Disaster planning in health care involves preparing for and responding to emergencies in ways that ensure the safety and continuity of care for our communities and each other. Our jobs require us to prepare for whatever curveball comes our way.
This conference provides training, education, and opportunities for both new and experienced disaster preparedness professionals to build a professional network. Join us – you will learn how to understand vulnerabilities and the value of continuous improvement that is part of being a disaster preparedness health care professional. Build your framework for emergency and disaster collaborations across various sectors to strengthen health care response when disaster strikes.
Our communities and our colleagues depend on us.
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
Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions, as well as select breakout sessions being held in the general session room.
7:45 – 8:45 a.m. | Check-in, Breakfast, and Exhibitor Viewing
8:45 – 9:00 a.m. | Welcome | Mary Massey
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Welcome and Keynote | Trial by Fire: Lessons Learned from the Eaton Canyon Fire
Jennifer Waldron, MBC-HCM, RN, BSN, Disaster Program Manager and Ryan Speicher, Emergency Department Supervisor, Huntington Hospital
Wildfires are unpredictable, fast-moving, and are threatening urban hospitals with greater frequency than ever before. This presentation will show that Huntington Hospital, with the support of leadership from all levels of our organization, responded to the Eaton Canyon Fire in January 2025. Lessons learned will be shared, including both successes and areas for improvement. The efforts of a well-trained incident response team will be highlighted as they faced challenges related to a sudden and large influx of unexpected victims, the need to decompress the facility while creating alternate care spaces, providing support for severely impacted staff, and improving poor air quality inside the facility.
Learning objective: Identify key steps in the use of the labor pool during a disaster, listing actions needed to meet the needs of employees who are displaced due to a wildfire.
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | General Session | Caring for Caregivers: How Empathic Communications Can Advance Team Wellness
Deanna Tarnow, RN, CPHRM, Senior Director, Risk Management and Patient Safety, BETA Healthcare Group; Tim McDonald, MD, JD, Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer, RLDatix
Supporting your staff through incidents of accidental patient harm or personal loss can help retain talent and lead to better patient outcomes, yet initiating those crucial conversations can be daunting. Hear how some California hospitals are supporting strained personnel during disasters. Join us for a professional reenactment of difficult scenarios that demonstrate how to have effective, empathic conversations. Witness the power of empathy and take away strategies for supporting stressed-out staff.
Learning objective: Participants will recognize how trained peer supporters can support emotional well-being of team members during times of trauma or disaster.
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Break and Exhibitor Viewing
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)
- Gas Leak Emergency Evacuation
Cameron Egerer, Disaster Coordinator and Materials Manager, San Bernardino Mountains Community Hospital
This presentation details what happened when a third-party vendor cut a gas line located near the medical/surgical unit of a rural hospital. This event turned into a Code Triage, which ended up in an evacuation of the entire facility and the Medical Office Building. The hospital was able to evacuate multiple emergency department and acute care patients, a patient in the operating room along with residents in skilled nursing in under 10 minutes. This was accomplished by quick identification of the issue, good communication, and excellent teamwork.
Learning Objective: Prioritize human safety, minimize health risks, and manage the crisis effectively by working in coordination with local authorities, while ensuring patient care is maintained.
- Deploying Operational Triad Teams for Emergency Response During a Medical Fluids Shortage
Martha Meredith Masters, MD, Medical Director, OEM, Anna Lin and Kathy Harris, Stanford Medicine
When Hurricane Helene disrupted a key national supplier of IV fluids, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) at Stanford Medicine responded. This presentation will cover leveraging the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, OEM built operational triad teams — made up of pharmacists, nurses, and clinicians—to drive targeted, transparent, and equitable conservation efforts across the enterprise. The team-based model ensured effective and fair resource management, frontline engagement, and rapid implementation of crisis strategies. A blueprint for future emergency responses, this approach highlights how innovation and communication contribute to operational continuity during unprecedented challenges to the delivery of patient care.
Learning Objective: Identify ways in which this response structure was effective in managing the medical fluids shortage, highlighting effective strategies that maintained business operations vs challenges that slowed or diverted response.
- Engaging Community Partners: A Full-Scale Exercise Experience
Ruth Raisner, MPH, AEM, Emergency Management & Continuity Manager, Facilities Operations, NorthBay Health
Community engagement is essential for hospital emergency preparedness, helping to build resilience, identify resources, and enhance disaster response. Through exercises with local partners, hospitals can refine their communication, spot gaps, and strengthen emergency strategies. A recent example includes NorthBay Health’s collaboration with the Vallejo Fire Department and other agencies to turn a planned drill into a large-scale, multi-agency exercise. These partnerships and exercises not only enhance emergency readiness but also improve patient care, community safety, and foster lasting relationships for future preparedness efforts.
Learning Objective: Describe how to build partnerships in the community, including engaging those partners in exercise planning.
