Join AzCHER for its sixth annual Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Conference, held:

  • When: June 9-10, 2026
  • Day one: June 9 at 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Day two: June 10 at 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Where: Desert Willow Conference Center, 4340 E Cotton Center Blvd., Phoenix, Ariz., 85040

This year’s conference is centered around one core principle: your voice matters. The sessions, speakers and topics were shaped directly from our members through the feedback shared during last year’s event, ensuring the program reflects the priorities of Arizona’s healthcare professionals and emergency preparedness leaders.

Under the theme “Many voices, one mission: Advancing healthcare preparedness together,” this one-and-a-half-day conference brings together diverse experts from healthcare, public health and emergency management. During this conference you’ll learn about:

  • Workplace violence;
  • lessons learned;
  • behavioral threat assessment;
  • regulatory requirements and
  • coordinated response.

Through insightful presentations and collaborative discussions, attendees will gain:

  • practical strategies to strengthen readiness;
  • resilience and compliance within their organizations and
  • cross-sector connections essential to effective emergency response.

Day two features a deep dive into workplace violence and active shooter preparedness. Participants will receive targeted instruction and active shooter exercise development designed to enhance prevention, response and recovery capabilities in healthcare settings. This immersive training provides actionable tools to reinforce safety, coordination and confidence across teams.

Your feedback guided this year’s program. Your expertise shapes our shared mission. And together, we continue to advance preparedness and protect Arizona’s communities.

Participation in AzCHER 2025 Conference is open to members and non-members alike.

Please continue to check back for more information on our 2026 Conference.

Registration is open!

Registration fee – $120.00 includes both days

Registration is offered at a 50% discount for local, state and federal government employees.  Please reach out to your Regional Manager or Dawn Irons at [email protected] for your discount code.

If you’d like to sponsor or speak at one of our future events, please email [email protected] or Abigail Zieger at [email protected].

Click here for a list of nearby hotels.

Healthcare team stacked hands

Register

We are excited to see you at our Sixth Annual Conference! Your registration includes a continental breakfast during the 7:30-8:30 networking hour as well as a delicious buffet lunch (this will be a working lunch) on each day of the event.

Participation in AzCHER 2026 Conference is open to members and non-members alike.

Please continue to check back for more information on our 2026 Conference! 

Registration fee – $120.00 includes both days

Registration closes June 1, 2026

Please take note of our cancellation policy/deadlines:
Up to May 25: Registration fully refundable
May 26 – June 7: 50% refund
June 8 or after and “no shows”:  No refund

Registration is offered at a 50% discount for local, state and federal government employees.  Please reach out to your Regional Manager or Dawn Irons at [email protected] for your discount code.

If you’d like to sponsor or speak at one of our future events, please email [email protected] or Abigail Zieger at [email protected].

Continuing education units are not offered for this conference.

To enhance networking opportunities and foster valuable connections, we will share attendee contact information with our sponsors, who have generously supported this event.

Agenda


TUESDAY, JUNE 9
TIME
SESSION
SPEAKER
7:30-8:30 a.m.
Registration
Networking and Breakfast
8:30-8:40 a.m.
Welcome
Robin Oothoudt, AzCHER Executive Director
8:40-9:30 a.m.
2024 Hurricane Helen Devastation to East Tennessee and Lessons Learned
Jimmy Erwin - Director, Unicoi County EMA
9:30-10:00 a.m.
Break/networking
Breakfast available until 10:30
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Globe Flooding
Ryan Antokal - Director of Case Management, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator; Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center
11:00-11:10 a.m.
Break
11:00-12:00 p.m.
Supply Chain Integrity
Mike Schiller - Executive Director, AHRMM of the American Hospital Association
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Lunch
Working Lunch
1:00-1:50 p.m.
Behavioral Health Assessment Management for Healthcare
Keith Hanson - Senior Consultant, transcendx; Co-Director AHEPP
1:50-2:00 p.m.
Break

2:00-2:50 p.m.
How to Make Emergency Planning Fun and Get Good at it.
Kevin Whitlock - Sr Compliance Officer NCIT DHS/BMFL; Arizona Department of Health Services
2:50-3:00 p.m.
Break

3:00-3:50 p.m.
Tales of Bad Planning
Keith Hanson - Senior Consultant, transcendx; Co-Director AHEPP
3:50-4:00 p.m.
Raffle


WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10

TIME
SESSION
SPEAKER
7:30-8:00a.m.
Breakfast/Networking

8:00-9:30 a.m.
Essentials of Aggression Management
Dan Wilder - Vice President of Operations Soresen Wilder and Associates
9:30-9:45 a.m.
Break

9:45-10:45 a.m.
Targeted Violence and Radicalization: Consideration for Healthcare Practitioners
Lauren Hagy - Senior Research Specialist, CNA
10:45-11:45 a.m.
Lunch
Working Lunch
11:45-12:45
Active Shooter/Armed Intruder: Plan, Respond, and Survive the Unthinkable
Dan Wilder - Vice President of Operations Soresen Wilder and Associates
12:45-1:00 p.m.
Closing and Raffle

Speakers

Stop back soon to see a complete list of speakers!

Would you like to speak at our future events?

If you’d like to speak at one of our future events, please email [email protected].

Sponsors

Become a sponsor today!

To view the complete Exhibitor/Sponsorship Prospectus, please click here: AzCHER 2026 Sponsor Prospectus
For more information, contact Abigail Zieger at [email protected].

Title Sponsor

Turquoise Sponsor

Quartz Sponsor

Bag Sponsor

Lunch Sponsor