About Emergency Preparedness

It’s time to change the way California thinks about disaster response. The state must draw on the lessons of COVID-19 to prepare differently for disasters, so that the next large crisis will be less severe and less deadly.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that hospitals can quickly mobilize to put in place emergency preparedness plans and use flexible approaches to care for patients with the greatest needs during a disaster. In the case of COVID-19, hospitals rapidly converted spaces to create more ICU beds to care for surges of COVID-19 patients, redeployed staff, and utilized other staffing strategies to provide care to critically ill patients.
Given California’s size and complexity, the health care disaster response system of the future must be nimble enough to respond at any given moment to a regional catastrophe or something larger.
2023 Disaster Planning Conference
Start thinking about the 2023 Disaster Planning Conference, we are. When: October 3-4, 2023Where: Sacramento Convention Center Save this date. Or if you already know you are going to attend – Excellent! Register now to attend in person or virtual. We are happy to have you. Meanwhile, the Conference Committee is busy planning the agenda […]
Active Threat Prevention and Response
Important Legal Changes to Psychiatric Holds in 2023
This webinar will provide a review of new state laws affecting all hospitals that treat patients on an involuntary psychiatric hold including hospital emergency departments and inpatient psychiatric services. It will describe the intersection of hospital EMTALA requirements and the involuntary psychiatric hold process. Audience:Health Care Executives, Case Managers, Social Workers, Risk Managers, Emergency Department […]
Learn about Protective Canines, Reducing Workplace Violence at CHA’s Emergency Services Forum
CHA’s upcoming Emergency Services Forum in Riverside will focus on topics ranging from improving ambulance patient offload times to protective dogs.
Member Update and Discussion: FEMA Public Assistance Funds
FEMA public assistance represents an important source of funding to help governmental and not-for-profit hospitals and health systems offset COVID-19 related expenses. However, CHA members have experience numerous delays in getting their applications processed.
Register Now for CHA’s Emergency Services Forum
CHA’s Emergency Services Forum — an event focused on hospital emergency department management and its intersection with emergency services and the community — is set for Dec. 7 in Riverside.
Honor Loved Ones on the Remembrance Wall at the Disaster Planning Conference
The 2022 Disaster Planning Conference, set for Sept. 13-14 at the Pasadena Convention Center, is offering something new this year.
Multiple Sessions at CHA’s Disaster Planning Conference Highlight Active Threats
Recognizing that hospitals are not immune to public shootings and the role they play in caring for victims, this year’s Disaster Planning Conference, set for Sept. 13-14 in Pasadena, will feature several sessions on active threats in hospitals.
CHA to Host Webinar on FEMA Public Assistance Expedited Payment Process
In partnership with Region 9 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Office of Emergency Services, CHA is hosting a webinar on Aug. 22 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. (PT) that will provide an overview of the public assistance expedited payment process.
CHA Webinar to Offer Look at Hospital Supplier Diversity Reporting System
CHA will hold a webinar on May 20 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (PT) to detail the Department of Health Care Access and Information’s (HCAI) new Hospital Disclosures and Compliance System, designed to assist hospitals in completing their Hospital Supplier Diversity Reports, which are due July 1.