Speakers

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Andrew Moull

Emergency and Disaster Management Manager, Hamilton Health Sciences

Andrew has been involved in healthcare emergency management for eight years and is currently working at Hamilton Health Sciences as the Emergency and Disaster Management Specialist, in Hamilton, Ontario. In addition, he is currently a course director for the York University Disaster and Emergency Management graduate studies program, teaching Emergency Management in Healthcare since 2019.

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He also sits on the Education Committee of the Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals for the past 3 years and is a founding member and one of their first Canadian based members of the association.

Andrew is very active in trying to bring together healthcare emergency managers in Canada, helping to curate and facilitate online platforms for the Canadian Hospital Emergency Preparedness Alliance.

Andrew has completed two Masters Degrees. His first was in History at the University of Waterloo, and has his second degree in Disaster & Emergency Management from York University.

Kassondra Stockman

MFS, CBCP, Emergency Preparedness Advisor, Halton Healthcare

Kassondra Stockman is the Emergency Preparedness Advisor at Halton Healthcare – an organization comprised of three community hospitals and numerous community-based services located in the growing communities of Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville.

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She has worked in the field of Emergency Management since first beginning her career at the Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Upon her return to Canada in 2008, she held progressive roles in organizations of higher education and regional government. As she continued to develop her skills and knowledge in Emergency Management her focus changed to the area of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness

In 2013, Kassondra joined Halton Healthcare, during an exciting time of change for the organization. She was directly involved in Emergency Management planning related to the completion of three major capital redevelopment projects, including the construction of a 1.6 million square foot hospital in Oakville and a significant expansion at Milton District Hospital that effectively tripled the size of the hospital.

Kassondra is passionate about fire safety and a dedicated advocate of both personal and work preparedness. She has a Masters of Forensic Science from The George Washington University and is a DRI International Certified Business Continuity Professional.

Bernard Derible

Deputy Minister and Commissioner of Emergency Management, Treasury Board Secretariat, Ontario Public Service Leadership

Bernie Derible is the Deputy Minister and Commissioner of Emergency Management Ontario. He has 35+ years of service as a nation builder in conflict zones and a senior military officer for UN and NATO peace support operations. He led the strategic review and flood management planning following the devastating Thailand floods in 2009 and authored pandemic and emergency preparedness plans for international organizations and governments in Thailand, Afghanistan, Laos, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Mongolia.

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His nation building work led him back to Afghanistan, where he became Chief of Staff to the President and delivered a strategy for governance, infrastructure, agriculture and education. In Canada, he was responsible for the federal government emergency response to the Ontario Ice storm – Ottawa Region (1998) and was seconded to the City of Winnipeg as the Chief of Staff to coordinate federal emergency resources and personnel during the Winnipeg Floods (1997). While serving as the acting Base Commander of Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, he led the successful response for Ottawa Valley Region Y2K planning and preparedness. Additionally, he was responsible for emergency, crisis and mass casualty preparedness exercises at Atomic Canada Chalk River Laboratories and the Pembroke General Hospital. 

In 2015, Bernie returned to Canada to design and implement the Syria refugee program, where he was responsible for safely welcoming 67,000 Syrian refugees and 1500 Yazidi women and children fleeing violence. His Cape-Breton roots uniquely placed him to author the Atlantic immigration pilot, heralded by the Wall Street Journal and the Economist for generating $250 million annually in GDP Growth, a critical pillar for Canada’s ascension into the top 10 global economies in 2020.  Most recently, while in East Timor conducting leadership training and executive coaching, Bernie answered the call to return to Ontario as a Senior Advisor on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force, which coordinated the successful roll-out of over 30 million vaccinations across Ontario, now rated top three in the world.

Andrea McCormick

Senior Manager, Quality Management and Emergency Preparedness, The Hospital For Sick Children

Andrea is a registered nurse by background and started her career at SickKids hospital in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)as a bedside nurse in 2007.  After finishing her Master of Nursing Administration at the University of Toronto in 2013, she started a role as Critical Care Quality Team Leader.  After several years in Quality, she also served as an interim PICU Senior Manager in 2016-2017 before starting in her current role as Senior Manager in the Central Quality Management department at SickKids.

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In 2021, she took on the portfolio for Emergency Preparedness for the hospital.

Andrea is passionate about health care quality improvement and strategic project management and brings that lens to her approach with the overhaul and renewal of the Emergency Preparedness Program at SickKids.

