Conference Program
Conference sessions are typically 75 minutes in length unless otherwise noted.
2010 Conference Program
Check the conference listings below for the most current schedule
| September 29, 2010 | |
| 8:30 AM | Jason Dush, CCEMT-P, FP-C BLS Track This exciting lecture is geared for all fire-based EMS, third-service, and private EMS providers and educators. OB emergencies can seem routine and boring most of the time, but how many providers are prepared for the "real deal" emergency? This presentation covers the nuts and bolts of obstetrical emergencies, using educational slides and case studies of actual emergencies and delivery complications you might encounter in the field. |
| 8:30 AM | Scott DeBoer, RN, MSN, CEN, CPEN, CCRN, CFRN, EMT-P ALS Track Children have many of the same diseases and conditions as adults, yet assessment and management principles differ in some areas and are similar in others. In this lecture, Scott will review the essential components of a rapid pediatric assessment and offer some "just-like-adult" treatment tips. Using real-life case studies, Scott also covers airway management techniques and adult vs. child fluids and medications. |
| 8:30 AM | Cindy Tait, MICP, RN, CEN, CFRN, MPH Educator Track This presentation is based on the world-renowned program by Ron Huff titled, "I Can See You Naked: A Fearless Guide to Making Great Presentations." Cindy puts a fire and EMS educator spin on the top 35 tips that will help make your classroom presentation, skills sessions and preceptor experiences fun, effective, productive and worthwhile for you and your students. |
| 8:30 AM | Paul Pepe, MD, MPH, MACP, FCCM General Audience Track Worldwide, there is a spiraling risk for catastrophic events involving multiple casualties and/or resulting medical morbidity, not only in terms of acute injury and illness, but also subsequent psychological and public health concerns. Join Dr. Pepe, who was embedded in a leadership role in the Hurricane Katrina response, as he discusses the need for international cooperation in terms of prevention, mitigation, recovery and relief; expanding, modifying and enhancing current local infrastructures and capabilities for managing multiple types of disaster scenarios; and creating interfacility cooperative agreements in advance. Dr. Pepe will also address lessons from recent disasters and a specific review of the Katrina disaster. |
| 8:30 AM | Skip Kirkwood, MS, JD, EMT-P, EFO, CMO Administrator/Manager Track One of the criticisms frequently levied at EMS agencies is that they don't provide much in the way of career options for their employees. This session will explore the issues and describe for EMS leaders the things that need to be addressed to provide employees more career options than the two usually available: the "back of the truck" and the "front of the truck." |
| 8:30 AM | Steven Wirth, Esq. Administrator/Manager Track Effective documentation is the key to minimizing liability should a lawsuit ever be filed against your EMS organization. In addition, effective documentation is crucial in supporting the level of services billed to Medicare and other payors. This session, led by one of the nation's top EMS attorneys, will review, in an entertaining and informative way, the importance of effective documentation and ready-to-use strategies for building critical charting skills for EMS providers. |
| 8:30 AM | Steven C. LeCroy, MA, CRTT, NREMTP General Audience Track So, just what did happen? What actions could lead to such a verdict? Steve LeCroy was the expert witness for the plaintiff in what may be a landmark case for EMS. In this session Mr. LeCroy will present the cascade of events that lead to such a verdict. Learn what did or didn't happen. Could this happen to you or your agency? |
| 10:15 AM | Paul Pepe, MD, MPH, MACP, FCCM, Jane Wigginton, MD, FACEP  Recent studies have clearly demonstrated very significant outcome differences in cardiac arrest between men and women, and most profoundly favoring women of child-bearing age. These resuscitation advantages following cardiac arrest for these younger women strongly imply a very strong female sex hormonal effect. In this humorously presented duet session, Drs. Pepe and Wigginton explore the concept of pharmacobiology in terms of sex-related differences and review the role and very interesting mechanisms of hormonal influences. They will also present the results of their most recent experimental work, as well as preliminary human data in traumatic brain injury and the implications for future research and resuscitation protocols. |
