously served on the Mayor Nirenberg’s Removing Barriers to Affordable Housing task force. Mr. Ghawi is also a licensed paramedic and active volunteer firefighter and was recently named the San Antonio Business Journal’s 2022 Man of the Year.

Gabriela House-Lee is the Senior Outreach Coordinator at Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Ms. House-Lee brings direct patient care and state-level public health program coordination experience to her role on the NDMS Pilot team, in addition to six years of Army National Guard experience. As the Project Manager for the Operations team of the NDMS Pilot, she manages and coordinates Site projects, budgets, and events, and fosters collaborative and strategic partnerships at the local, state, and federal levels.

Morgen Jarus joined the team at Sutter Lakeside in 2015 and quickly fell in love with rural hospital operations. She serves as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the 25-bed Critical Access Hospital in Lake County, CA. She has helped manage disasters ranging from wildfire evacuations to extended IT system downtimes, labor disruptions, power outages, prolonged water failure, and of course, the pandemic. Her experience in communication and event planning has been well suited to the management of the emergency readiness program. As part of the leadership team at a small hospital, she has experienced a broad range of HICS operations opportunities, including serving as Public Information Officer, Safety Officer, Logistics Chief, and Operations Chief. Additionally, she serves as the Safety Officer and Environmental Services Manager at Sutter Lakeside.

James Kendig is the Field Director for the Life Safety Code Surveyors/Engineers at The Joint Commission. In this role, he oversees half of the surveyor cadre who specialize in surveying The Joint Commission’s life safety, environment of care, and emergency management standards.

Previously, Mr. Kendig also served as a Life Safety Code Surveyor for The Joint Commission. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, he was a Vice President and Safety Officer for a four-hospital system in Florida on the “Space Coast.”

Mr. Kendig maintains certifications as a Certified Healthcare Safety Professional, Certified Hazard Control Manager, Certified Healthcare Environmental Manager, and is a licensed Healthcare Risk Manager. He serves on the faculty of the University of Central Florida’s Licensed Risk Management Program.

Shakiara Kitchen has been in the health care industry for 14 years. Her first ten years were spent at Sutter Health as an Environment of Care and Emergency Management Program Coordinator for four hospital campuses in San Francisco. In 2018, Ms. Kitchen transitioned to Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Regional Offices and is currently the Regional Practice Specialist — Emergency Management, overseeing 21 medical centers and their associated medical office buildings and clinics. She sets goals and develops strategies for the Northern California Emergency Management Program which ensures regulatory compliance. She also supports command center operations and manages the implementation of regional improvement plans. She has certifications as a Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP) and a Healthcare Environmental Manager (HEM). In her spare time, Ms. Kitchen also volunteers with refugees through a non-governmental organization.

Danny Kwon is a senior environmental scientist with the Occupational and Environmental Emergency Preparedness Team at the California Department of Public Health. With over 10 years of experience in environmental health and epidemiology, he provides expertise in exposure assessment and works with communities affected by hazardous waste sites. He has written several health consults and public health assessments for Superfund sites and hazardous chemical releases under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry Cooperative Program. During the E-Cigarette and Vaping Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) response, he worked closely with the CDC to collect and share data in response to the EVALI outbreak. He is certified with the state of CA as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist.

Valerie L. Lakey is the Chief Public Relations Officer and Emergency Preparedness Director at Mayers Memorial Hospital District in Fall River Mills, CA. Ms. Lakey’s background and training is in communications. She has been utilizing those skills in her community for over 30 years. As a small business owner, freelance journalist and professional member of the Intermountain community, she has organized and led many community projects, fundraisers and events. She served as an elected official on the Fall River Joint Unified School District for 9 years, where she was actively involved in school programs and other district planning. Ms. Lakey has specialized training in health care marketing, emergency management, special districts, and public relations. Spending her professional life in a rural community has allowed for diversification of skills and unlimited “hands-on” experience. She is a member of the CHA Disaster Planning Conference committee and the CHA State Legislative Strategy Group. She also serves on Governance and Advocacy Committees for the Association of California Healthcare Districts.

Martha Meredith Masters, MD, is the Marc and Laura Andreessen Medical Director for Disaster Relief and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University. She is the medical director for the Office of Emergency Management for Stanford Health Care. Previously, Dr. Masters was Emergency Medicine faculty at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and was the EMS Medical Director for the city of Newark. Dr. Masters’ research focuses on improving training for hospital disaster preparedness, the relationship between prehospital care and the emergency department, and ethics and health equity in EMS and disaster management.

