Emergency Health Information

About the Guide’s Author

June Isaacson Kailes (http://www.jik.com) operates a Disability Policy Consulting practice and is the Associate Director, Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California. Her work focuses on helping to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs are integrated into health care and emergency planning, response and recovery services and systems. June works on emergency issues internationally, with state, local, and federal agencies, with community-based organizations and an array of other emergency managers, planners and contractors.

June is well known for her pioneering work in conceiving, promoting, and moving the emergency management world from the vague “special needs” focus to operationalizing an access and functional needs approach to planning and response. This also includes conceiving and working with the state of California to adopt and implement the use of Functional Assessment Service Teams (FAST). These teams strategically link government, nonprofits and business sectors to work with “at risk individuals” during emergencies through screening, and supporting independence needs which prevents deterioration. FAST members enable people to maintain mobility, health, and safety, and successfully manage in general population shelters and other temporary housing options. Her breadth and depth of experience in access and functional needs and her work as a writer, trainer, researcher, policy analyst, and advocate is widely known and respected.