| 2:00 PM | 2-hour session This exciting and fast-moving session will allow you to participate in wrestling with the leading issues facing EMS administrators, managers and chiefs today in an engaging facilitated "lightning round" format. Hosted and facilitated by the National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA) the session will address a wide range of topics solicited from registrants. Each topic will be introduced by a national leader in a 10-minutes "lightning round" presentation and then opened to the floor for discussion. As part of the EMS conference program this session is open to anyone interested in leadership and management issues. However you must come prepared for lively and possibly controversial discussions and you must indicate while registering that you will be attending. Participation is limited to the first 75 registrants. |
| 3:00 PM | Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, FAAEM BLS Track Hypertension is a common condition encountered in prehospital care, but when does it become dangerous? This presentation will update attendees on the current treatment recommendations for hypertension and hypertensive emergencies with particular emphasis on prehospital care strategies. |
| 3:00 PM | Scott DeBoer, RN, MSN, CEN, CPEN, CCRN, CFRN, EMT-P In spite of what you might hear, children, like adults, do feel pain, anxiety and fear, and use of appropriate sedation is crucial for humane patient care. Scott reviews current sedation and pain management techniques, as well as the rationale for discarding some of the "way we've always done it" methods. Also covered will be conscious/procedural sedation; preparing for sedation; local pain management, beginning at triage; alternative routes of medication administration; and analgesics vs. sedatives vs. both. |
| 3:00 PM | Heather Davis, MS, NREMT-P Educator Track Active disengagement is the term used to describe students who are not being disruptive, but are also not participating or paying attention in class. In this session, Heather explains the cost of active disengagement and its effect on class climate, classroom behavior, instructor energy and outcomes. Participants in this class will learn to identify behavior that personifies active disengagement and implement three techniques to address or prevent it from happening. |
| 3:00 PM | James Geiling, MD, FACP, FCCM General Audience This session highlights the challenges of deploying to an austere disaster zone - Haiti after the massive January 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 200,000 and displaced more than a million - to serve a population in dire need of medical care and support. Dr Geiling will describe the physical and environmental conditions facing his team, types of medical conditions most prevalent, and what might have been some "nice to haves" versus needed supplies and skills. Attendees will learn practical aspects of preparing to volunteer for such efforts while understanding the overarching goal of service. |
| 3:00 PM | Jim Swartz General Audience Track Anyone who is keeping track knows that the death toll for on-duty EMTs and paramedics is rising at an alarming rate. Most of the deaths, says Jim, CEO and president of Dallas-based CareFlite, involve motor vehicle crashes and medics who are out of their seats doing patient care. By taking a proactive stance, CareFlite is the first ground service in the United States to eliminate side-facing seats in its ambulances. Attend this session to learn what one agency is doing to make its employees safer. |
| 3:00 PM | Tim Holman, BA, EMT-P, CFO Administrator/Manager Track Once you've been given the go-ahead to hire a new EMT, how do you determine who is best for the job? How do you fire someone who is undesirable? The objective is to try to change behavior rather than fire employees, but what if the behavior doesn't change and you have no other options? In this highly informative session, Tim looks at hiring and then retaining good EMTs, and firing problem employees. |
| 3:00 PM | Doug Wolfberg, Esq. Administrator/Manager Track The pace of change in Medicare rules, compliance issues and other critical developments seems to be dizzying. This "must-attend" session, led by one of the nation's top EMS attorneys, will bring you up to date on the absolute latest, must-know reimbursement information that is crucial to your bottom line, as well as your compliance. We'll cover the current rules on patient signatures, determining proper levels of service for billing purposes, dealing with tough reimbursement issues like medical necessity, and much more. This is a session you can't afford to miss if your agency bills for its services. |
| 3:00 PM | David Violante, MPH, EMT-P; Sean Kivlehan, EMT-P General Audience Track If you missed the Scott Frame lecture, or if you just want to know more about responding to a large-scale disaster, don't miss this presentation from two of the New York City medics who responded to a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 2005 that devastated a large area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and claimed 90,000 lives, as well as the more recent earthquake in Haiti. David and Sean will give their first-hand account of the emergency responses, medical care, challenges and successes of their team. |