- All Together Now: Herding Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness
Tiffany Rivera, BSN, CEN, TCRN, Deputy Director, PHEPR, and Ferrell Tobolowsky, DO, MS, San Francisco Department of Public Health
As human cases of H5N1 emerged in California, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) launched a cross-departmental planning team to prepare for a potential pandemic. This presentation will showcase how SFDPH coordinated a unified clinical response across its public health and healthcare delivery arms, including hospitals, clinics, behavioral health, and long-term care facilities. Attendees will learn how to identify essential deliverables, such as coordination tools, infection prevention plans, screening protocols, and operational workflows, for system-wide pandemic readiness. The session will highlight strategies for bridging operational silos and aligning diverse stakeholders.
Learning Objective: Describe strategies for facilitating pandemic planning across diverse healthcare departments.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Hosted Luncheon
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)
- How Do You Eat an Elephant?
Kathy Crow-Dollarhide, RN, BSN, CEN, CEM(r), Director Disaster Resource Center, Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center
Small hospitals and large trauma centers encounter similar challenges in the coordination of large-scale disaster drills. This presentation will discuss step by step how rural critical access hospitals can coordinate with their coalitions to effectively run an amazing disaster drill. Examples of large-scale trauma center events and rural hospital trainings will be presented. How do you eat that overwhelming elephant? One bite at a time. Let’s learn together!
Learning Objective: Describe challenges rural and urban hospitals can face and the similar challenges that exist in large-scale disaster drills.
- Ready When the Lights Go Out: The Downtime Optimization Project
Vicky Olson, MPS, BSN, RN, CHEC II, Program Manager EM, and Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN, Manager, Emergency Management, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
This session will present the Downtime Optimization Project conducted by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), an initiative designed to enhance organizational resilience during unplanned EMR outages. Attendees will gain insight into key interventions, including the creation of standardized downtime binders, the refinement of downtime policies, and the implementation of targeted staff training. The presentation will offer practical strategies and insights for improving downtime readiness and ensuring continuity of care. Participants will gain applicable knowledge, tips, and insights to strengthen their own organization’s response capabilities.
Learning Objectives: Apply lessons learned from CHLA’s Downtime Optimization Project to enhance attendees’ own organization’s downtime readiness and response capabilities.
- New Disaster Coordinator: Mentorship to Success
Elizabeth Weeks-Comeau, EP Coordinator, Mammoth Hospital; Emma Wilcox, BSN, RN, Wilcox Emergency Management Consulting
This engaging session will unveil the power of mentorship in developing new disaster coordinators in small, rural hospitals. Learn how pairing experienced mentors with new coordinators fosters knowledge transfer, emotional support, and critical skill development, setting the stage for long-term success in high-pressure situations. Discover actionable strategies for implementing a mentorship program within your facility to enhance crisis management and decision-making capabilities. Get the tools and insights to strengthen your emergency management program and ensure new disaster coordinators are poised for success.
Learning Objective: Strengthen the hospital’s emergency response capabilities by utilizing the mentorship program to improve decision-making, crisis management, and preparedness, ultimately fostering the growth of effective disaster coordinators.
- Impact of a Disaster on Local Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Members
Steven Storbakken, HACP-PE, NHDP-BC, Professor, Pomona Valley Hospital; Vance Taylor, CalOES
This session features personal stories and professional insights that illustrate the real-life impact of disasters on individuals with access and functional needs (AFN) and explores strategies to strengthen inclusion, accessibility, and resilience in emergency management. AFN includes individuals with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities; chronic health conditions; injuries; limited English proficiency; older adults; children; those living in institutional settings; people who are low-income or experiencing homelessness; individuals in the later stages of pregnancy; and those who are transportation disadvantaged. Many people served by hospitals and healthcare systems fall within these communities, and their needs often become more complex during emergencies.
Learning Objective: Participants will gain an understanding of the unique challenges individuals with access and functional needs (AFN) face during disaster planning, response, and recovery, and identify strategies to improve accessibility, inclusion, and improved outcomes in emergency management.
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Break and Exhibitor Viewing
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. | General Session | An Ebola Plan! Beginner’s Guide – Preparedness for High-Consequence Infectious Diseases
Kelly Yascheshyn, BScN, RN, MICN, CEN, NHDP-BC, Clinical Educator, Disaster, and Danisha Jenkins, Sharpe Healthcare
High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) and Emerging Special Pathogens pose considerable risks to a hospital’s care delivery continuum, to the safety of their staff, and their reputation within the community. Without an official designation as a regional treatment center, the support of dedicated funding, or leaders who appreciate the efforts required to meet regulatory standards, it can be difficult to know where to start. This team of ‘beginners’ will provide a road map to get HCID programs off the ground to find footing as a solid partner for our regional experts.
Learning Objective: Describe a hospital-based assessment of preparedness efforts around High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) and identification of gaps required for care of these patients.
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | Reception
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 and Exhibitor Viewing
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | General Session | Hospital Lockdown for Active Shooter Threat: Taking Action, Staying Safe
Darren Morgan, Director, Security and Emergency Management and Janet Henderson, Emergency Department Manager, Huntington Hospital
Within a five-day period, Southern California experienced three active shooter threats, two of which were made on hospitals. During this presentation, speakers will share how Huntington Hospital determined the threat was credible and dive into the details of response actions to the incident that locked the facility down for four hours, detaining staff from 4pm – 8pm on a Friday afternoon. Improvement actions will be shared, including the importance of active shooter training and drills, HICS training for IC team members, best practices for notification and communication, access to response strategies during a threat, and how robust relationships with local law enforcement were a significant help in providing support.