Angela Murray joined The Joint Commission in October 2019. She is currently a Project Director in the Department of Standards and Survey Methods within the Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation. In this role, Ms. Murray is responsible for developing and maintaining requirements for the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) program, the Heart Failure (HF) program, and the heart attack programs offered by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. She also maintains the requirements pertaining to the Emergency Management chapter for each of the accreditation programs offered by The Joint Commission. Ms. Murray co-chairs the Emergency Management Committee and is actively involved in other departmental projects. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, Ms. Murray was the Trauma Coordinator at AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Hospital, Level II Trauma Center in Elk Grove Village, IL, where she was actively involved in developing regional trauma guidelines. She also participated in several Illinois regional and state trauma meetings and in local emergency preparedness activities. Ms. Murray has more than 25 years of clinical nursing experience mainly in emergency/trauma services. She previously served as adjunct faculty at the University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL, where she instructed pre-licensure nursing students.

Kevin Muszynski is a Project Manager in support services at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. He has worked there for nearly 19 years, beginning as a facilities manager in 2003. His current responsibilities include integrating the unique needs of disabled individuals, and those with access and functional needs, into the hospital’s Emergency Operations Plan.

Michael Pacheco is a Detective for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. He transitioned to a career in law enforcement in 2015, after working for four years as a Licensed Vocational Nurse, primarily for Rady’s Children Primary Care Medical Group. Since becoming a Detective Pacheco has worked in the detention setting at the San Diego County Central Jail and provided patrol services to the cities of Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Ramona, and Poway.

Christopher Riccardi, CHSP, CHEP, is the Manager of Emergency Management and Business Continuity for Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC) in Orange, CA. His responsibilities include the development, implementation, and management of Emergency Management planning and exercises and of the enterprise-wide Business Continuity Program. Mr. Riccardi has 20 years of industry experience resulting in a rare combination of hands-on practice coupled with natural leadership. He serves as Chair of the Southern California Pediatric Disaster Coalition developing best practice resources for pediatric hospitals. He 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. Mr. Riccardi is a certified health care safety and emergency management professional.

Tiffany Rivera is the Deputy Director of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She has served as an Emergency Department Nurse since 2008, with charge and trauma nurse experience at a Level I trauma center. She has spent approximately one year as the Trauma Nurse Coordinator at a Level II trauma facility, prior to becoming the clinical nurse manager in the emergency department, where she managed 117 FTEs. Additionally, she is a Certified Emergency Nurse and Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses.

Julia Rodriguez, APRN-CNP, is the Emergency Department Director at Uvalde Memorial Hospital in Uvalde, Texas, Ground Zero for critical care of victims of the Robb Elementary Mass Shooting on May 24, 2022.

Ms. Rodriquez remains closely involved within the community serving on multiple advisory boards for various health care programs and the region through research and performance improvement. As an active member of STRAC (South Texas Regional Advisory Council), she has participated in regional cardiac improvement efforts presenting the rural perspective in 2018 as well as trauma initiatives including the Remote Trauma Outcomes Research Network (RemTORN) Project becoming a co-author of the manuscript, “Clinical Roundtable – An Initiative to Improve Communication Processes Between Rural Trauma Referral Facilities and Level One Trauma Centers.”

Vicki Sakata, MD, FAAEM, FAAP, Senior Medical Advisor, leads clinical planning efforts and provides clinical input into the Network’s initiatives. Dr. Sakata is double-boarded and residency trained in General Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics as well as sub-specialty board-certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle and also works clinically at Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma, WA. Her disaster response experience started with her first job after residency managing a 30-bed NICU in Sialkot, Pakistan. Since then, she has worked and volunteered her medical expertise internationally and nationally. Dr. Sakata is also medical officer for WA-1 DMAT and MAC-T NDMS response teams. She received her M.D. from the University of Colorado, received Pediatric residency training at the University of Washington, and Emergency Medicine residency training at Madigan Army Medical Center.

Charles Schafer has been involved in the Emergency Management field for over ten years and currently serves as an Emergency Management Coordinator with UC Davis Health. Mr. Schafer oversees the emergency management activities for the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, contributes to emergency preplanning activities, and participates in the Hospital Command Center during event responses. Previously, he worked as an Emergency Services Coordinator for the California Department of Public Health and was heavily involved in event response by producing innovative GIS maps of impacted areas, serving as Chief of the Planning Section, and providing daily situational briefings to leadership.

Damien Siwik served in the United States Army as a combat medic for 22 years with multiple deployments and extensive experience in point of injury and trauma care. Throughout his career, he worked in the pre-hospital, emergency department, clinical, and health care management positions. Mr. Siwik currently works for the University of Michigan, C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine. He is a Project Manager supporting the university’s work on developing a State of Michigan Pediatric Care Coordination Center. In this role, he manages the Region V Midwest Pediatric Medical Operations Coordination Cell (PMOCC) workgroup for the Kids Pediatric Center of Excellence.

