Americans Stand Ready: Preparing Healthcare for the Next Generation of Emergencies

September is National Preparedness Month—a time to ask an important question: Is your healthcare organization ready for what comes next?

For hospital emergency managers, preparedness has never been a standard process. The threats facing healthcare continue to evolve, and we must evolve with the times.

Extreme weather is becoming more frequent; infectious disease outbreaks, cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions, infrastructure failures, workforce shortages, mass casualty incidents, and other emerging threats can quickly create cascading impacts across a healthcare system. At the same time, hospitals are becoming increasingly dependent on technology and interconnected systems, creating new vulnerabilities while also creating new opportunities to improve preparedness.

This year's National Preparedness Month theme, “Americans Stand Ready,” is a reminder that preparedness is ultimately about taking responsibility before the emergency occurs. For healthcare organizations, that means more than having an Emergency Operations Plan on a shelf. It means building the capability to recognize emerging threats, make informed decisions, adapt quickly, and continue providing care when normal operations are disrupted. And increasingly, artificial intelligence may, if not already, become part of that capability.

From Reactive to Predictive Emergency Management

I always preach that we need to move on from a reactive society and be more of a proactive society, which still holds true. But what if we added another piece into the puzzle? One of the most exciting possibilities is moving emergency management further upstream.

Traditional emergency management often operates in a reactive environment; however, many systems do have proactive planning:

Incident → Information → Assessment → Decision → Action

However, as we further advance, we need to think about how AI can help create a more proactive model:

Data → Pattern Recognition → Risk Identification → Decision Support → Action

Imagine a hospital where an AI-enabled system monitors multiple data sources and identifies that several seemingly unrelated issues are developing simultaneously:

• Increasing absenteeism in a critical department

• Rising respiratory illnesses arriving at the ED or admitted

• Delayed deliveries of critical supplies

• Severe weather approaching the region

• Increased emergency department volume

Individually, these may not trigger an emergency response. Together, they may represent a developing operational threat. An emergency manager who receives that information early may have the opportunity to act before the situation becomes a crisis. That is the promise of AI in emergency management—not predicting the future with certainty but helping us recognize patterns sooner and make better-informed decisions.

The better your preparedness foundation, the more useful AI can become.

AI needs quality information, defined processes, clear objectives, reliable data, and human oversight. Emergency managers should therefore consider AI as another capability within the emergency management program—not as a replacement for the fundamentals. That means continuing to:

• Know your risks

• Develop and maintain your plans

• Train your staff

• Exercise your plans

• Evaluate performance

• Correct identified gaps

Then begin asking where AI can make those processes better.

“Americans Stand Ready” Starts with Healthcare

The 2026 National Preparedness Month theme, “Americans Stand Ready,” is ultimately about responsibility and action. FEMA's campaign encourages individuals to know what to do, make plans, build preparedness resources, and help strengthen their communities. Healthcare organizations have an even greater responsibility.

Hospitals don't just prepare for themselves. They prepare for the patients, families, employees, first responders, public health agencies, and communities that depend on them.

For hospital emergency managers, standing ready may mean asking some different questions this September:

• Are we prepared for the threats we already know about?

• Are we identifying the threats that are emerging?

• Are our plans keeping pace with how healthcare operates today?

• Are we exercising the complex, cascading scenarios that could challenge our organization?

And perhaps:

Are we taking advantage of new technologies—including AI—to become more prepared, more resilient, and more capable of making decisions under pressure?

Preparedness is Changing. We Need to Change with It.

National Preparedness Month provides an annual opportunity to stop and evaluate where we stand. This September, as we recognize National Preparedness Month and the message “Americans Stand Ready,” healthcare organizations should consider what it means to truly stand ready for the emergencies of tomorrow. The threats are evolving. Technology is evolving. Emergency management must evolve with them. Preparedness isn't about predicting exactly what will happen. It's about building the capability to be ready for whatever happens next.

Author: Charles “CJ” Sabo, MPH, CHEP, EMT-B, Manager