October 2026
Sustaining Healthcare Readiness and Planning for the Future
When asked recently if I was more concerned or more optimistic about the state of healthcare readiness, it took me only a moment to answer an emphatic “yes!”
My response was not humorous, but sincere in my optimism for the growing awareness that disaster readiness is an absolute imperative with communities and businesses — coupled with my concern that the funding for planning, execution and recovery have come under significant threat and require shared public and private engagement.
In my role as CEO, I dedicate a significant amount of time advocating awareness and support for healthcare readiness across our state and with leaders in Washington, DC. My statewide work has provided me both optimism and the opportunity to strengthen statewide readiness awareness and relationships through organizations such as Greater Spokane Incorporated and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, among others. Increasingly there is a shared recognition that healthcare resilience must evolve from a defensive posture into a strategic necessity and one that requires sustained attention, engagement and funding.
I hope you’ve read through the Network’s recent FY 2025-2026 Year in Review that highlights so many ways our team has advanced strategies and programs enabling our state’s healthcare readiness and response. As a neutral, non-competitive convener, our programs and team can reduce duplication, clarify risks, and strengthen workforce and economic continuity before, during, and after disruption.
As I look ahead to the end of 2027, I truly have both optimism and concern. I make no predictions about upcoming elections in just a few weeks but can predict that protecting support for our work, and that of our collaborators across the state, need everyone’s “vote” and continued commitment across the public and private sector.
Funding Healthcare Readiness Need Public and Private Commitment
The Network’s ability to serve across our state has been funded by healthcare system members, private grants and significant support through the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) — operated through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Not broadly known is that the HPP funding has helped build and sustain a mature health care preparedness system that no single hospital or organization could create on its own. These investments allow partners to monitor statewide hospital capacity, distribute timely situational awareness, issue emergency alerts, coordinate patient placement and load balancing, and support hospitals and health care organizations during incidents that exceed normal operations.
However, we’ve reached a critical moment when additional community and private sector partnerships are essential for the continued evolution of our work and being part of our funding diversification and business development that will protect our ability to protect access to healthcare for our region when faced with disaster.
Just last month the Network introduced the executive role of Chief Program and Strategic Development Officer role as further commitment that our diversification is not singularly financial, it’s also identifying and engaging with collaborators that share our mission and are committed to applying resources toward foundational readiness strategies that communities and economies.
A Differentiated Board of Directors
My optimism for the future of healthcare readiness is also strengthened through my own experiences with our Board of Directors. The long-term strength and preparedness of an organization is shaped by how it responds in moments of crisis and how thoughtfully and strategically it looks ahead. I’m reminded and grateful for this fact as the Network benefits from a fully engaged and supportive Board of Directors. The leadership of our Board is a force multiplier for the role of the Network as the backbone of our state’s readiness healthcare ecosystem. Their leadership strengthens the thoughtful planning guiding our work and empowers us to maintain a longer-term perspective, even as our teams and partners manage the demands unfolding in real time.
The Future
I’m grateful to those who stand with us as we sustain the infrastructure of our state’s healthcare readiness ecosystem. The reality is that this work will require an even broader community of leaders and organizations who benefit from healthcare readiness as being essential to the health of our communities, workforce and economy.
If there are organizations or leaders within your own network who should be included in this discussion, I invite you to connect them with us. And, for those positioned to invest directly in the Network’s mission, your financial support helps sustain and advance the capabilities, relationship and infrastructure our state depends on before the next crisis occurs.
As we move toward significant milestones in our work, I recognize the challenges and risks ahead are significant, but so is the opportunity to shape a stronger and more resilient future. That is where my optimism lies and I hope you will be part of it.
Your support helps health providers, hospitals and clinics save lives in a crisis or disaster.
Fiscal Year 2025-2026
Learn more about our operational leadership and strategic collaboration with partners.
Executive Insights with NWHRN
Interview with Onora Lien, Chief Executive Officer of NWHRN and Ettore Palazzo, MD, FACP, Chief Executive Officer of EvergreenHealth.