Kristina Spurgeon has been in health care Emergency Management for 18 years. She is the Emergency Manager for UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, CA, a Level I trauma and pediatric care specialty center. Her primary focus is on overall system readiness, specifically on training people with the tools they need to walk into any command center for any event, ready to go. Kristina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Public Health from San Francisco State.

Steve Storbakken is an international speaker and published author, with over 20 years of experience as a Red Cross responder/volunteer, and a former disaster Chairman for Los Angeles and Glendale (Board) Chapters. He is one of the Hospital Disaster Management Training Academy Instructors for L.A. County. Mr. Storbakken has received several awards throughout his career, including Providence’s Stewardship, Red Cross’s Golden Bear, and he was a founding member of the Shakeout team that won the California Institute of Technology’s Shoemaker Science Award, which currently has over 46 million international participants each year.

Elizabeth Stork is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Barton Health, a community-based nonprofit health care organization. She has a background that includes over 20 years in human resources, including recruiting, benefits, training, employee relations, labor relations, payroll and change management. She also has a financial background including experience in financial reporting, payroll processes, budgeting, audit, and managing financial software.

Luis “Vance” Taylor is the Chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Mr. Taylor is responsible for ensuring the needs of individuals with disabilities and persons with access or functional needs are identified before, during and after disasters and integrated into the State’s emergency management systems.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Taylor was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child and uses a power wheelchair. He has worked in Washington, D.C., as an advisor for two different members of Congress, directed security policy at a national water association, and been a principal at a top-ranked homeland security and emergency management consulting firm. He is a nationally-recognized public speaker and advocate for individuals with disabilities.

Rebecca Thomas joined Tania Glenn and Associates in April 2020. During the height of the pandemic she was delighted to join a team that was deemed an essential service dedicated to assisting first responders, health care workers, veterans, and their family members during an extremely tough time. She considers it an honor and privilege to serve a community of people that consistently puts others before themselves.

Ms. Thomas has deployed to several critical incidents and two disaster events, including a major human trafficking tragedy and the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in 2022. She frequently visits various public safety departments and speaks at conferences. She enjoys helping first responders understand the physiology of stress and her passion is facilitating discussions that change the perception of mental health in order to break the stigma associated with getting help.

Michael Vestino has over 35 years of health care leadership experience, currently holding the position of Vice President at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in the Master of Health Administration program at the University of La Verne. His prior work experience includes assistant administrator at Memorial Hospital of Gardena and over 15 years of health care consulting. Mr. Vestino started at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, a 412-bed not-for-profit hospital in 2002. His duties have included executive responsibility for master planning, capital budgeting, supply chain/materials management, food and nutrition services, plant operations, environmental services, biomedical engineering, security services, environmental safety/emergency preparedness, project management, and property management.

Angela Warneke is the deputy director-hospital administrator for San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital which includes the emergency department, crisis stabilization, and inpatient services. Resolve grievances with law enforcement, families, and other community providers. Serves as point of contact for law enforcement, court services, Conservator’s Office, NAMI Next Steps, patient advocacy, Sheriff/SDCPH liaison, regulatory agencies (CMS, The Joint Commission, CDPH, DHCS), and other community-based organizations. She is currently a member of the Clinical Review Workgroup through the County of San Diego Clinical Director’s Office in reviewing cases resulting in death.

Jason Wilken, PhD, MPH, is a CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer detailed to the California Department of Public Health. His areas of expertise are disaster epidemiology, emergency preparedness and response, and occupational factors in infectious diseases.

Full Conference
*Members: $550
Associate Members and Government Entities: $550
**Nonmembers: $750

Livestream Conference
*Members: $275
Associate Members and Government Entities: $275
**Nonmembers: $375
Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions.

*Members are CHA member hospitals. **Nonmembers are limited to non-hospital health care providers, clinics, post-acute facilities, and consultants, insurance companies, law firms and other entities that serve hospitals. Education programs and publications are a membership benefit and are not available to eligible non-member California hospitals.

Cancellation Policy

A $75 non-refundable processing fee will be retained for each cancellation. Cancellations must be made in writing seven or more days prior to the scheduled event and emailed to education@calhospital.org. No refunds will be given after these dates. Substitutions are encouraged. Cancellation and substitution notification may be emailed to education@calhospital.org. In the unlikely event that the program is cancelled, refunds will be issued to paid registrants within 30 days.

Special Accommodations

If you require special accommodations pursuant to the American’s with Disabilities Act please call (916) 552-7637.

Photography

CHA will photograph this event. If you prefer not to be photographed, please email CHA at education@calhospital.org.

Full participation in the conference is a prerequisite for receiving professional continuing education (CE) credit. Attendee must complete post-event survey, attest to participation and, when required, provide a professional license number. CE certificates will be emailed approximately three weeks after the conference. (Amount of CE offered subject to change.)