| 4:30 PM | Norm Rooker, NREMT-P BLS Track EMTs and paramedics are more likely than ever to find themselves on the scene of an explosion caused by anything from natural gas malfunctions, kids playing with fireworks, pipe or car bombs, or worse. In this session, Norm looks at four types of explosion injuries, the significance of open air vs. indoor or confined detonations, likely injury patterns--both internal and external--and suggested response, assessment and treatment strategies. Appropriate for both basic and advanced-level providers. |
| 4:30 PM | Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, FAAEM BLS Track Eye injuries and conditions are commonly seen by EMS. This presentation will review the anatomy and physiology of the eye, and emphasize prehospital assessment and recognition of common eye emergencies. |
| 4:30 PM | Jason Dush, CCEMT-P, FP-C ALS Track Effective advanced airway management in patients remains controversial, with some studies suggesting that prehospital endotracheal intubation in general, and rapid sequence intubation in particular, may not be safe or effective. Other studies report the opposite, suggesting that RSI can be accomplished safely and effectively with low rates of complications. Join Jason as he explores the question: What exactly is the controversy all about? |
| 4:30 PM | Paul Pepe, MD, MPH, MACP, FCCM ALS Track Dr. Pepe looks at the detrimental hemodynamic effects of current ventilatory management protocols in hemorrhagic states and CPR and how his work and that of many others provides for a revolution in American trauma resuscitation and may explain bad outcomes in many cases of circulatory arrest, both traumatic and non-traumatic. He also shows how more recent work demonstrating improved brain tissue oxygenation during hemorrhagic shock challenges current thinking about the important role of carbon dioxide in resuscitation. |
| 4:30 PM | David Page, MS, NREMT-P Educator Track We know that the clinical experience is a magical and effective learning environment, but what are students experiencing when they leave the classroom? How do you measure those experiences? A national grassroots effort to collectively track and describe the elusive and magical "clinical experience" has yielded unprecedented online collaboration, educational research data and academic debate. This session will focus on lessons learned through online collaboration, and the challenges of accurately tracking clinical experiences and measuring competency. |
| 4:30 PM | General Audience Track Gather with representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security to discuss the latest federal legislative policies and programs directly affecting frontline EMS providers. This will be a highly interactive session providing the opportunity to ask questions of federal agency leaders and to learn more about the policies and programs being formed in the nation's capital. This session is being hosted by Advocates for EMS. Networking reception for all those in attendance to follow. All conference attendees are welcome. |
| 4:30 PM | James Logan, BPS, EMT-P/IC Administrator/Manager Track Jim shows how the Memphis Fire Department turned its quality improvement program into the benchmark in EMS with the assistance of Federal Express--one of the leading customer service organizations in the world. Topics covered will include: forming partnerships; middle management paralysis; overcoming cultural issues; top-down ownership; successful facilitation practices; and medical direction and quality. |
| 4:30 PM | Mic Gunderson Administrator/Manager Track Response interval targets impact EMS outcomes, costs, logistics and patient satisfaction. How soon does EMS really need to arrive? Should 1% of cardiac arrests drive the response interval target? Why 90% reliability? This controversial lecture will challenge many current methods and introduce a new generation of approaches and tools for managing and improving EMS response interval performance that every EMS medical director, manager and regulatory official needs to know. |
| September 30, 2010 | |
| 8:00 AM | Mike Smith, BS, MICP BLS Track This graphic and hard-hitting program focuses on a wide variety of machinery-related injuries, both industrial and agricultural in nature. Mike first presents common machinery mechanisms of injury and injury profiles, followed by patient assessment, priority setting in trauma care and extrication considerations. Not recommended for the faint of heart. |
| 8:00 AM | Jeff Beeson, DO, RN, LP, Ray Fowler, MD, FACEP ALS Track As EMS providers, we are frequently confronted with difficult clinical decisions. Patients often present with symptoms that require rapid thinking and, in many circumstances, the choice between treatments may be a difficult decision. This lecture will provide a path for critical decision-making in the setting of critically ill patients, focusing on situations when the correct action may not be immediately clear. |
