On September 9, GNYHA will host a symposium to explore how health care emergency preparedness has changed since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Born in the aftermath of 9/11, the field of health care emergency preparedness has evolved and matured significantly over the past two decades.
During this program we will explore our journey to the present, and most importantly, where we are heading as cybercriminals, climate change, and infectious disease pose new threats that increase and complicate our vulnerabilities.
Please note that the symposium is in lieu of GNYHA’s September Emergency Preparedness Coordinating Council (EPCC) meeting. We will be sending an updated calendar invite to our regular EPCC attendees.
Dan Hanfling, MD, will give the keynote address, which will explore the evolution of health care emergency preparedness and describe the core capabilities needed to address future threats. Dr. Hanfling is a vice president on the technical staff at In-Q-Tel, the not-for-profit venture capital arm of the US national security establishment. His interests are focused on the intersection of biotechnology, health care, and national security. He is also a board-certified emergency physician practicing at Inova Fairfax Hospital, northern Virginia’s Level I trauma center, and serves as a Medical Team Manager for Virginia Task Force One, a Federal Emergency Management Agency- and United States Agency for International Development-sanctioned international urban search-and-rescue team. Dr. Hanfling has been involved in the responses to numerous international and domestic disaster events for more than two decades, including the response to the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11. Dr. Hanfling has published widely on issues regarding emergency response, including response to mass casualty events, crisis standards of care, and the management of the inhalation anthrax cases in 2001, and he co-chairs the National Academy of Sciences Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness.
A panel discussion about the future of health care emergency preparedness will follow. Panelists from GNYHA member hospitals will draw upon their hospital and health system background, and experiences in government and academic research to discuss how the demands of the field have changed and what preparation for the next generation of emergency managers needs to include.
The symposium will be of interest to anyone involved in emergency preparedness and response. Please share this announcement with colleagues who may wish to attend.