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Dear PCA and HCCN CEOs and EMAC Partners,
It is my pleasure to introduce Ms. Taina Lopez, NACHC’s new Director of Emergency Management. She will be NACHC’s primary point of contact in times of emergencies and disasters, and why I am taking the unique step of directly introducing her to each of you. In her short tenure already with NACHC (and before we could get a formal introduction out), Taina has reached out to states in the Northwest impacted by torrential rains and flooding and to Tennessee following a deadly tornado to offer assistance from NACHC.
With nearly a decade of experience in public health and health care emergency management, Taina recently served as the Director of Public Health Emergency Response for Orange County, Department of Health. Prior to this, she served at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene focused on enhancing health care system capabilities for preparedness and response and responding to Covid-19. There, she collaborated with diverse health care system partners, including community health centers, and specifically engaged with the Community Health Center Association of New York State. Her professional journey also includes humanitarian response with the United Nations Agency on Migration’s Emergency Health Team, responding to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak and addressing the Iraq refugee and migration crisis during the occupation of ISIL.
In Taina’s capacity at NACHC, she will continue our commitment to supporting health centers, PCAs, and HCCNs prior to, during, and post disasters. NACHC is appreciative of our leaders, Brandon Jones, Jennifer Nolty, and Jason Patnosh, who have filled this space at the times with the Emergency Management Advisory Coalition (EMAC) and during and following disasters. Going forward, Taina will coordinate with NACHC staff to ensure resources are brought to health centers when they are most needed. Taina will focus on developing NACHC’s training and technical assistance in this space, while ensuring alignment with partner needs. Finally, she will work with NACHC leaders and the field to ensure health centers have a seat at the table with national, federal, and private partners to secure equitable representation and consideration of health centers in emergency planning and response.
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