| 8:00 AM | Mike Touchstone, BS, EMT-P Educator Track During this session, Mike will examine the steps of the instructional design process and its application for developing and evaluating educational programs. Whether you're creating your own or evaluating someone else's educational program, the ADDIE instructional design process provides useful methodology and information and will better prepare you for the radical change coming with the new National Education Standards. |
| 8:00 AM | Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P General Audience Track Online education is the most dynamic and fastest growing component of emergency responder education. Education programs are migrating from the desktop computer to iPods, MP3 players, smartphones and PDAs as m-learning programs, and 3-D virtual simulations are being used for training and evaluation. This session covers emerging trends in online education for emergency responders and discusses how to evaluate tools and technologies for your organization. |
| 8:00 AM | Steve Berry, BA, NREMT-P General Audience Track Suicide is often described as one of the most painful kind of calls an emergency medical provider will respond to. Whether successful or attempted, a suicide call often leaves responders with complex and disturbing questions. In this session, Steve looks at who is at highest risk for suicide; common myths; most common methods used to commit suicide; warning signs; impact on survivors; assisted suicide and more. |
| 8:00 AM | Warren Porter, MS, BA, LP Administrator/Manager Track Over the past few years, EMS has been increasingly tasked with responding to a variety of disasters with unique demands upon both individual providers and management. This presentation addresses issues facing EMS providers who are tasked with disaster evacuation response with specific issues including triage; evacuation transportation issues of who, when and how; and managing care in evacuee shelters. |
| 9:30 AM | Baxter Larmon, PhD, MICP BLS Track Medicine constantly changes. Things that work in the hospital do not necessarily work in the field. Prehospital research has caused us to critically evaluate ourselves and realize that assessments we learned from our original instructors may not be true today. This lecture will take a critical look at the assessments taught to EMTs and reappraise their utility. |
| 9:30 AM | Mike Grill, MS, NREMT-P ALS Track Almost any EMS publication you read these days has an article addressing the controversy regarding the use of intubation in the prehospital setting. Is it fading away with the availability of quicker advanced airway alternatives and recent research demonstrating that the "golden airway standard" may not be all that golden? Join Mike for this look at a controversial issue so you won't be left in the dark when your medical director begins to question endotracheal intubation in your EMS system. |
| 9:30 AM | Heather Davis, MS, NREMT-P Educator Track Are you ready for the new education standards? Do you even know what needs to be done to get yourself and your colleagues ready for these impending programmatic changes? Attend this session to learn what is required, what is suggested, and how to decide how you'll implement the changes in a way that leaves your program stronger and your students better prepared for the future of EMS. |
| 9:30 AM | Raphael Barishansky, MPH, EMT-B General Audience Track In this very timely presentation, Ray touches on the motivation of volunteers and the current state of volunteerism in EMS. He will also discuss proven techniques for recruiting and retaining volunteers, and explain why these techniques work. Learn tricks, tips and ideas from across the country, including a wide assortment of dos and don'ts. |
| 9:30 AM | Tia Simmons, MPH; Gary McLean, RN, EMT-P, Tom McCarrier, NREMT General Audience Track The Epilepsy Foundation recognizes the importance of EMS response to the health and safety of an estimated 3 million Americans who experience seizures and millions more who have seizures as a result of trauma or other acute or chronic illnesses. Following the Foundation's new EMS training program, Tia will describe a variety of seizures associated with epilepsy, seizures with other potential causes, appropriate EMS response on the scene, and issues to consider when determining whether further medical care is warranted. |
| 9:30 AM | Tim Holman, BA, EMT-P, CFO Administrator/Manager Track Tim offers five power points that will provide a simple, step-by-step approach for making timely and effective departmental changes. Learn the importance of focus, attitude, relationships, empowerment and image in bringing your department to a new performance level. |