Learning Objective: Demonstrate how training empowers hospital employees to be ready for active shooter events and identify strategies to secure work areas during lockdown events.
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | General Session | Preparedness for All Children
James Marcin and Jonathan Kohler, UC Davis Health; Camila Cribb Fabersunne, Rajesh Daftery, Nicolaus Glomb, and Morgan Leighton UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Emergencies and disasters do not discriminate based on age, race, income, religion, gender, or ethnicity. Assessing the current pediatric proficiency of local emergency departments helps children’s hospitals identify decision-making resources and training tools that can improve pediatric readiness and build capacity and capabilities in the community to improve preparedness for children. We live in a geographically diverse state with multiple ecosystems and populations; incorporating telemedicine options into pediatric healthcare can relieve families from the logistical challenges of physically getting to a clinic or hospital capable of treating pediatric patients.
Learning Objective: Discuss how telemedicine solutions for pediatric patients allow health care organizations to deliver services remotely to families, to promote pediatric readiness in non-urban areas.
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Exhibitor Viewing and Raffle
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)
- Strengthening Pediatric Reunification Planning Through School District Nurses and Hospital Partnerships
Chris Riccardi, Emergency Management Manager, Children’s Hospital Orange County, and Shadlie Kensrue, Health Services Director, Irvine Unified School District
Establishing Family Reception Centers (FRC), Family Information Centers (FIC), and Family Assistance Centers (FAC) requires a streamlined flow of information. Establishing relationships between the hospitals and the school nurses creates a trusted pathway to share information. This relationship will assist in identifying injured victims, unaccompanied minors, custodial parents, and guardians. This process also provides a built-in support structure at both the schools and hospitals in the management of pediatric victims of natural and human induced disasters.
Learning Objective: Identify key components of the coordination process and describe and define the collaborative partner roles and expertise.
- Path to Building Business Continuity and Operational Resilience
Aaron Dwoskin, Director and Jason Kruggel, Emergency Manager, Community Medical Centers
Health care entities face ongoing challenges in developing and managing plans for business continuity, downtime, and service disruptions. Join us for an insightful discussion on how our small Emergency Management team successfully integrated Business Continuity planning into our regular Emergency Management activities and training, building a comprehensive program from the ground up. We invite participants to bring their own obstacles, plans, and issues to this session for collaborative troubleshooting with industry experts and peers.
Learning Objective: Evaluate risks, continuity strategies, and development of final plans for continuity and measure performance through Training and Exercise.
- START It Up! Basics of MCI Triage
Erik Angle, RN, MICN, MEP, NHDP, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Sutter Roseville
Disasters strike daily all over the globe. California is no exception. This course discusses multiple methods of MCI triage and focuses on the use of Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (S.T.A.R.T.) and JumpSTART (pediatric triage) in multi and mass casualty incidents. In the event of a major disaster, hospital staff, from physicians and residents to nurses and perhaps even non-nursing and non-clinical staff, may be called upon to assist if trained. This course is designed to train all staff and the average individual in how to correctly perform disaster and mass casualty triage.
Learning Objective: Understand how to perform MCI Triage and how to incorporate into disaster exercises.
- IMT and Me! Hospital Incident Management Applies
Tony Barker
IMT and Me is a concise, palatable approach to understanding your role in a perceivably complex Hospital Incident Command response. Participants in the workshop aren’t taught ICS or HICS, they bring that education and expand upon it with application of HICS Job Action Sheets, the Planning P, and a fictional scenario facilitated by a subject matter expert. Participants with varying levels of HICS experience all benefit resulting in enhanced applicable skills and comraderies.
Learning Objective: Participants will develop strategies for marketing to and managing of hospital leadership participation in a hands-on workshop.
11:30 – 11:45 a.m. | Passing Break
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Concurrent Breakout Sessions (choose one)
- When “One Size Fits All” Does Not Apply
Jeremy Wills, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, Modoc Medical Center and Dana Hauge, Director of Safety, Mayers Memorial Healthcare District
When disaster strikes, rural hospitals can’t rely on a one-size-fits-all response. Your peers across the region understand your challenges because they are living them, too. Build those relationships now, foster trust, and share knowledge freely. When skies darken with wildfire smoke or clean water runs dry, it’s those ties—the social capital you’ve nurtured in advance of the disaster—that will empower your staff, strengthen your facility, and ensure continuity of care. Let’s think beyond the playbook, and instead lean into the power of collaboration, adaptability, and rural resilience.
Learning Objective: Demonstrate how local partnerships lead to increased continuity of care and organizational resilience and adaptability.