Katherine Kung Cheung

Quality Improvement Specialist for Quality Management & Clinical Practice & Quality Lead, The Hospital for Sick Children

Katherine is currently a Quality Improvement Specialist for Quality Management & Clinical Practice & Quality Lead for the outpatient program at Sickkids. In her role, she focuses on using innovation & data management to achieve workflow simplification. Katherine is a graduate of the University of Toronto Master of Nursing in Health Systems Leadership and Administration and enjoys reading and travelling in her spare time. 

Yvonne Howard

Emergency Preparedness, Quality Management, The Hospital for Sick Children

Yvonne Howard is a long-time Emergency Department nurse, who is currently leading Emergency Preparedness initiatives with the Quality Management team at SickKids. In her role, she is updating policies and response plans, leading hospital-wide education and simulations, preparing for accreditation, and building new Just-In-Time Emergency Preparedness resources. Yvonne is a graduate of the University of Toronto Master of Science in Community Health program.  She loves cycling, running, reading, making ice cream, walking her dog, and hanging out with her 7-year-old. 

Helen Feng

Emergency Preparedness & Risk Specialist, Integrated Risk Management, Oak Valley Health

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Helen Feng is currently the chair of the Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) at Oak Valley Health, recently rebranded from Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH). She maintains and coordinates emergency preparedness activities for MSH and Uxbridge Hospital (UXB). Before her current role, Helen led mass casualty planning at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC). Tackling complex problems through multi-disciplinary stakeholder engagement and coordination is among Helen’s greatest strengths. As a former Emergency Department Patient Administrative Associate (PAA) in a Trauma Centre, Helen brings a unique frontline perspective to all of the work she leads. Helen’s approach to policy and plan development is centered on developing rational, best practice models that meet the needs of end-users and the patients they serve.

Simon Bridgland

RN, Emergency Management Specialist, Risk, Niagara Health

Simon Bridgland is an Emergency Management Specialist at Niagara Health, a multi-site hospital, comprised of five sites and multiple satellite locations serving over 450,000 residents across the 12 municipalities making up Niagara Region. Niagara Health is one of Ontario’s largest hospital systems, with 7,300 employees, physicians and volunteers.

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Simon has been a Registered Nurse since 1995 and joined Niagara Health in October 2020. He has been instrumental in the roll out of new and refreshed emergency preparedness policies and procedures; the update of the Emergency Code system and the Code of the Month training program; standardization of Fire Life Safety training across the organization; as well as facilitating successful emergency drills, and full scale exercises.

Prior to his current role, Simon worked in Pre-hospital care as a Primary Care Paramedic, a Staff Nurse and Clinical Leader in the Emergency Department, and various roles in Occupational Health and Safety. Simon holds an Honours Diploma in Nursing from Seneca College as well as an Honours Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health Nursing from Mohawk College. He is currently working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Adult Education at Brock University.

Simon is passionate about health and safety and believes that every employee, patient, and visitor deserves to go home to their family. When not working, Simon spends his time with his beautiful wife, three children and his dog in Burlington, Ontario.

Joshua Marshall

Emergency Management Specialist, Risk, Niagara Health

Josh Marshall is one of two Emergency Management Specialists at Niagara Health. Josh entered the healthcare field back in April 2022, where he is responsible for developing, updating and maintaining Business Continuity Plans for the regional healthcare organization. In addition to Business Continuity Planning, Josh also supports a number of other initiatives at Niagara Health including the Emergency Code system, developing and facilitating exercises and drills for staff and Executive Leadership and is the Co-Chair of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

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Josh holds a bachelors degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from York University and has spent his entire career working in the emergency management field. Prior to joining Niagara Health, Josh spent 3.5 years working with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, where he also led Business Continuity Planning and was tasked with managing the building and ministry-specific fire safety and security planning.

A few proud accomplishments throughout Josh’s career include;

  • Supporting the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs track and distribute Rapid Antigen Test’s to Indigenous communities during the height of COVID-19.
  • Led the implementation of Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) at five hospital sites to expand interpretation capabilities between patients and hospital staff.

Rosemary Thuss

Support Services, Emergency Management Manager, London Health Sciences Centre

Rosemary Thuss is the Manager of Emergency Management at London Health Sciences Centre. Leading a small team, the Emergency Management team at LHSC provides support to three hospitals and nine off-site locations. Using quality improvement processes, Rosemary works with all teams at the hospital organization to support best practices in emergencies. She is an editor with the Canadian Journal of Emergency Management. She is a Registered Nurse and received her Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management through Royal Roads University.