| 11:00 AM | Michael Gooch, MSN, ACNP-BC, , FNP-BC, CFRN, CEN, EMT-P BLS Track Pediatric, geriatric, obstetrical and bariatric patients can all be challenging to manage at times, but when they become trauma patients, the risks and complications are compounded. During this presentation, Michael will review some special populations of trauma and how EMS alters its management to meet their specific needs. With knowledge about these special groups, adaptation of standard practice and special equipment, says Michael, they can be managed as successfully as any other patient. |
| 11:00 AM | David Page, EMT-P; Daryl Doering, BA, NREMT-P; Paul Satterlee, MD ALS Track Back by popular demand, Dave, Daryl and Dr. Satterlee offer a hands-on, case-based presentation of challenging obstructed airways. Advanced techniques to clear the airway are discussed, along with pearls and pitfalls of surgical cricothyrotomies. |
| 11:00 AM | Baxter Larmon, PhD, MICP Educator Track Academics are the hallmark of a profession. If we consider EMS a profession, we need to look at the way we educate our young. This lecture will explore where we are and where EMS education needs to grow in the future. Join Baxter to learn how education can drive the profession of EMS. |
| 11:00 AM | Dave Williams, NREMT-P General Audience Track NFPA 1584 made the transition from recommended practice to standard in December 2007. Has your agency done the same? The role of EMS on the fireground must be proactive. Reaction-based patient care puts lives at stake and doesn't represent the best we have to offer. In this session, Dave will address prevention of common firefighter illness and injury, as well as treatment guidelines. Participants in the class will gather the knowledge and skills required to implement the provisions of 1584. |
| 11:00 AM | Ray Fowler, MD, FACEP General Audience Track Each year, dozens of EMS medical directors from the nation's largest 9-1-1 systems, as well as from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, gather to discuss the latest advances in prehospital medicine at a conference called A Gathering of Eagles. In this session, Ray Fowler, one of the group's principal organizers, will recap this year's meetings, where round-table discussions and lightning-round presentations addressed topics that included EMS research, management issues, funding, training and retraining EMS providers, newly proposed patient care techniques and much more. |
| 11:00 AM | Skip Kirkwood, MS, JD, EMT-P, EFO, CMO Administrator/Manager Track Every organization is just a second away from the next crisis: a vehicle crash, clinical misadventure or a visit from a state EMS office or OSHA inspector. Building on crisis management "best practices" from other industries, this session will provide the structure for every senior EMS officer to pre-plan crisis response and to effectively manage the next organizational crisis that could threaten the professional survival of the chief officers involved. |
| 3:00 PM | Ken Bouvier, NREMT-P BLS Track Medical reports show that nearly 500,000 people use the EMS system each year for penetrating gunshot wounds; nearly 10% of them die. Using data collected from several US cities, Ken will discuss sophisticated weaponry, gang and drive-by shootings, workplace incidents, types and mechanisms of injuries, kinetic injury and shock from blood loss. This session is appropriate for both BLS and ALS providers. |
| 3:00 PM | Jules Scadden, NREMT-P, PS ALS Track Survival rates for premature and technology-dependent babies have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, while the number of premature births has increased over that same period. Often, these children with special cardiac conditions are cared for at home by young, inexperienced parents for months before they undergo corrective surgery or their conditions improve. This presentation addresses four conditions that cause cyanosis at birth, assessment challenges and management techniques for prehospital and emergency care providers. |
| 3:00 PM | Heather Davis, MS, NREMT-P Educator Track We all know that lecturing is the least effective method of delivering information to students and that most of them remember as little as 10% of what we say. Attend this session to learn how to replace your lectures with classroom activities, discussion and work groups that do not take more class time and do yield better educational results, as evidenced by better student evaluations, longer retention of information, and knowledge at a higher level of the cognitive domain. |
| 3:00 PM | Steve Berry, BA, NREMT-P General Audience Track Join Steve as he explores some of the issues facing EMS today: decrease in volunteerism, new-generation employee behavior (texting, cell phone cameras, tattoos, piercings), the aging population, budget cuts that affect training, equipment and readiness, and poor managing and hiring techniques. It's a humor-based lecture, says Steve, but his deeper message is intended to motivate and inspire those who give so much to the EMS profession. |
