Lisa Cole has twenty years experience as a registered nurse.  She started her nursing career as an ER nurse in a Level I trauma center in San Antonio, Texas.  Lisa is still in San Antonio and has transitioned from the patient care setting to serving as the Senior Director of Trauma and Emergency Management for the Methodist Healthcare System.   Over the last sixteen years Lisa has been with Methodist Healthcare, she established the trauma registry for the five acute care facilities in her system and she established and continues to oversee and maintain a Level III trauma program and three Level IV trauma programs.  Lisa has been involved with emergency management for the last twelve years, and seven years ago she took over system-wide emergency preparedness efforts and responsibility.    With this transition, Lisa is responsible for coordination of hospital drills, as well as the healthcare system's participation in city-wide disaster drills. Lisa oversees Methodist Healthcare’s Disaster Response Teams, organization of decontamination equipment, and decontamination training.

She is also responsible for educating administrative and management staff in the use of ICS/HICS.  In addition to her responsibilities within the healthcare system, Lisa is also the community liaison for Methodist Healthcare.  In this role, Lisa participates in the regional disaster planning group, EMS and Hospital Disaster Group (EHDG).  This group oversees the federal bioterrorism grant spending and planning.  They also serve as the oversight committee for the nine workgroups and are responsible for the community planning that address the all-hazard, all-risk approach for emergency management planning.  Lisa served on the national Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) workgroup and currently is on the HICS advisory board.