Compliance — The Compliance Certification Board (CCB)® has approved this event for up to 12.3 CCB CEUs. Continuing Education Units are awarded based on individual attendance records. Granting of prior approval in no way constitutes endorsement by CCB of this event content or of the event sponsor.

Health Care Executives — CHA is authorized to award 10.25 hour of pre-approved ACHE Qualified Education credit for this program toward advancement, or recertification, in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Participants in this program who wish to have the continuing education hours applied toward ACHE Qualified Education credit must self-report their participation. To self-report, participants must login to their MyACHE account and select ACHE Qualified Education Credit.

Nursing — Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider CEP #11924, for up to 10.25 conference contact hours.

Risk Management — This meeting has been approved for a total of 10.25 contact hours of Continuing Education Credit toward fulfillment of the requirements of ASHRM designations of FASHRM (Fellow) and DFASHRM (Distinguished Fellow) and towards CPHRM renewal.

The Sheraton Pasadena Hotel and The Westin Pasadena are the host hotels for the conference.

Sheraton Pasadena Hotel
303 Cordova Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(800) 457-7940 (reservations)

Discounted rooms no longer available.

The Westin Pasadena
191 N Los Robles Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
(866) 837-4181 (reservations)
The Westin Pasadena has rooms available at the discounted rate of $199 for all nights during the conference. For reservations, call (866) 837-4181 and mention the “CHA Disaster Planning for CA Hospitals 2022.” The deadline for discounted sleeping rooms is August 29. To book a room online, click here.

Congratulations to the Best Practices Poster Showcase Winners!

California Department of Public Health — Radiation Emergency in your Hospital?
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles — Increasing Knowledge and Perceptions of Disaster Preparedness: A Brief Educational Intervention on Evacuation Procedures at a Free-Standing Children’s Hospital
El Camino Hospital — Riding the COVID-19 Pandemic Waves with Shared Governance for Staffing and Workforce Safety
Department of Veterans Affairs — Lesson Learned About Telehealth Preparedness at the Veterans Health Administration During COVID-19
Kaiser Permanente — Wildfire Smoke and Air Quality
Mozaik Solutions — Leading and Thriving Through Crisis: A Brain-Based Perspective – A Groundbreaking New Look at Emergency Management Stressors & Their Impacts
Sierra View Medical Center — Tulare County Surge & Emergency Operations Coalition
Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health — From Zoom to the Room: Achieving Symbiosis in Hybrid Emergency Response
Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center — Wildfire Evacuation Preparedness: A Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Project

Chair

Mary Massey, BSN, MA, CHEP, PHN, Vice President, Emergency Management, California Hospital Association

Committee Members

Tony Barker, MSHS, Area Emergency Manager, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Office of Emergency Management

Ryan Burgess, RN, MSN, Hospital Preparedness Coordinator, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Chad Cossey, Disaster Response Planner/Surge Coordinator, Dignity Health

Susan M. Fitzgerald, MD, Emergency Management Physician Lead, Santa Rosa Medical Center

Nicola Harwood, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, St. Joseph, Orange

Lois Husted, RN, Emergency Preparedness Officer, Queen of the Valley Medical Center

Monique Imroth, MEP, Director, Emergency Preparedness/Response, UC San Diego Health System

Danisha Jenkins, PhD, RN, Director, Emergency Management, Sharp Healthcare

Connie Lackey, RN, Director, Emergency Preparedness, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center

Valerie Lakey, Director, Public Relations/PIO/Safety Disaster Co-Coordinator, Mayers Memorial Hospital District

Shannon McDougal, Executive Director, City of Hope

Stephanie Meeks, Emergency Management & Regulatory Compliance Manager, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital

Mark Shirley, MS, CSP, CHMM, Environmental Risk Consultant, Sutter Valley Hospitals

Kristina Spurgeon, Emergency Manager, University of California, Davis Health

Steve Storbakken, Director, Emergency Preparedness & Environmental Safety, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center

Ryan Tuchmayer, Associate Director, Disaster Preparedness & Response, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Sponsor & exhibit packages

Showcase your products to hundreds of leading health care decision makers. We are expecting 700+ hospital administrators, emergency preparedness coordinators, disaster planners, risk managers, physicians, nurse executives, emergency department managers, safety and security personnel, and other hospital professionals from throughout the state.

Ways to Participate

Sponsor the conference
Sponsorship opportunities are available and offer additional benefits, including free booth space at the exhibit show, complimentary conference registrations, advertising in conference app, plenty of face time with attendees and much more.

Exhibit at the conference
Showcase your product or service directly to hospitals participating in the exhibit show. With dedicated exhibit viewing time to network, you will not be disappointed!

Beyond the Booth – A La Carte Opportunities
Reserving your exhibit space is just the start of building your experience. By leveraging the beyond the booth opportunities available to you as a sponsor and/or exhibitor, you can increase your visibility and engagement with conference attendees, and maximize the return on your investment.