2011 Conference Overview
The 2011 program "Voices of Experience: Leadership During a Disaster" included:John M. Auerbach, MBA, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
John Auerbach was appointed Massachusetts’s Commissioner of Public Health in April 2007. Under his leadership the Department has developed new and innovative programs to address racial and ethnic disparities, to promote wellness (including the Mass in Motion campaign), to combat chronic disease and to support the successful implementation of the state’s health care reform initiative.
Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Auerbach had been the Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission for nine years. He had previously worked at the State Health Department for a decade, first as the Chief of Staff and later as an Assistant Commissioner overseeing the HIV/AIDS Bureau.
Peter Brown, Chief of Staff, Office of CEO, Partners HealthCare
Peter Brown is Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of Partners HealthCare. Brown works directly with the CEO and senior leadership to support and advance Partners’ mission and the message. Prior to his current position, Brown was Vice President of Public Affairs and Communication for Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Brown spent more than 25 years in television journalism. He started his career in radio news in 1977 and transitioned to television in 1978. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 1979, Brown worked as a broadcast producer at television stations in Providence (WJAR-TV), Philadelphia (WPVI-TV) and Boston (WBZ-TV), where he was News Director from 1993-2004, leading a staff of more than 125 journalists. Brown was honored with numerous awards from the Associated Press. He received an Emmy Award; a Best of Boston Award as Best News Director from Boston Magazine; and in 2000, he and his WBZ-TV news team received the Edward R. Murrow Award for best local news station in America.
Brown serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Hugh O’Brien Leadership Conference; is a member of the Boston Athletic Association; and has served as Chairman of the Board at the Family Justice Center of Boston. He also served on the External Affairs Committee for the Forsyth Institute in Boston.
Brown has worked with local and international government agencies and groups, sharing his expertise on dealing with the media around emergency events and offering guidance on how best to deliver communication during a crisis. As examples, he was involved in Operations “Atlas” and “Poseidon” through the City of Boston Department of Homeland Security and the City of Cambridge, MA.
Managing the Unthinkable - Video
Jane Metzger, RN, PhD, Senior Vice President CNO, Saint Vincent Hospital
Jane Metzger currently serves as the CNO at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. Metzger previously worked for Caritas Christi Healthcare System as vice president of clinical operations for emergency services. Before that, she was a senior vice president and CNO at Rhode Island Hospital/Lifespan Healthcare Systems.
Metzger has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, a master’s in nursing from Northern Illinois University and a PhD in philosophy and nursing from Widener University in Pennsylvania.
Metzger was recognized in local and national media following the Station Nightclub fire. In a night of horror and heroism, she and her staff attended to the victims of the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history. In a “Tribute to Nurses,” The New York Times acknowledged her work with its Job Market Nursing Award, presented to only four nurses nationwide.
The Virginia Tech Response - Video
M. Scott Hill, MEd, MHA, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer, LewisGale Hospital Montgomery
M. Scott Hill was named Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery Regional Hospital on June 5, 2006. Prior to being named CEO for MRH, Mr. Hill served as CEO for Northern Virginia Community Hospital and Dominion Hospital, a position he began in July of 2005. From 2003-2005, he was Chief Operating Officer, Ethics and Compliance Officer and Chief Staffing Officer for both of these hospitals. From 2001-2003, he was an Associate Administrator for Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to its acquisition by HCA, from 1998-2001, he served as Regional Operations Coordinator and then as Assistant Administrator for Healthsouth Medical Center in Richmond. Hill began his career in healthcare serving as Head Exercise Physiologist in the Cardiac Rehabilitation program at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Promotion (1993) and a Masters of Education in Exercise Physiology (1995) from Auburn University. He earned his Masters of Health Administration from The Medical College of Virginia in 2000. Hill is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Rotary International, and was in the 2006 Class of LEAD Virginia. He serves on the boards of directors for the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (Treasurer) and The Blacksburg Partnership and is a Community Advisory Board Member for the National Bank of Blacksburg.
Response to the 35W Bridge Collapse - Video
John L. Hick, MD, Medical Director, Emergency Preparedness Hennepin County Medical Center Associate EMS Medical Director, Hennepin County Medical Center
John L. Hick is a faculty emergency physician at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He serves as the Associate Medical Director for Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services and Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness at HCMC. He is Medical Advisor to the Minneapolis/ St. Paul Metropolitan Medical Response System. He also serves the Minnesota Department of Health as the Medical Director for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Medical Director for Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness. He is the founder and past chair of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Hospital Compact, a 29 hospital mutual aid and planning group active since 2002. This regional program was recognized with a $2.5 million competitive HHS preparedness grant in 2007. Hick traveled to Greece to assist with healthcare system preparations for the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of a 15 member CDC/HHS team. He continues to work with Health and Human Services and other agencies on issues of hospital surge capacity planning, adjusted standards of care in disasters, and preparedness for nuclear terrorism.
Hick is a national speaker on hospital preparedness and crisis standard of care issues and has published numerous papers dealing with hospital preparedness for contaminated casualties, disaster standards of care, and surge capacity. In his spare time, he practices disaster mitigation, response, and recovery at home with his two daughters, ages 6 and 9.
Central London Suicide Bombings - 7th July 2005 - Video
David Whitmore, Senior Clinical Advisor to the Medical Director, London Ambulance Service Trust
David Whitmore is currently the Senior Clinical Advisor for the Medical Director, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. He also worked as Head of Education and Development for the West Country Ambulance Services NHS Trust from 2000 to 2002.
Whitmore joined the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in 1980 and became “Extended Trained” (forerunner to “paramedic”) in 1986. He has wide-ranging operational experience, which sadly covers many terrorist incidents, rail disasters, major fires and civil disturbances. This experience has been tempered by significant developments in the ambulance profession and having had the privilege of being a part of some of those developments.
In January 2000, Whitmore was nominated by the Ambulance Service Association as a member the first Paramedic Board for the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM). He also fulfilled the post of Chairman of the Registration Committee of the Paramedic Board. When the CPSM was replaced by the Health Professions Council (HPC) in 2002, he carried on as an HPC Partner in the roles of Visitor, Registrant Assessor and Investigating Panel. Whitmore was also appointed by the Privy Council as Alternate Member of Council for the HPC for 2004/5. Currently, he is an HPC Partner fulfilling the duties of Registrant Assessor, Visitor and Fitness to Practice. As a member of the British Paramedic Association (BPA), he chaired the group that produced the BPA’s first Curriculum Framework for the Ambulance Profession from initial recruitment right through to paramedic consultant.
Whitmore is a Faculty Board Member of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. He is an Examiner for Diploma in Immediate Medical Care offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Whitmore is a member of the Department of Health, Care Pathways Working Group for the End of Life Care Programme.
Conference Planning Committee
Bruce S. Auerbach, MD, Vice President and Chief, Emergency and Ambulatory Services, Sturdy Hospital and Chair, Region 5 Hospital Consortium
for Emergency Preparedness
Judith A. Bernice, FACHE, Region 4AB Hospital Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Joan Cooper-Zack, RN, Emergency Preparedness Manager, South Shore Hospital
Michael Flanagan, Certified Emergency Manager
Edward Hennegan, EMS/Hospital Preparedness Planner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Emergency Preparedness Bureau
Christian Lanphere, Emergency Preparedness Manager, Cambridge Health Alliance
R. Lynn Schoeff, Senior Director of Emergency Preparedness, Cambridge Health Alliance
Tina T. Wright, Program Manager, Emergency Management & Public Information, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers