UNITAR
6 December 2025, York, Canada - The International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL) in Canada, CIFAL York, an affiliated training centre of UNITAR, has successfully concluded the final session of its 2025 Emergency Management in Hospitals & Healthcare Speaker Series. The six-part series brought together practitioners, academics, and students to explore the complex challenges healthcare institutions face when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities operate in complex environments where emergencies, whether natural hazards, technological failures, or public health crises, carry distinct implications. While disaster and emergency management (DEM) education often focuses on general public-sector contexts, a significant gap remains in training tailored specifically to healthcare settings.
Recognising this need, CIFAL York designed the Speaker Series to bridge this knowledge gap by facilitating discussions led by experts in healthcare emergency management, disaster preparedness, risk governance, and resilience-building. Now in its third year, the Series examined how DEM principles can be adapted to clinical environments, how hospitals can remain operational during crises, and what specialised capabilities healthcare systems require to safeguard both patients and frontline staff.
The 2025 edition featured a wide range of professionals in healthcare emergency management, including hospital emergency managers, clinical leaders, resilience specialists, and risk-management practitioners. Contributors such as Ms Maddy Laberge, Ms Gloria Hertz, Mr Joel Van Huizen, Ms Natasha Hewitt, Ms Lisa Tarini, Mr Chris Teichroeb, Mr Simon Bridgland, Ms Shannan Saunders, Ms Kassondra Stockman-Sousa, Dr Delwin Ferguson, Mr Scott Blessin, Mr Craig Brown, Ms Laura Kentie, Mr Grayson Cockett, Ms Haajra Khan, Mr Scott Brumwell, Mr Gregory Dunn, and Mr Dave Saunders shared insights from real-world events such as hospital evacuations, major flooding, fire-drill and fire-response operations, air-quality emergencies, extreme heat events, missing-patient incidents, and disaster recovery following large-scale fires. Their expertise grounded the Series in practical case studies, operational lessons, and strategies for strengthening resilience within complex healthcare systems.
Across its 2025 sessions, the programme explored core thematic areas central to hospital emergency management, including the adaptation of DEM principles to clinical environments, the complexities of business continuity and critical-infrastructure dependence, the challenges of conducting evacuations, the role of internal codes such as Code Red, Code Aqua, and Code Yellow, and the growing need to prepare for climate-related hazards such as wildfire smoke and extreme heat. Participants examined governance structures, risk-assessment practices, and the specialist capabilities required to maintain patient safety and uphold care delivery during disruptive events. These themes supported professionals transitioning into healthcare-specific emergency management roles as well as students seeking to build foundational expertise in this rapidly evolving field.
Throughout the Series, attendees engaged in interactive learning, case studies, and expert-led discussions, enhancing their understanding of the intersection between healthcare and emergency management. The programme also supported professionals transitioning into healthcare emergency management roles and students seeking to specialise in this critical area.
Links