Friday Conferences

EMS EXPO Pricing

Conference sessions are typically 75 minutes in length unless otherwise noted.

October 1, 2010
8:00 AM Photo Session 1001: Are Seat Belts Hazardous to Your Health?
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 Photo Session 1002: Crush Injuries: From Compartment Syndrome to "Smiling Death"
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 Photo Session 1003: Situational Education: Adapting a Leadership Model to the Classroom
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 Photo Session 1004: Denied! Why You Lose Grant Money and How to Get It
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 Photo Session 1005: Humor in Your Practice
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 Photo Session 1006: Emerging Issues in EMS
G. Christopher Kelly, Esq.
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 Photo Session 1007: CISM in EMS; The Missing Acronym
Welby Pinney, MSSW, Dallas Fire Rescue CISM Team Mental Health Director
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 Photo Session 1101: CPAP ASAP!
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 Photo Session 1102: Capnography
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 Photo Session 1103: Developing Visual Case Studies
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 Photo Session 1104: Understanding and Using Social Networking for Personnel Communication & Education
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 Photo Session 1105: Medicare Compliance, Audits & Pre-Payment Reviews
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 Photo Session 1106: How Safe Is Your Ambulance Fleet?
Nadine Levick, MD, MPH, MBBS, FACEM, FRACGP
Administrator/Manager Track


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 Photo Session 1107: Radiation Emergencies for EMS Responders
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 Photo Session 1201: Stroke: From Recognition to Reperfusion
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 Photo Session 1202: Sepsis Alert: Early Identification & Treatment in the Prehospital Environment
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 Photo Session 1203: The Art of Education: Using Photographs to Teach
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 Photo Session 1204: The First 48: Preparing for the Next 24
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 Photo Session 1205: Implementing Six Sigma in EMS and Fire Departments
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.