| 3:00 PM | Nancy Burnham-Kreiner General Audience Track Death Scene Management is like riding a big, fast roller coaster! People get on; take their ride and then get off, never aware of who is following in the seats behind them. EMS is often the first on and the first off the roller coaster. Long after everyone is finished with the death scene the victim's family must cope with the death and how well or how poorly the scene was managed. It isn't only about justice. Proper death scene management is a gift to the victim that brings peace to the family. How well will you handle your next death scene? |
| 3:00 PM | James Logan, BPS, EMT-P/IC Administrator/Manager Track This presentation will give attendees new insight into mentoring new employees of the EMS family, looking at what it takes to mentor and lead those in middle management and supervisory roles. Learn why mentoring is important and how to go about it, including how to involve the medical director in the process. The second part of the class will focus on lessons learned in leadership, coaching techniques and best practices in leading for success. |
| 4:30 PM | Mike Smith, BS, MICP BLS Track The use and abuse of both licit and illicit drugs has seemingly gone on forever. This class will give you a grip on what's out there for the folks who practice "better living through chemistry," as Mike touches on just about every major category of substance abuse. |
| 4:30 PM | Michael Gooch, MSN, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, CFRN, CEN, EMT-P ALS Track Use of therapeutic hypothermia dates back many centuries. In modern times, it has been used mainly to manage brain injury patients, but there has been an increase in research and TH utilization in recent years. In this presentation, Michael will review current uses, methods and indications for therapeutic hypothermia, as well as indications and utilization during transport. |
| 4:30 PM | Mike Grill, MS, NREMT-P Educator Track Team-based learning shifts the focus of student classroom time from "passive listener" to "active doer," simultaneously forcing the instructor to step back from the traditional role of "sage on the stage" to the facilitator role of "guide on the side." This hands-on session will begin the process of discovering how to create a learning-centered (as opposed to grade-centered) classroom environment and show participants how to apply key principles of TBL, including: key elements of properly forming student teams; participating in and learning the power of the readiness assurance process for providing frequent and timely performance feedback; and identifying the four S's of team assignments that are realistic, fun and applicable to real-world issues in prehospital care. |
| 4:30 PM | Steve Whitehead, NREMT-P General Audience Track In prehospital care, patient rapport affects everything. Join Steve to learn about key phrases that build rapport and phrases that can destroy the provider-patient connection. He'll also discuss how to make connections with patients, treat others with dignity and respect, practice empathy, be persuasive and make authentic connections with people on the worst days of their lives. |
| 4:30 PM | Raphael Barishansky, MPH, EMT-B General Audience Track Do you ever feel like your bosses just "don't get it?" Do you think of great, new solutions to problems only to be told "we've always done it like this?" If so, this is for you. This light-hearted, yet informative lecture will review definitions and characteristics of different generations from veterans and Baby Boomers to Generations X and Y, and look at how opinion, miscommunication and misperceptions can be damaging from the perspective of up-and-coming EMSers. |
| 4:30 PM | Warren Porter, MS, BA, LP Administrator/Manager Track Since the beginning of EMS as a profession, little has been developed for EMS-specific leadership, especially regarding how to move from the field into organized leadership. This presentation will address the key differences between management and leadership, everyday opportunities for leadership, utilizing clinical skills to move up the career ladder, and the benefit to EMS for developing a legacy program to foster the next generation of EMS leadership. |
| October 1, 2010 | |
| 8:00 AM | Ken Bouvier, NREMT-P BLS Track Seat belts are used as safety devices in cars, trucks, planes and even amusement rides to provide protection in the event of a collision or equipment failure, yet people may be in danger from the very devices designed to protect them. As a responder, are your assessment skills sharp enough to recognize a seat belt injury that may have seriously injured your patient's internal organs? In this session, Ken will show slides of injuries caused by seat belts, discuss how to perform a complete assessment of suspected neck, back and abdominal injuries, and review both BLS and ALS treatment of seat belt injuries. |