- Work Smarter, Not Harder: Leveraging Microsoft 365
Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN, Manager, Emergency Management, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
In today’s fast-paced work environments, workloads can feel overwhelming, especially when there is little time to perform tasks. Learn how one Southern California hospital has integrated Microsoft 365 into its Emergency Management (EM) program to streamline workflows, including the establishment of a virtual Hospital Command Center on Microsoft Teams, the development of electronic forms for disaster status reports, and automation of action item tracking using Microsoft Lists and Power Automate. By attending this session, every organization can learn how to leverage their existing technology similarly to work smarter, not harder.
Learning Objective: Identify areas within an organization’s EM program where staff can leverage technology and apply similar strategies to enhance and streamline workflows.
- Preparing for a Special Pathogens Drill
Katie Jones Stathatos, Director of Infection Prevention, Huntington Health
Special pathogens are novel diseases with high consequence (morbidity and mortality) without known treatments or prevention (vaccines) that are often highly communicable. As travel, climate change, and evolutionary pressures create new threats on an increasingly frequent basis (COVID-19, H5N1, Lassa and Marburg outbreaks) – health care facilities must prepare for patients arriving on their doorstep with high consequence infectious diseases. This presentation provides an essential framework and resources for facilities to develop their own preparedness strategies and plans, including but not limited to live drills.
Learning Objective: Identify key stakeholders in your facility to formulate your special pathogens drills, including perform readiness assessments and revise your training materials and other documents.
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | Hosted Luncheon
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. | General Session | Preventing the Surge: H5N1 Testing
Sean Roberts, Emergency Services Specialist, County of Tulare Public Health
Surge management is a common topic in emergency management, but what if it can be prevented? When H5N1 came to the largest dairy producing county in the US, workers became sick, and demand for testing spiked. Fearing another surge, Tulare County Hospitals, Public Health, and clinics in the community quickly and tirelessly worked together to create a test to treat model consisting of 17 outpatient locations who were willing to test, evaluate, and provide antivirals to qualifying individuals. These sites tested and evaluated well over 100 individuals without using Emergency Departments. This presentation will give best practices in going “upstream” for collaboration before the next infectious disease outbreak to leverage the entire health care spectrum to prevent EDs from becoming overrun.
Learning Objective: Learn the steps taken to create a network of outpatient testing sites to keep people out of the ED by identifying and working with community healthcare providers.
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Closing Keynote Session | Southern California Wildfires: Kaiser Permanente’s Response and Community Support
Francesca Tanglao, Program Leader Emergency Management, Michael Kawada, Vice President Support Services, Resource Sustainability Officer, Jeremy Magin, Regional Physician Director, Emergency Management, Naomi Ruiz, Assistant Administrator, Kaiser Permanente
The presentation will focus on Kaiser Permanente’s comprehensive response to the Southern California wildfires, highlighting the collaborative efforts to support affected communities. It will cover the establishment of a medical clinic at the Pasadena Convention Center, which provided extensive medical care and volunteer support. The presentation will also discuss the transformation of an administrative building into a resource hub, emphasize the deployment of the KP Mobile Health Vehicle, and showcase the importance of coordinated emergency response and community resilience.
Learning Objective: Enhance coordination and collaboration among various organizations and departments to ensure an effective and timely emergency response.
Erik Angle, RN, MICN, MEP, NHDP
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
Sutter Roseville
Eric Angle has over 30 years of experience in Emergency Medical Services. For the past 24 years, he has worked as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department, with the last 18 years focused on Emergency Management. He currently serves as an Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Previously, he held roles as the EMS, Trauma, and Emergency Management Coordinator for Rideout Health. Additionally, Eric has served as an instructor at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness, the nation’s premier facility for emergency management training.
Tony Barker
Emergency Program Manager
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Retired
Tony Barker has been engaged with health care emergency management since 2005, serving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in various capacities supporting comprehensive emergency management programs to include individual hospitals, regional health care systems, and national readiness assurance programs. He has extensive experience in hospital incident management and response.
Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN
Manager, Emergency Management
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Erika Cheung, MSN, RN, CPN, is a pediatric nurse with a passion for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. She currently oversees the emergency management program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and represents the pediatric sector in the LA County Healthcare Coalition. Her expertise also includes special pathogens readiness, and she participates in several national workgroups, including the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN) and the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC). Erika’s enthusiasm for developing sustainable processes has bolstered not only CHLA’s preparedness but that of Southern California and beyond.
Camila Cribb Fabersunne, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Medical Director, BCH Pediatric Complex Care Coordination Program (formerly FLIGHT)
Dr. Camila Cribb Fabersunne is a complex care pediatrician, hospitalist, and public health practitioner who seeks to improve health equity by dismantling systems of oppression. She currently practices medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, inpatient in three hospitals in the Bay Area (Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco and Oakland as well as Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital). She is the Medical Director for UCSF-Benioff Children’s Hospitals’ Pediatric Complex Care Coordination Program, providing telehealth and inpatient consultative care for children with medical complexity and technology dependence.
