HAP's Emergency Management Staff

Chris Chamberlain, MS, RN, CHEP

Chris is currently Manager of Emergency Management for The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. His current responsibilities include operational support to the commonwealth's hospitals and health systems in support of their emergency management efforts, providing assistance during both planned and unplanned events affecting health care delivery.

Background:  Prior to coming to HAP, Chris worked for Penn State Health, St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania, as the Emergency Management Coordinator and EMS Liaison, and has held previous positions with several Southeast Pennsylvania health care systems as a flight nurse, emergency department manager, and nursing educator.

Additionally, Chris served has served in various roles including firefighter, paramedic, fire command officer, and EMS instructor and continues to maintain certification in all areas.

Education:  Chris received his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Lycoming College and his Master's Degree in Disaster Medicine and Management from Philadelphia University, now Thomas Jefferson University.

Certifications:  Chris is recognized by the International Board for Certification of Safety Managers as a Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP) and by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a certified Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse. He is certified by the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy as a Firefighter II and holds an Extra Class FCC Amateur Radio License.

Tom Kitchen, MECM

Tom is currently Manager of Emergency Management for The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP). He brings more than 10 years of public safety experience in emergency management, fire rescue, and the emergency medical services. Tom is committed to enhancing the operational capacity and preparedness of the commonwealth’s hospitals and health systems while also working to advance policy initiatives that allow for increased resilience to all manner of hazards.

Background

Tom has worked as Emergency Management Coordinator for the government of a Florida Gulf Coast county where he served in a leadership role throughout a multitude of disaster incidents and Emergency Operations Center activations including those for hurricanes, tornadoes, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil disturbances, ecological threats, wildfires, and large special events. He has deployed to fill incident command roles within responses to emergencies throughout Florida and as far as California.

Tom has demonstrated experience in incident command, risk assessment, strategic and tactical planning, data collection and analysis, crisis communication, disaster recovery, training and exercise delivery, and hazard mitigation planning. He has managed, supported, and coordinated multidisciplinary projects and all-hazard planning efforts across public, private, and non-profit agencies at the local, regional, and state levels. He has been recognized by his peers as a subject matter expert in emergency management, evidenced by his work within Florida’s Regional Domestic Security Task Force, as well as state and federal intergovernmental agency coordination in Southern California.

Education & Certification

Tom received a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Crisis Management from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science & Public Policy from the University of South Florida (USF).

Tom is certified nationally as a Program Manager and Assessor with the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP).

Formerly, Tom was certified by the State of Florida as a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. He also achieved National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (Pro Board) individual certification.

Matt Linse

Matt is currently an Emergency Manager with The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. He has more than 20 years of emergency response, preparedness, and management experience. Prior to this position, Matt served as the Regional Manager for the Northern Tier Healthcare Coalition of Pennsylvania (11 counties in northwestern Pennsylvania).

Background:  Prior to coming to HAP, Matt worked for AHN-Saint Vincent in Erie, Pennsylvania. Matt served as a team member with the Emergency Preparedness program, the pre-hospital services program, and business development department. He was an integral part of the pre-hospitals services team providing data gathering, analysis, and strategy to increase patient volumes while, at the same time, helped the in-house acute care providers understand the important of pre-hospital treatment and how it can impact and improve patient outcomes. Proceeding that, Matt spent 10+ years working in the pre-hospital field with an EMS services and for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a Lake Erie Lifeguard Supervisor, performing surf rescues and the recovery of victims no the shores of Lake Erie.   

Additionally, Matt’s served on many committees including chairman of Northwest Healthcare Coalition, and as vice-chair of the regional task force’s health and medical sub-committee.

Education:  Matt received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Minor of English from Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.  Matt received his national and state paramedic certification from the Harrisburg Area Community College.  He’s also attended numerous trainings at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness, and he holds many Incident Command certificates.

Notable Responses:

• COVID-19 Pandemic—Response Operations of PA Department of Health’s Disaster Operation Center and Healthcare Coalition response and planning. 
• World Meeting of Families—Lead for Northwest Pennsylvania’s Medical Reserve Corp.  Assigned to medical treatment tent inside the secured zone.
• Rolling Fields Elder Care Tornado/Evacuation—Assisted facility and county emergency management with evacuation and relocation of 162 residents to local gymnasium then to other post-acute facilities. 
• Acute care setting—multiple external and internal incidents
  • Multiple winter storm incidents
  • Extreme cold temperatures; loss of heat for multiple days; internal evacuation of units; loss of fire suppression system; frozen and ruptured pipes throughout facility.
  • Extreme heat/power outage; generator failure; limited to no cool air 
  • Decontamination Incidents
  • Mass casualty incidents from interstate
  • Highly Infectious Disease unit creation & staff training

Charles (CJ) Sabo, MPH, EMT-B

CJ currently is a Manager with the Emergency Management (EM) department of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP). CJ brings more than ten years of EMS experience and a wealth of related skills and experience to HAP’s EM team, including extensive experience organizing mass vaccination sites.

Background:  Prior to his current position with HAP, CJ worked full-time for the Bethlehem Health Bureau in Public Health Emergency Preparedness program. CJ’s role in Bethlehem was to work closely with local partners as well as the city itself to create various response plans as well as coordinate exercises to test those plans.

When he is not working, CJ enjoys spending time with his family, bike riding, kayaking, playing baseball, or attending car shows/races.

Education:  CJ obtained his MPH from the University of West Florida in 2018.

Ryan Weaver, MBA, BSN, RN, CPPS

Ryan Weaver recently worked as the Manager of Quality Services/Risk Management/Patient Safety Officer for Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center. Previously, he was the Assistant Director of Nursing at that facility. Prior to working at Conemaugh Meyersdale, Ryan was an ER Nurse for Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.

Ryan has extensive clinical experience having worked in the emergency department at a Level 1 trauma center, along with a background in emergency preparedness, infection prevention, and quality/risk management.

Ryan is a Diploma RN graduate of the Conemaugh School of Nursing. A Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and a Master’s in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University.

Ryan is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety through the Certification Board of Professionals in Patient Safety.