Gary Minder

Emergency Management Coordinator, London Health Sciences Centre

Gary is a Coordinator on the Emergency Management team at the London Health Sciences Centre. He has played a pivotal role in developing a robust code training at LHSC.  He works closely with staff and leaders to foster collaboration and preparedness.  He engages with patient and family partners to incorporate the patient perspective into emergency management initiatives. Gary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Western University and is also pursuing studies in project management.

Zak Linley

Emergency Management Coordinator, London Health Sciences Centre

Zak Linley joined LHSC with a diverse range of experience in emergency. Working as a Wildland Firefighter in Fort McMurray, Zak responded to the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016 and functioned as an Incident Commander. Keen on evidence-based practices, Zak has conducted emergency management research with the Emergency Management Policy and Preparedness Research Lab to develop risk mitigation tools, and has worked with the City of Burnaby’s Emergency Management Department, partnering with key stakeholders to develop emergency response plans for Burnaby Mountain related to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. Zak recently graduated with his Master’s in Disaster and Emergency Management degree from York University.

Anthony Fong

MD CCFP (EM), Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Journalism Fellow, Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Anthony Fong is an emergency and family physician based in Vancouver. He serves as the Director of Communications for Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) and has responded to disaster deployments in Honduras, Poland and Ukraine, and as a clinical health specialist for the Canadian Red Cross domestically.

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He holds an Associate Certificate in Emergency Management from the Justice Institute of BC, a Fellowship in Global Journalism from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Disaster Medicine at the Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UBC, where he teaches residents and medical students. Fong has written articles on healthcare and disaster management in publications such as CBC, the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine and The Conversation.

Siobhan Pickering

Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Michael Garron Hospital, Toronto East Health Network

Siobhan Pickering is the Emergency Preparedness Specialist at Michael Garron Hospital. Siobhan gained her masters in Emergency Preparedness in 2020, and plays an integral part in helping the organization achieve its goals in preparing and responding to Emergency codes. Siobhan leads the Emergency Preparedness committee at MGH working with interdisciplinary team members to plan, coordinate, and standardize work around their emergency codes.

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 The emergency code work includes revising policies to ensure the current situation is accounted for, and training on the codes for all staff is completed. She is responsible for three types of training currently, unit level scenarios, leadership tabletops and scenarios, and yearly code testing for code Red.

Siobhan is dedicated to furthering the emergency preparedness work at MGH, by working with different in-patient areas to develop Business Continuity, hospital wide emergency simulations, and by promoting the importance of downtime preparations.

Cheryl Nelson

Manager of Operational Readiness, Michael Garron Hospital, Toronto East Health Network

Cheryl Nelson has 15+ years of healthcare experience, most recently as Manager of Operational Readiness in Redevelopment. Prior to this role, she has served the previous 8 year as the Educator of the Emergency Department (ED) and Medical Short Stay Unit (MSSU). She has diverse experience in public health, clinical education, coaching, and organizational operations. Cheryl has utilized her expertise to lead process improvement initiatives such as simulated interviews that have positively impacted talent retention at her hospital of employment.

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Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Nursing degree from York University, a Master of Nursing degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and has successfully completed her certification in Simulation Instructor Training and Advance Critical Event Debriefing from Harvard University’s Center for Medical Simulation. Cheryl is passionate about change management, quality and safety, and continuing education. In 2016, Cheryl was the recipient of the Nelson Mandela Humanitarian award, as recognition for her dedication to clinical excellence and change management within the community. Cheryl shares her expertise with the East Toronto community by volunteering with a variety of charitable and non for profit organizations.

Phil Porter

Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, IWK Health Centre

Phil Porter is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at IWK Health, the Maritimes’ tertiary care pediatric hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Phil spent twenty-nine years as a practicing paramedic, communications officer, and supervisor. He has accumulated more than forty years of experience in the hospital, ambulance and healthcare industries including emergency preparedness, quality assurance, staff and patient care, training, policy, and best practice development and implementation.

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As part of his responsibilities at the IWK, Phil is involved in leading, training, and exercising the Hospital Based Reception of Contaminated Patients program.

Phil was part of the project team that successfully developed and implemented an enhanced provincial ambulance service for the province of Prince Edward Island (Island EMS) and was principal co-writer of the plan for an enhanced ambulance service for the province of New Brunswick (Ambulance New Brunswick).

Phil is married to Judy (his personal patient) and when not working, is a featured soloist in Nova Scotia’s Provincial Men’s Choir, Nova Voce. He’s also released two CDs of his own music, and considers his happy place sitting at the piano…

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