Kathy Crow-Dollarhide, RN, BSN, CEN, CEM(r)
Director Disaster Resource Center
Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center
Kathy Crow-Dollarhide is a trainer for the LA FBI Operational Med Team in active shooter drills and runs full scale exercises for federal and private agencies on Burn/Trauma Surge/MCI and HAZMAT. She coordinates drills for Long Beach Fire and Long Beach Police on a large scale. Ms. Crow-Dollarhide has been a civilian instructor for the Combat Care Casualty Courses teaching trauma training for the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute (DMRTI) for the US Army and an instructor at CDP Anniston.
Rajesh Daftary, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Rajesh Daftary serves is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UCSF and serves as the Medical Director of the UCSF BCH Oakland Emergency Department. He is committed to delivering high-quality emergency care to all children, especially those from marginalized communities. His areas of research include disaster response, quality improvement, and care delivery in resource-limited settings and telehealth.
Aaron Dwoskin
Director
Community Medical Centers
Aaron Dwoskin is a dynamic health care operations leader with extensive experience in hospital operations, emergency management, and federal disaster response. As a Director at Community Medical Centers, he led systemwide patient flow operations, emergency preparedness, and decedent affairs, while securing over $500 million in FEMA cost recovery reimbursements. His prior roles include managing emergency preparedness programs and serving as a Senior FEMA Program Analyst, coordinating disaster response and recovery across multiple states and pacific territories. He also brings nearly a decade of U.S. Coast Guard service and leadership, where he led critical in law enforcement, search and rescue, and homeland security missions.
Cameron Egerer
Disaster Coordinator and Materials Manager
San Bernadino Mountains Community Hospital
With 17 years in health care, Mr. Egerer started his career as an EMT. He has dedicated over five years to his role at Mountains Community Hospital. In addition, he serves as the co-chairperson for the Inland Counties Emergency Management Association.
Nicolaus Glomb
Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Dr. Nicolaus Glomb is a pediatric emergency medicine physician with an education and research focus in pediatric emergency preparedness, prehospital care, behavioral health, and global health. Dr. Glomb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital (BCH) where he serves as the disaster preparedness lead for the BCH emergency department. Dr. Glomb also serves as the UCSF co-EMS Scientific Advisor for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) and participates in and leads collaborative multi-center EMS projects.
Kathy Harris, MCRP
Executive Director
Stanford Health Care
Kathy Harris is the Executive Director of the Office of Emergency Management, serving Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health in many planned and unplanned incident responses including new hospital activations, pandemic, work stoppage, infrastructure outages, severe weather, wildfire, and supply shortage. She holds a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Emory University.
Dana Hauge
Director of Safety
Mayers Memorial Healthcare District
Dana Hauge is the Director of Safety and Security at Mayers Memorial Healthcare District, a critical access health care system serving rural Northern California. She also leads the district’s Emergency Preparedness Program and serves as the designated Safety Officer, helping ensure regulatory compliance, operational readiness, and the safety of patients and staff.
Dana played a key role in guiding MMHD through its successful ACHC accreditation and currently serves as the OASIS Teams Super Coach as part of the district’s Service Excellence Initiative, supporting a culture of continuous improvement.
Janet Henderson, MBA, BSN, MICN
Emergency Department Manager
Huntington Hospital
With over 25 years of experience as an emergency room nurse, Janet Henderson currently serves as the Emergency Department Manager at Huntington Hospital. Her clinical and leadership background is complemented by over a decade of service in disaster preparedness, including four years working directly in the Disaster Services Office at Huntington. In addition to her hospital role, for the past 30 years Janet has proudly served as a Reserve Deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department in the field of search and rescue. This unique perspective allows her to integrate pre-hospital care insights into daily emergency operations, enhancing coordination between field responders and hospital teams.
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.
Katie Jones Stathatos
Director of Infection Prevention & Control
Huntington Health
Katie Jones Stathatos is the Director of Infection Prevention & Control at Huntington Health. She has been working at Huntington Health for 7 years and has been working in infection prevention and control for over 12 years. She studied epidemiology with a focus on maternal and child health in Houston, Texas and has worked in hospitals in Louisiana, Texas, and California.
Shadlie Kensrue, MSN, RN, CSN, PHN
Director of Health Services
Irvine Unified School District
Shadlie Kensrue, MSN, RN, CSN, PHN, serves as the Director of Health Services for Irvine Unified School District (IUSD), bringing nearly 20 years of nursing experience to her role. She oversees health services and programming for over 38,000 students across 43 schools and supervises 27 credentialed school nurses and 43 health assistants. A former critical care and trauma nurse, Shadlie has leveraged her expertise to lead comprehensive emergency training initiatives for the district, including CPR, AED, and triage preparation. She co-chairs the Emergency Preparedness Interagency Collaborative (EPIC) Hospital Liaison Group, reflecting her dedication to student health and safety.
Jonathan Kohler, MD, MA
Professor of Surgery and Pediatric Trauma Medical Director
UC Davis Children’s Hospital
Dr. Jonathan E. Kohler is the Pediatric Trauma Medical Director at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. He is a pediatric general surgeon who cares for children from birth to adulthood with a wide variety of surgical problems using advanced techniques such as minimally invasive surgery. He has a particular interest in pediatric trauma, including ways to reduce the number of injured children who need operations, minimizing opioid use after injuries and operations, and preventing injuries through education and advocacy. He particularly enjoys working with children with special needs, including autism.
