Editorial: What`s New at EMS World Expo This Year?

Hey, readers: it’s already March 1! Have you locked in your Early Bird rates for EMS World Expo? The conference is a month earlier this year, and I know how we tend to procrastinate. Consider yourself officially invited to the world’s largest EMS-dedicated conference, September 14–18 in Las Vegas! 

Have you been to Expo before? If you haven’t, you should know that at last year’s conference in New Orleans, we heard from our attendees that the show had “great energy” and was maybe “the best Expo ever.” For those of you learning, shopping, and schmoozing, there’s no better testimony than this: “It’s hard to say whether the classes or the ability to network is better. You’re missing out if you’re not here.”

So how do we top 2019? Well, the EMS World team has worked diligently over the past year to bring you even more innovations and best practices. Check out the new partnerships and offerings for 2020:

• The leaders in resuscitation, Take Heart America, will colocate their third annual International State of the Future of Resuscitation Conference at EMS World Expo on September 14–15; 
• The global leaders in critical care education, FlightBridgeED, have curated the critical care sessions for the main conference, and they will be teaching a ventilator preconference workshop on Sept. 14 and launching on Sept. 15 the “Intraglottica Advanced Resuscitation Training–Airway Workshop”;
• Curated sessions from our partners at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, an annual gathering for stakeholders to discuss what’s working in prevention and treatment—check out EMS World Expo sessions with the Rx Summit logo to learn from the experts.

Precons & Conference 

We’ve also revamped a number of our successful preconference workshops in response to your feedback. Spend a bit more time in Vegas by arriving on Monday or Tuesday to attend:

• “Best of MIH/CP Summit” on September 15: a collaborative workshop highlighting the best work of successful MIH/CP systems throughout the country; 
• “Cardiac Ischemia ECG Workshop” on September 15, featuring the incomparable Amal Mattu, MD. Need I say more?
• “Revenue and Reimbursement Workshop: Experts and Roundtables” on September 15, where the likes of Asbel Montes, Matt Zavadsky, Jonathan Washko, and Steve Wirth will teach you how to manage the new cost-reporting requirements and your revenue cycle.

The main conference sessions begin on Wednesday after the exciting opening ceremonies and the opening of the exhibit hall, which showcases upward of 350 exhibitors. What’s new in the main conference this year?

• An increased focus on evidence-based medicine. Yes, I mean research: Our partners at UCLA’s Prehospital Care Research Forum are running the third annual International Scientific Symposium—chock-full of award-winning abstracts (submit yours by May 31);
• Multiple hands-on workshops during the main conference so you can learn and practice important skills in hemorrhage control, capnography, pediatric CPR, heart dissection, and childbirth;
• A variety of panel discussions featuring top medical directors, global EMS practices, hospice handoffs, interviewing techniques, safety focuses, working with family members of EMS, and podcasting tips.

So if you’re a first-timer, prepare to experience the excitement of Expo in the world’s largest EMS-dedicated exhibit hall. You’ll roam the aisles and encounter amazing products and knowledgeable experts, feel the energy and excitement of a few thousand of your closest buddies, then get your groove on at ZOLL Shockfest and take advantage of all Vegas has to offer. You’ll return home with an overloaded notebook of new stuff and an eager mind aching to share the latest with your colleagues. 

If you’re an Expo alum, do me a favor: Guide the newbies a bit, perhaps help them pace themselves, but most of all, share the enthusiasm of our powerful EMS community.

Hilary Gates, MAEd, NRP, is the senior editorial and program director for EMS World.