First Onsite Appoints Healthcare Safety Expert Christopher Kobus

First Onsite Property Restoration appointment of Christopher Kobus as director of healthcare quality and compliance, further expanding the specialized capabilities in its established healthcare practice.

Kobus’ appointment reflects First Onsite’s continued investment in helping healthcare organizations manage environmental risks, protect patients and staff and maintain continuity of care during construction, renovation, maintenance and restoration projects. He will bring a clinical safety and infection prevention perspective to First Onsite’s work with healthcare clients, supporting a proactive, collaborative approach to managing risks in complex healthcare environments.

“Healthcare clients need a partner who understands their environments before anything goes wrong,” said Sam Bergman, global executive vice president at First Onsite. “Christopher brings a perspective that is rare in our industry, combining frontline emergency response, clinical experience and deep knowledge of infection prevention. His appointment strengthens our ability to work alongside healthcare clients to protect their environments and manage risk.”

Kobus brings more than two decades of experience across emergency response, nursing, infection prevention, healthcare quality and safety, research and education. He began his career as a firefighter-paramedic and later became a registered nurse. Throughout his career he has held roles in clinical nursing, occupational health and healthcare quality and safety before becoming the safety officer for the University of Washington Medical Centers.

Kobus is a faculty member of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and a co-author of the ASHE ICRA 2.0 Process Guide and Certification Exam. A visiting lecturer with the University of Washington School of Public Health, Kobus holds a master’s degree in emergency health services and a bachelor’s degree in health administration and policy

In his new role, Kobus will support First Onsite’s healthcare practice nationally by:

• Advancing education and training for First Onsite teams and clients on healthcare environments, infection prevention, safety and ICRA 2.0.
• Supporting complex restoration and construction projects with specialized guidance on environmental safety and infection prevention.
• Helping healthcare organizations strengthen preparedness and reduce risk through early collaboration, education and industry engagement.

“Healthcare environments require a different level of awareness and planning because the decisions we make can directly affect patient and staff safety,” Kobus said. “We all carry pathogens, even when we’re healthy, and they can be deadly to patients with weakened immune systems. Monitoring and controlling the environment every day is how we protect them. Education and early collaboration are essential to reducing risk.”

Kobus is a nationally active educator and speaker with established relationships in healthcare facilities, infection prevention and safety communities. He has presented for ASHE, state healthcare engineering societies and public health audiences on air and water management, environmental contaminants, infection risk and healthcare construction safety.