Jason Kruggel
Emergency Manager, Emergency Management and Preparedness
Community Medical Centers
Jason Kruggel is the Emergency Manager for Community Medical Centers in Fresno, California. Jason began his career as an EMT in Los Angeles before transitioning into the hospital setting as an Emergency Room Technician. Following an internship with the Hospital Emergency Management Department, he was hired and has since advanced through roles, including plan writer, training and exercise coordinator, and now department manager. Jason has led the development of the Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) and spearheaded a comprehensive overhaul of our business continuity program.
Morgan Leighton, MD, MPH
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals
Dr. Morgan Leighton is completing her fellowship training in pediatric emergency medicine at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. In addition to disaster preparedness and pediatric readiness, she is passionate about pediatric advocacy, health policy, and immigrant health and serves as an Advocacy Committee Chair for the American Academy of Pediatrics Northern California chapter and a delegate to the California Medical Association Resident and Fellow Section.
Anna Lin, MD
Clinical Professor, Stanford School of Medicine, Medical Director, Sedation Services, and Assistant Medical Director, Office of Emergency Management
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
Dr. Lin is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. In addition to practicing pediatric hospital medicine at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, she serves as the Assistant Medical Director for the Office of Emergency Management for both the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and Stanford Health Care enterprises. Dr. Lin is an active member of the Western Regional Alliance for Pediatric Emergency Management (WRAP-EM) and the Pediatric Pandemic Network, both federally funded groups with missions to improve pediatric emergency management regionally and nationally. She also serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Children and Disasters Executive Committee.
James Marcin, MD, MPH
Professor, Pediatric Critical Care & Director, Center for Health and Technology
UC Davis Health
Dr. Marcin is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics at UC Davis and the Director of the Center for Health and Technology. In addition to his work in the Pediatric ICU, he conducts research and advocacy related to access and quality of care, particularly as it relates to telehealth, children with special health care needs, and pediatric emergency preparedness.
Jeremy Maggin, MD
Emergency Medicine
Kaiser Permanente, Woodland Hills Medical Center
Dr. Jeremy Maggin is an emergency physician at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center. He currently serves locally as co-chair of the KP Woodland Hills Emergency Management Committee and regionally as the SCPMG Regional Physician Director for Emergency Preparedness and physician lead for Medical Transportation Services. Dr. Maggin has a strong interest and passion for all aspects of disaster and low-resource medicine, and during residency, he spent time riding in ambulances with the Houston Fire Department, in helicopters with the Memorial Hermann Life Flight team, and spent a brief time working in an emergency department in Nepal.
Martha Meredith Masters, MD
Medical Director, OEM,
Stanford Medicine
M. Meredith Masters is currently a Clinical Associate Professor and serves as an Associate Vice Chair as well as the Marc and Laura Andreessen Medical Director for Disaster Relief for the Stanford University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine. She is also the Medical Director for the Office of Emergency Management for Stanford Medicine. Dr. Masters’ clinical and research interests are focused on disaster preparedness and mitigation, improving education in disaster medicine, and the ethical delivery of care during crises.
Timothy McDonald, MD, JD
Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer
RLDatix
A featured TEDx speaker, Dr. McDonald is a physician-attorney who has assisted more than 800 hospitals and health systems implement a culture of “normalized compassionate honesty” combined with “fair and accountable culture” transformation. His research has focused on conducting patient safety, Just Culture, and high reliability needs assessment/Gap Analysis for organizations along with assisting them in the principled approach to unexpected events with an emphasis on reporting of patient safety events, the use of simulation and human factors analysis, the provision of emotional first aid to affected health care team members and providing open and honest communication following harm events. This approach to unexpected events also includes a commitment to communicate and provide peer support within the health care team and to communicate with patients and families throughout the therapeutic relationship, especially after harm occurs.
Darren Morgan
Director of Emergency Management, Security and Parking
Huntington Health
Darren Morgan has been the Director of Emergency Management, Security and Parking Services for Huntington Health since 2018. His career in the health care industry has spanned over his 30 years in disaster planning, safety, and security. His work in the hospital leadership space has provided him with insight into this unique industry and how we can plan and respond to emergencies when they occur. He is a dedicated mentor and collaborative team leader with excellent communications, leadership, organizational, strategic planning, and training skills.
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.
Ruth Raisner, MPH AEM
Emergency Management & Continuity Manager, Facilities Operations
NorthBay Health System
Ms. Ruth Raisner serves as the Emergency Manager for NorthBay Health System, where she leads the organization’s Emergency Management Program. Her work focuses on developing comprehensive emergency response plans, delivering training and education, and coordinating exercises that enhance readiness, improve patient care, and strengthen collaboration across agencies. With over a decade of experience, she has supported emergency activations for COVID-19, wildfires, PSPS events, and has led multi-jurisdictional full-scale exercises focused on community engagement. Before joining NorthBay, Ms. Raisner served as the Medical Countermeasures Coordinator for local health departments and as a Regional Coordinator for the Association of Bay Area Health Officials (ABAHO), where she facilitated cross-county collaboration on public health preparedness.