| 8:00 AM | Norm Rooker, NREMT-P ALS Track Join Norm for an overview of crush injuries, including the pathology, physiology, and how to tell the difference between compartment syndrome and crush syndrome. Learn why crush syndrome is sometimes called "smiling death" and how to head it off at the pass with a set of model treatment protocols, along with the rationale and case histories to back them up. |
| 8:00 AM | Mike Touchstone, BS, EMT-P Educator Track During this collaborative learning program, Mike will examine and deconstruct an adaptation of Ken Blanchard's Situation Leadership model and adapt it for use in the educational environment. By recognizing the various needs of students, educators adjust their teaching style to fuel the students' progress through sequential stages of increasingly complex activity, says Mike. The class will also include a review of Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning objectives and continue with a discussion of how this tool can be used to measure progress toward mastery and expert practice. |
| 8:00 AM | Jules Scadden, NREMT-P, PS General Audience Track Have you ever applied for a grant and been turned down? Do you know why you were denied? This informative presentation addresses everything from the proper font size to use in your application to understanding the "language" of grant applications. Jules will cover the 10 most frequent causes for denial of a Request for Proposal (RFP) application, offer tips on how to successfully submit an request and score a sample request to help you better learn how to get the government to "show you the money." |
| 8:00 AM | Steve Berry, BA, NREMT-P General Audience Track Those in emergency healthcare have a strong commitment to their patients and coworkers, but often place their own personal happiness low on the priority list. This session begins with a light-hearted and oftentimes ironic look at the personality traits of EMS professionals, then continues with a definition of and differentiation between negative and healthy forms of humor; barriers to humor for EMS providers; benefits of humor in daily life; and techniques for implementing humor in the workplace. |
| 8:00 AM | G. Christopher Kelly, JD Administrator/Manager Track Rules and regulations seem to be constantly in motion. Join Chris to catch up with what's new and what's coming in the near future with this presentation on legal issues that affect EMS and ambulance providers. Issues to be addressed will include: the Red Flag rules for identity theft prevention, transition to Medicare administrative contractors, implementation of the recovery audit contractors (RACs), and effectiveness of the Medicare appeals process and post-payment review system being created by the RACs and program safeguard contractors. |
| 8:00 AM | Tami Kayea, Section Chief, Emergency Medical Services , Dallas Fire-Rescue Department General Audience Track Everyone recognizes the importance of CISM for the big events. It has become a standard element during disasters and required for most disaster preparedness plans. However, it is often not thought of when the run involves just few medics possible even just two. This session will discuss the different types of CISM, the role of CISM in Emergency Response and how to apply it to smaller incidents. |
| 9:30 AM | Mike Grill, MS, NREMT-P BLS Track Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is rapidly gaining acceptance as a prehospital standard of care for selected patients in acute respiratory failure. Evidence suggests this noninvasive procedure can be easily applied and is effective in reducing the need for intubation, as well as mortality. This session explores the history of CPAP, reviews the respiratory physiology associated with disease states, describes how CPAP helps patients, and reviews products currently available to EMS providers that make CPAP a safe and cost-effective treatment that every EMS service should be providing. |
| 9:30 AM | Ray Fowler, MD, FACEP ALS Track Waveform capnography is one of the most critical areas of understanding facing EMS professionals today. All EMS providers who evaluate critically ill or potentially critically ill patients must thoroughly understand the physiology of carbon dioxide transport and management in the body. Join Dr. Fowler to learn all about carbon dioxide: production and transport by the body, measurement in the airway, conditions in which carbon dioxide levels become altered, advanced airway management using waveform capnography, and more. |
| 9:30 AM | Kyle Bates, MS, NR/CCEMT-P, FP-C Educator Track Tired of the same old lectures? Slides full of words getting to you? How do you think your students feel? In this presentation, Kyle will introduce you to the C.H.E.A.T.E.D. format for creating your own case study while giving you new ideas, as well as photographic tips and tricks. |
| 9:30 AM | Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P General Audience Track In this timely presentation, Greg describes the development and use of highly popular social networking, addressing strategies that managers and educators can apply to build groups, deliver education and increase participation by the specific cohorts they are organizing and teaching. Learn the importance of leading, monitoring and participating in online conversation about your service or organization. |
