Course Instructor's Biography: James M. Rush, CHPM   Mr. Rush is the Executive Vice President of JVR Health Readiness, Inc., and an innovator in the field of Public Health and Healthcare Disaster Preparedness.  He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM).  Jim has over 26 years of healthcare administration and community emergency management experience in the US Armed Forces, the US Public Health community and in the civilian healthcare industry.   Most recently, he was the Region III Project Officer for the National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program. This is a Department of Health and Human Services program dedicated to assisting healthcare organizations prepare for “All Hazards” events. He was also the first logistics manager for the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile program, the forerunner of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   In the Private Healthcare Sector, Jim served as the Materials Manager for Children’s Hospital and Center for Reconstructive Surgery in Baltimore Maryland, Garrett County Memorial Hospital in Oakland Maryland and at the Barrow County Medical Center in Winder, Georgia outside of Atlanta.   As a US Air Force Medical Service Corps (MSC) Captain, Mr. Rush served as the US Air Force’s Middle East Regional Chief, Medical Logistics Management, while stationed at Incirlik, Turkey from June 1977-April 1979.  He later served as a logistics staff officer for the US Air Force Surgeon General in Germany, specializing in wartime medical supplies and equipment.  He was the first 500-Bed wartime and contingency hospital administrator and was a pioneer in adapting the Israeli Defense Force’s 4-Echelons of wartime healthcare services to the United States Armed Services in Germany.     Mr. Rush received his BS in Health Services Administration from the University of Arizona.  He also holds a Professional Certificate in Information Systems from the University of Southern California.  He also earned a Certificate in “Decision Risk Analysis for Logisticians” from the US Army’s Logistics Management College.   Publications:  Most recently, Jim has authored a publication for the American Hospital Association titled the “Disaster Preparedness Manual for Healthcare Materials Management Professionals”.  Mr. Rush has also co-authored the “Recommended Practice, Disaster Readiness and Recovery” for the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES).  He has had professional papers published in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) newsletter with worldwide circulation.  Excerpts of his web page article “Acquiring Disaster Related Supplies” were published by the “Materials Management in Healthcare Magazine”, a joint publication of the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Association of Healthcare Resources and Materials Management (AHRMM).  He is also a regular contributing author for “Big Medicine” an on-line weekly publication dedicated to the Emergency Management Community.