Christopher Riccardi, CHSP, CHEP
Manager, Emergency Management and Business Continuity
Children’s Hospital Orange County
Christopher Riccardi, CHSP, CHEP, is the Manager of Emergency Management and Business Continuity for CHOC (Rady Children’s Health) in Orange, California. His responsibilities include the development, implementation, and management of Emergency Management planning and exercises as well as the enterprise-wide Business Continuity Program. Chris brings 20 years of industry experience and leadership. He serves as Chair of the Southern California Pediatric Disaster Coalition, Chair of the Health Care Coalition of Orange County’s Hospital Advisory Committee, and co-chair of the Emergency Preparedness Interagency Collaborative’s (EPIC) Hospital Liaison Group.
Tiffany Rivera, BSN, CEN, TCRN
Deputy Director, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator (MHOAC)
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Tiffany Rivera began her work as Deputy Director of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch of San Francisco’s Department of Public Health in June of 2018. Prior to that she worked as an Emergency Room and Trauma nurse for 10 years, including time as a Nurse Leader in acute care settings. Since joining San Francisco Public Health Tiffany has helped lead the Emergency Preparedness Branch in successful responses to public health emergencies, including COVID-19, the Tenderloin Overdose Epidemic Initiatives, 2022 M-Pox response and H5N1 Planning.
Sean Roberts
Emergency Services Specialist
County of Tulare Public Health
Sean has been an Emergency Services Specialist for Tulare County Public Health since 2022, after a 20-year career in EMS. He has served multiple roles across different emergency responses, including overseeing a mobile vaccination unit during COVID-19, coordinating the evacuation of a SNF and medical evacuations during a 100-year flood event, and most recently, as the Logistics Section Chief of the Tulare County Public Health Department Operations Center during the H5N1 response. He also serves as a MHOAC duty officer, his agency’s ICS instructor, and coordinates the Tulare County Health Emergency Committee which is part of the Central California Healthcare Coalition.
Naomi King-Ruiz, MBA-HCM, BSN, RN, HACP
Assistant Medical Center Administrator, Clinical Operations
Kaiser Permanente Kern County
Naomi King-Ruiz is a health care leader currently serving as an Assistant Medical Center Administrator at Kaiser Permanente Kern County. Having been in health care for 30 years, Naomi has unique perspectives and abilities from having worked in diverse roles throughout the care continuum. Naomi is known for fostering collaborative environments and driving operational excellence within medical centers. Her leadership style emphasizes innovation, efficiency, and compassionate service delivery. She continues to make a meaningful impact in the health care industry through her dedication and expertise.
Ryan Speicher, RN, BSN, MICN
Emergency Department Supervisor
Huntington Hospital
Mr. Speicher has been with Huntington Hospital since 2018. For the past two years, he’s led departmental efforts focused on quality improvement and staffing optimization. In he is he chair for both the Pharmacy and Sepsis Taskforces, driving interdisciplinary collaboration to improve clinical outcomes. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Speicher has held roles as a staff RN, charge nurse, and education extender, gaining comprehensive experience in emergency care operations.
Steven Storbakken, HACP-PE, NHDP-BC
Professor
Pomona Valley Hospital
With over 40 years of experience in healthcare emergency management, Mr. Storbakken serves as the Director for one of Los Angeles County’s 12 Designated Disaster Resource Center Regions (Region 9), supporting coordination among 13 local hospitals and serving a population of over 2 million residents. Recognized for innovation and leadership, his emergency preparedness programs have been featured as Best Practices in three of the five editions of the Joint Commission’s Emergency Management “How-To” Manuals. A dedicated contributor to national standards, he has served for eight years on the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) Revision Panel and is currently involved in the development of the next HICS revision.
Francesca Tanglao
Emergency Management Program Leader
Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii
Francesca Tanglao is the Emergency Management Program Leader for Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii. In this pivotal role, Francesca leads the development and execution of a comprehensive regional strategy for emergency operations and hazard vulnerability. Her work spans the full spectrum of emergency management. Francesca brings more than 17 years of deep expertise and leadership to Kaiser and has held many roles during her tenure. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Francesca served as a Program Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Deanna Tarnow, RN, B.A., CPHRM
Senior Director, Risk Management and Patient Safety
BETA Healthcare Group
Ms. Tarnow joined BETA Healthcare Group in 2010, having worked in the health care field for over 30 years, with the last 20 years being dedicated to Patient Safety and Risk Management. In her current role, she leads BETA HEART®, the organization’s comprehensive, principled, and systematic approach to responding to and reducing harm in health care that is currently being implemented in over 90 hospitals and health care organizations throughout California.
L. Vance Taylor
Chief, Office of Access and Functional Needs
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Luis “Vance” Taylor is the Chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. He leads the team responsible for ensuring the needs of individuals with disabilities and persons with access or functional considerations are identified and integrated into the State’s emergency management systems before, during, and after disasters.
