Center for Health Innovation Inaugural Symposium: Assuring the Continuum of Care in Emergency Situations

More than a month after Superstorm Sandy, residents, businesses, and towns still face a long road to recovery and the catastrophic damage is still visible. On Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 8:00 a.m., Adelphi University’s Center for Health Innovation (CHI) will hold its Inaugural Symposium focused on assuring the continuum of care in emergency situations. The keynote speaker will be Edward J. Gabriel, M.P.A., EMT-P, CEM, CBCP, principal deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the featured speaker will be D. Sean Smith, D.O., president of Mercy Clinic, Joplin, Missouri, which sustained a direct hit during the 2011 Joplin tornado. The Symposium will be held in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom in the Ruth S. Harley University Center, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY. Early registration is now open. Health officials, government personnel, and the public are welcome to attend as the University discusses need for continuum care planning from a variety of disciplines associated with the health infrastructure.  Alternate standards of care, healthcare business continuity, and mental and behavioral health preparedness will all be discussed.

The most vulnerable populations in our communities are just as likely, if not more so, to be affected by routine emergencies.  Statistics show that a community’s vulnerable populations needing specialized care in an emergency can be as much as 50 percent. The symposium seeks to address how health care providers can best prepare themselves and their patients for a disaster.

Edward J. Gabriel, keynote speaker, has extensive experience in emergency care and emergency management.  In his current role, he serves as principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) on all matters pertaining to the Department’s public health emergency preparedness and response. Prior to this position, Gabriel served as director of the Global Crisis Management and Business Continuity for the Walt Disney Company.

Gabriel also worked for New York City as a 26-year paramedic veteran of the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service (EMS) retiring as an assistant chief/division commander. Subsequently, Gabriel served in the New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYC OEM) as deputy commissioner for planning and preparedness and was responsible for all preparedness and planning-related strategy, projects and initiatives until he retired from NYC government.

Featured speaker D. Sean Smith, D.O. is physician president of Mercy Clinic-Joplin/Kansas, a multi-specialty integrated clinic of more than 100 physicians and 25 mid-level providers based in Joplin, Missouri. On May 22, 2011, when a tornado caused unprecedented destruction in Joplin, including this country’s first direct hit on an acute care hospital, Smith assisted with the initial Incident Command Function for St. John’s Regional Medical Center.

Just added to the day’s agenda is Kimberly Glassman, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, senior vice president for patient care services and CNO at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. Glassman and her team of nurses were the foundation of one of the compelling stories to come of Hurricane Sandy when they organized and moved 20 critically ill newborns in the NICU down nine flights of stairs. Ms. Glassman will be one of the featured speakers at the Adelphi University CHI Symposium.

Early registration for the event concludes January 15, 2013 and the cost is $30.00. General registration after January 15 is $35.00. To register for the event, and for more information, visit chi.adelphi.edu/.