| 9:30 AM | R. Stephen Everett, MBA, MPA Administrator/Manager Track Fraud and abuse audits and prosecutions are on the rise. Attend this session to learn what you need to know about the contractors who conduct these audits, the appeals process, how to protect your service and how to respond to overpayment audits or pre-pay reviews. |
| 9:30 AM | Nadine Levick, MD, MPH, MBBS, FACEM, FRACGP Administrator/Manager Join Dr. Levick, one of the nation's leading ambulance safety experts, for a look at the latest research in ambulance safety standards for the United States compared with European models, as well as discussion on ambulance vehicle-occupant protection; vehicle design and safety, including seat structure and seat belts; accident reduction opportunities; and much more. |
| 9:30 AM | Tom Clawson, DOE TEPP Contract Coordinator General Audience Track Responding to an emergency at an industrial complex where radioactive materials are present or to a transportation accident with radioactive materials involved can be a frightening experience for EMS providers who are unfamiliar with the possible hazards involved. This session will begin with basic information on radiation, the types of radiological materials you might encounter in an industrial setting, then continues with what materials are being transported; the hazards they pose; and signs that alert you to the presence of radioactive materials. The session will also include discussions and hands-on demonstrations on how to package, treat, and transport patients that are radiologically contaminated or have been irradiated. |
| 2:00 PM | Robert Knappage, EMT-P BLS Track Despite successes in delivering effective new therapies for stroke, major obstacles remain in consistently translating scientific advances into clinical practice. In this session, Robert will discuss methods of improving the number of stroke patients treated early with thrombolysis and the importance of quality improvement programs within stroke systems of care. |
| 2:00 PM | Steve Whitehead, NREMT-P ALS Track Steve describes the current state of the Sepsis Alert program being used in Denver and helps prehospital caregivers understand the critical role they play in early identification of sepsis patients. He'll also highlight dramatic improvements in patient outcomes that can be realized with early goal-directed therapy, and explain the sepsis process, with a focus on early identification and guidelines for early treatment in the field. |
| 2:00 PM | Kyle Bates, MS, NR/CCEMT-P, FP-C Educator Track It is said that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Nowhere does this hold more true than in the classroom. For new or inexperienced providers, certain descriptions like cyanosis or pursed lips may be ambiguous when using the spoken word, but add a picture and they associate the term to the sign. This lecture will discuss the use of photographs when developing visual presentations, focusing on techniques you can use to enhance the impact of your photographs. |
| 2:00 PM | Dave Williams, NREMT-P General Audience Track It's no mystery that EMS providers often operate on the frontlines of chaos. As a result, burnout, divorce and even substance abuse can end the most spectacular career with a bang. The key to staying in the game and still loving it is to take care of your family and personal needs during your sacred time off. Participants in this class will come away prepared to evaluate and monitor themselves for stress and out-of-balance living, and will be equipped to change course long before these issues take root and spread. |
| 2:00 PM | Mic Gunderson Administrator/Manager Track All too often, formal improvement efforts in EMS are limited to chart reviews, remedial education and fancy graphs showing call types and procedures performed. In fire operations, formal improvement efforts are often limited to post-incident critiques. Derived from mainstream industry best practices, Six Sigma provides a framework for prioritizing, selecting, supporting and managing improvement initiatives in all parts of your organization. A strong emphasis is placed on projects with measurable returns on investment (ROI), which may be clinical, financial or operational. In this session, see examples of how Six Sigma works and learn how to implement it in your EMS agency or fire department. |
| 2:00 PM | Tami Kayea, Section Chief, Emergency Medical Services , Dallas Fire-Rescue Department General Audience Track With the expansion of controlled substances in the prehospital emergency setting, many systems are in need of controlled substance procedures for ensuring accountability. This session will look at considerations when creating the system and different alternatives. |
