California Hospitals Team Up on Disaster Plans, but Federal Budget Cuts Could Affect Efforts

In a California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, experts discussed how hospitals across California are forming partnerships to bolster their emergency response efforts.

However, experts warn that proposed budget cuts to the federal Hospital Preparedness Program could negatively affect hospitals’ disaster planning initiatives.

The Special Report includes comments from:

Cheri Hummel, vice president for disaster preparedness at the California Hospital Association;
Kurt Kainsinger, Disaster Resource Center manager at UCLA Healthcare System;
Claudia Marroquin-Frometa, emergency management coordinator at Centinela Hospital Medical Center; and
Lisa Schoenthal, chief of the Disaster Medical Services Division at the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (Kennedy, California Healthline, 12/12).

The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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<h1>California Hospitals Team Up on Disaster Plans, but Federal Budget Cuts Could Affect Efforts</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2012-12-12T00:00:00-08:00">
			December 12, 2012		</time>
		</div>
<p>In a <i>California Healthline</i> Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, experts discussed how hospitals across California are forming partnerships to bolster their emergency response efforts.</p><p>However, experts warn that proposed budget cuts to the federal Hospital Preparedness Program could negatively affect hospitals’ disaster planning initiatives.</p><p>The Special Report includes comments from:</p><ul><li>Cheri Hummel, vice president for disaster preparedness at the California Hospital Association;</li><li>Kurt Kainsinger, Disaster Resource Center manager at UCLA Healthcare System;</li><li>Claudia Marroquin-Frometa, emergency management coordinator at Centinela Hospital Medical Center; and</li><li>Lisa Schoenthal, chief of the Disaster Medical Services Division at the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (Kennedy, <i>California Healthline</i>, 12/12).</li></ul><p>The complete transcript of this Special Report is <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/12/chlspecialreporttranscript121212.pdf">available as a PDF</a>.</p><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/">KFF</a>.</p><h3>USE OUR CONTENT</h3><p>This story can be republished for free (<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/california-hospitals-team-up-on-disaster-plans-but-federal-budget-cuts-could-affect-efforts/view/republish/">details</a>).</p><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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