Mr. Taylor 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 ranked homeland security and emergency management consulting firm. He is a nationally recognized public speaker and advocate for individuals with disabilities.
Farrell Tobolowsky, DO, MS
Medical Director, Communicable Disease Program
Deputy Director, Communicable Disease Branch
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Farrell Tobolowsky is currently the Medical Director of the Communicable Disease Program at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH). Prior to her current role, she worked at CDC for more than 5 years as a medical epidemiologist and subject matter expert in diphtheria, polio, and enteric infections. During her time at CDC and SFDPH, she has served in key leadership roles in emergency responses for avian influenza, domestic and international polio, mpox, COVID-19, and a large international Guillain-Barre Syndrome outbreak. She continues to practice clinically in acute care settings as an adult infectious disease physician.
Jennifer Waldron, MBA-HCM, BSN, RN
Disaster Program Manager and Business Continuity Planner
Huntington Hospital
Jennifer Waldron leads the development, implementation, and testing of disaster preparedness and business continuity plans at Huntington Hospital to ensure organizational resilience in the face of emergencies. With an extensive background in emergency nursing and health care management, Jennifer brings a clinical perspective to her work in emergency preparedness. She organizes and supports leadership response to critical incidents and has been instrumental in coordinating large-scale training exercises, including multiple active shooter response drills in collaboration with local law enforcement and fire departments. Her efforts focus on minimizing operational disruptions while enhancing staff readiness and patient safety during crises.
Elizabeth Weeks-Comeau
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
Mammoth Hospital
As an Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Ms. Weeks-Comeau is responsible for developing and implementing the hospital-wide emergency management program that reflects local and regional hazards, including the limited resources and incident-specific response training necessary to ensure successful management of disasters in a rural and isolated community. Her focus is program development and execution of project management on subject matter expertise and sustainable training and exercise development in order to enhance individual engagement and community resiliency.
Emma Wilcox, BSN, RN
Owner
Wilcox Emergency Management Consulting
Ms. Wilcox is an accomplished Emergency Management Consultant with over 25 years of experience spanning health care, fire service, and public safety. After an 18-year career with CAL FIRE, where she rose to the rank of Fire Captain, Ms. Wilcox transitioned to health care, becoming an RN in 2011, working as an Emergency Manager in the hospital setting. She has since led comprehensive emergency management programs for hospitals, developed emergency operations plans, continuity and mass casualty plans, and conducted training and exercises for a range of organizations, including Tenet Health, Adventist Health, UCSF and Mammoth Hospital. She brings extensive leadership, incident command expertise, and a hands-on approach to improving preparedness and resilience in health care settings.
Jeremy Wills
Disaster Preparedness Coordinator
Modoc Medical Center
Jeremy Wills has been a Hospital Disaster Preparedness Coordinator at Modoc Medical Center for the past 8 years. Jeremy is passionate about training staff and thinking outside the box. Jeremy has also worked as an EMT and Cal Firefighter for San Bernardino County Fire. Jeremy is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow.
Kelly Yascheshyn, BScN, RN, MICN, CEN, NHDP-BC
Clinical Educator, Emergency Preparedness
Sharp Healthcare
Kelly is an experienced nurse with over 20 years of frontline and leadership involvement in the areas of emergency medicine, prehospital care and disaster response. With a career rooted in high-acuity, high-intensity environments, Kelly has developed intimate clinical expertise in emergency and trauma areas, incorporating a strategic and hands-on approach that bridges clinical excellence and operational efficiency.
Tuition fees are for in-person or livestream.
Note: Livestreaming includes all keynote and general sessions plus select breakout sessions.
Loyalty Members: $399
Loyalty Association Members and Government Entities: $399
Exclusive loyalty pricing for this year’s conference is available only to CHA members who attended last year’s event. Enjoy a $100 savings. But hurry – this special offer is limited to the first 50 registrants!
*Loyalty pricing is available April 7-May 7, 2025.
Early Bird Members: $499*
Early Bird Associate Members and Government Entities: $499*
Early Bird Nonmembers: $1000*
*Early Bird pricing expires on 8/07/2025.
Members: $578
Associate Members and Government Entities: $578
Nonmembers: $1100
Members are CHA member hospitals. Nonmembers are non-hospital health care providers, clinics, and post-acute facilities 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 [email protected]. No refunds will be given after these dates. Substitutions are encouraged. Cancellation and substitution notification may be emailed to [email protected]. 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 [email protected].
Safe Credit Union Convention Center
1401 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel
1230 J St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Sheraton Grand has rooms available at a discounted rate of $239. For reservations, call (916) 447-1700 and mention the “CHA Disaster Planning Conference” or book online. Don’t delay; the deadline for discounted sleeping rooms is August 18, 2025.
Showcase your products to hundreds of leading health care decision makers. We are expecting 600+ 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.
Application
Requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Act quickly — we expect exhibit space to sell out.
Questions? Contact Lisa Hartzell at [email protected].