Date: March to May 2026

Apply by February 13^th!

**Continuing Education credits expected for physicians and nurses! **

Background

Natural disasters and air, water, and chemical exposures like extreme heat, hurricanes and flooding, wildfires, and poor air quality events are increasing in both frequency and severity, placing growing strain on patients, health centers, and the broader health care system. These events worsen chronic conditions, disrupt access to care, and create financial instability for health centers through service interruptions, infrastructure damage, and lost revenue. As seen during the fires in Los Angeles, flooding in Texas, and hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Louisiana, community health centers consistently serve as both the first and last responders, providing critical care before disasters strike and sustaining communities long after emergency response efforts end.

Program Vision

Recognizing the growing need for staff providing direct patient care to be better prepared to support patients before, during, and after disasters, NACHC has developed a Community of Practice (CoP) designed to strengthen disaster preparedness and response among clinical and direct care staff. This CoP supports participants in building familiarity with preparedness strategies for disaster events, while creating a space to share experiences, exchange practical approaches, and learn from peers across health centers.

Program Description

This highly interactive CoP consists of four core 60-minute virtual sessions, with one optional session, held between March and May 2026. Each session blends:

• A short, focused didactic presentation (~20 minutes) from subject matter experts and health center leaders
• Facilitated peer-to-peer discussions, case studies, and applied activities (~40 minutes)

Audience

This Community of Practice is designed for health center staff providing direct patient care or community care, which includes but is not limited to:

• Physicians*
• Nurse Practitioners (NPs)*
• Registered Nurses (RNs)*
• Medical Assistants (MAs)
• Physician Assistants (PAs)
• Dentists and dental care staff
• Behavioral Health Specialists
• Social Workers
• Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Outreach Workers

*Continuing Education credits expected for these groups.

Overarching Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to...

Understand	Apply/Analyze
Describe the key components of their health center’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), how direct patient care could be enhanced in the plan, and typical emergency preparedness partners.	Identify EOP lead at their health center and discuss where direct patient care fits in the EOP.
Describe how disasters disrupt clinical workflows and identify ways to address these disruptions.	Based on real-world experiences with workflow disruptions during disasters, recommend at least one opportunity for improvement related to patient care within their health center’s EOP.
Discuss key medical and non-medical patient risk factors for disasters.	Analyze how health centers have identified patient populations at risk and identify key staff leads to engage in initiating this work at their own health center.
Describe communication practices to patients before/during a disaster at their health center.	Create a list of important considerations related to patient care that should be included in messages to patients.
Describe the core principles of Psychological First Aid (PFA) and common mental health needs during a disaster.	Identify lead for mental health support during and after disasters at their health center; Identify considerations for mental health needs for patient care during a disaster to be shared with mental health lead.
Identify reliable sources of information to support accurate and timely communications to patients.

Faculty

• NACHC Emergency Management and Air, Water and Chemical Exposure team (Taina Lopez, Jessica Hinshaw and Julia Dempsey), Facilitator
• Marty Lynch, PhD, CEO Emeritus, Lifelong Medical Community Health Center, Facilitator
• Eric Henley, MD, CMO Emeritus, Lifelong Medical Community Health Center, Facilitator
• Lily Kelly, MPA, La Clinica de la Raza Community Health Center, Presenter
• Jessie Liu, MD, La Clinica de la Raza Community Health Center, Presenter
• George Garrow, MD, CEO, Primary Health Network, Presenter
• Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth, PhD, RN, PHN, WAN, Altamed Community Health Center, Presenter