H1N1 Presenters

J. Patrick O’Neal, MD., Director of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Georgia Department of Community Health

J. Patrick O’Neal, M.D. is Chief of Emergency Preparedness & Response Division. Dr. O’Neal is a native of Rome, Georgia. He completed an undergraduate degree in pre-med at Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina. Dr. O’Neal received his medical education at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following medical school, he completed a rotating internship at Providence Hospital, Portland, Oregon, prior to entering the United States Air Force for training in flight medicine. Dr. O’Neal served as a flight surgeon in Viet Nam in 1970-71.

Upon his return to civilian life, Dr. O’Neal served in Macon, Georgia as the Director of the Outpatient Clinic at the Medical Center of Central Georgia for two years prior to entering the practice of emergency medicine at Dekalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia in l973. Dr. O’Neal practiced emergency medicine at that facility for twenty-nine years. During his time at Dekalb Medical Center he served as Medical Director for Dekalb EMS. During his years of clinical practice Dr. O’Neal took advantage of several opportunities to observe or participate in healthcare delivery in foreign countries—Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba. For his final seven years at Dekalb Medical Center he served as the Regional Medical Director for EMS throughout the Greater Atlanta area. Throughout his career in emergency medicine Dr. O’Neal has been an advocate for trauma system development in Georgia. Upon retiring as the Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Dekalb Medical Center in 2002, he became the Medical Director for the Office of EMS/Trauma in the Georgia Division of Public Health. Currently functioning as the Director of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Georgia Department of Community Health, he has oversight responsibility for EMS, Trauma, Injury Prevention, and Emergency Preparedness.

Jeff Jeffries Jr, PA, MA, GA-MCEM

Harry Bruce (Jeff) Jeffries, Jr, PA, MA, GA-MCEM is the Interim Director, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Community Health. Selected as the Interim Director by the Division Director in March 2009, Jeff is responsible for the management of the preparedness and grant activities at the state level, ensuring the state funded positions, the 2 Peachtree ESF 6/8 Emergency Operations Center and the 18 Public Health District Emergency Preparedness programs have the resources needed for planning, preparation and response to events of Public Health significance. Jeff is responsible for management and distribution of the H1N1 dollars received from CDC.

Retired Air Force Physician Assistant, Jeff was the Senior Planner when he joined Emergency Preparedness in 2002. He was the first Public Health and non-Emergency Manager to be awarded the GEMA Master Manager award, completing GEMA’s Master Certified Emergency Manager Program in 2006.

Living in Fayetteville, GA, he and his wife Vickie have 4 children (the youngest a US Coast Guard pilot) and 8 grand children.

Michael W. Terwillger, Director South Health District Emergency Preparedness

Michael Terwilliger is currently the South Health District Emergency Preparedness Director, and has held this position for 8 years. He retired from the USAF after serving 22 years. He has a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Health Care Administration from Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, Texas. Duties in the Air Force included overseeing and training staff in emergency preparedness and response in the hospitals and clinics where assigned. Michael has extensive knowledge and experience in emergency preparedness and disaster response, from the perspective of both the responder and the planner. His current duties include in-district and cross-border emergency planning. He and his family enjoy traveling and various sporting events.

Mark Reiswig, GA CEM

Mark Reiswig, GA CEM is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for East Metro Public Health, which serves approximately 1,000,000 people in Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Counties.

Although a relative newcomer to the Emergency Response and Preparedness field (2006), Mark has had a thorough immersion during the past couple of years, having either coordinated or assisted with (among other things), hurricane evacuation shelter operations, flood response, NDMS Haiti medical refugee operations at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and of course the nation’s first flu pandemic in over 40 years. His varied background includes over 15 years in GIS software/data sales and running an advertising business for three years. He is married with four daughters and has been active in church and coaching girl’s fastpitch softball.

Dan Kotz, Emergency Management Coordinator

Dan Kotz is the Emergency Management Coordinator for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a system of 3 pediatric hospitals and 17 neighborhood care centers in the Atlanta metro area.

Dan served in Latin America with the U.S. Army before moving to Atlanta. He is a graduate of Georgia State University, and he has worked in hospital security and emergency management for the last 20 years.

Dan currently serves as the Mutual Aid Coordinator for Pediatric Emergency Response in Georgia, and he is a member of several state and local emergency planning committees.

Greg Swanson, EM Director, Gwinnett County, Georgia

Greg Swanson began his public safety career in 1987 and has experience at the state and local level. Mr. Swanson joined the Gwinnett County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in 2006 and was appointed to the position of EMA Director in 2009.

Mr. Swanson rose up through the ranks at the Hall County Fire Department where he served as the Division Chief of Administration and Emergency Medical Services. In 1998 he was selected as the State of Georgia Emergency Medical Services Director of the Year. Mr. Swanson also worked in the Operations Division of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and was involved in the coordination of statewide response to many natural and man made disasters.

Mr. Swanson’s experience and executive skills have led to his involvement in many regional, state, and national professional programs and initiatives. These include the North Georgia EMS Council, the Governor’s EMS Advisory Council, Georgia Office of Homeland Security All Hazards Council, and the Metro-Atlanta Urban Area Security Initiative. Mr. Swanson is an invited speaker at conferences and workshops and has presented at the Governor’s Emergency Management Conference which draws over 1200 attendees. He is an accreditation manager and assessor with the Emergency Management Accreditation Program and is currently leading Gwinnett County in the attainment of EMAP accreditation.

Mr. Swanson is a Certified Emergency Manager and is currently completing a Masters Of Public Administration Degree. A Gwinnett County native, he currently resides in Dacula with his wife Brandy, daughter Brittany, and son Andrew.