Zachary Goldfarb
President
Zachary Goldfarb, EMT-P, CHSP, CHEP, CEM, is the principal of Incident Management Solutions, Inc., a New York-based certified emergency management consultancy specializing in planning, training, and operational leadership for emergencies and major events. Clients range from the 1994 Woodstock II concert festival in upstate New York, where he served as the medical incident commander, to many hospitals and health care systems in the New York metropolitan area and across the country, where he has developed Joint Commission-compliant emergency management plans and implemented the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS). Recent activities include developing a New York State Department of Health Comprehensive Emergency Management Program for all hospitals in New York State, and a set of healthcare facility evacuation plans, tools, and templates for all flood risk healthcare facilities (including nursing homes and adult care facilities) in the State. He is currently writing a new Airport Emergency Response Plan for Los Angeles International Airport, and developing a standardized emergency management program for the nation’s 18 end-stage renal disease networks.
Validated by the United States Department of Defense as Medical Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Subject Matter Expert Instructor, Chief Goldfarb was a consultant member of the federal Domestic Preparedness Training Team, participating in the nationwide instructor-training program preparing first responders in the 120 largest cities to manage the medical consequences of terrorism. In 2006, he served on the Secondary Review Group of the national HICS-IV development project. In 2009, he was in the first cohort to receive the prestigious new credential, Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (Master’s level) from the Board of Certified Hazard Control Management.
Certified as a paramedic since 1978, Chief Goldfarb has served in many capacities during his 25-year career with City of New York Fire Department’s (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service Command (and the New York City Emergency Medical Service, prior to their 1996 merger), including Deputy Chief, Bronx Borough Commander, Deputy Chief of Operations, Emergency Management Coordinator, and commanding officer of the Special Operations Division. He is the author of the New York City Emergency Medical Action (disaster) Plan, which promulgated one of the most frequently used medical incident command systems in the nation. During both the 1993 bombing and the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he served as an EMS commander at the scene. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Chief Goldfarb led the Louisiana Special Needs Assessment of Katrina Evacuees (SNAKE) team for the National Organization on Disability (NOD), which observed, documented, and reported on the plight of special needs evacuees in the days and weeks following the storm.
Zachary Goldfarb has an associate’s degree in paramedic science, a bachelor’s degree in public administration and management from the City University of New York, and is a graduate of the New York City Leadership Institute. A nationally certified emergency manager, certified healthcare emergency professional, certified healthcare safety professional (both Master’s level), and certified fire department health and safety officer (HSO), he is a member of the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee on Health Care Emergency Management and Security, and lectures and writes widely on emergency management, incident command, and related topics. Chief Goldfarb was the Technical Editor of FireEMS Magazine and a member of the editorial advisory board of both Fire Engineering Magazine and the Fire Department Instructors’ Conference (FDIC), and is an advisory board member of Opus Communications’ Briefings on Hospital Safety. He is also an active FireMedic with a volunteer fire department in Nassau County, New York, and a command staff member of the Nassau County Medical Reserve Corps.