We have reached capacity for this year’s Emergency Services Forum. If you want to be added to our event waiting list, please click “Join Waitlist” and provide your contact information. If a seat becomes available, you will be notified via email and registration will then be on a first-come basis. Please contact the Education Department with any questions.
Join us for the 2024 Emergency Services Forum in beautiful Newport Beach. This conference is dedicated to the uniqueness of hospital ED management and its intersection with emergency services and the community.
Our closing keynote speaker is confirmed. Mark your calendar to ensure you hear RaDonda Vaught, the first nurse ever criminally charged in a medication error resulting in injury or death. This is a can’t miss opportunity.
Let’s start changing the tides to continue making a difference in emergency services.
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Registration, Continental Breakfast & Exhibitor Viewing
8:00 – 8:15 a.m. | Opening Comments
Sara May, Regional Vice President Orange County, Hospital Association of Southern California
8:15 – 9:15 a.m. | What Keeps You Up at Night? A Panel Discussion with Prehospital Leaders
Sean Burrows, EMT-P, California Professional Firefighters and Chair, California Emergency Medical Services Authority Commission; Nick Clay, President EMS Administrators’ Association of California (EMSAAC); Steve Grau, Vice President, California Ambulance Association; Alexander Hamilton, California Fire Chiefs Association; and Dr. Zita Konik, President-Elect, Emergency Medical Services Directors’ Association of California (EMDAC)
You know the EMS challenges that keep you up at night, but have you ever wondered what challenges keep prehospital leaders up at night? This year’s opening session will get you thinking about the California EMS system of today, tomorrow, and the future. We all know there are plenty of challenges we can turn into opportunities, and leaders from emergency medical services associations will highlight their organization’s top priorities and identify where enhanced collaboration will be beneficial.
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Are You Ready to Submit Your APOT Reduction Protocol by September 1?
Dr. Barbara Bond, Emergency Medicine, Sutter Health
Assembly Bill 40 (2023) requires hospitals to develop ambulance patient offload time reduction protocols including direct operational changes designed to facilitate a rapid reduction in ambulance patient offload times, and systems to improve hospital coordination and operations. In this session, you will have an opportunity to see how Sutter Health is operationalizing this new protocol requirement.
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Break & Exhibitor Viewing
10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | What’s Next for Behavioral Health in California
Dr. Aimee Moulin, UC Davis Health and Kirsten Barlow, CHA
There are a lot of moving parts and opportunities when it comes to behavioral health and emergency departments in California. This session will delve into recent changes in the behavioral health system and its potential positive impact on EDs and the behavioral health patients they serve.
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Hosted Lunch
12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Hospital Violence
Robert Imhoff, President, Hospital Quality Institute (HQI)
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | Creative Ways to Minimize Workplace Violence
Dennis Hemphill and Brandon Shelton, CommonSpirit Health
California emergency departments continue to grapple with how to keep their hospitals safe. During this presentation, CommonSpirit will share sound organizational strategies and solutions that can help your hospital minimize stressors surrounding violence and threats in your emergency department and will offer creative ways to reduce violence toward patients, clinicians, and visitors.
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. | EMTALA and EMS
Alicia Macklin, Partner, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman
In this session, Alicia Macklin will provide a general overview of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Alicia will discuss EMTALAs intersection with emergency medical service providers as well as share national and state data on EMTALA complaints and findings. This session will provide the refresher you need to keep your hospital in compliance.
2:45 – 3:15 p.m. | Break & Exhibitor Raffle
3:15 – 4:15 p.m. | Standards of Practice, Not Standards of Perfection
RaDonda Vaught
RaDonda Vaught will share her profoundly personal story. Ms. Vaught’s case made headlines in March 2022 when a jury found her guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult in the death of a patient to whom she accidentally gave the wrong medication. She will speak firsthand on the impact this sentinel event has had on her life and her profession, along with the implications of the legal actions that followed. A passionate advocate for safety and improvement, her story will be one that is not easily forgotten.
Kirsten Barlow
Vice President, Policy
California Hospital Association
Kirsten joined the California Hospital Association as Vice President, Policy in December 2021, where she manages behavioral health policy issues. Over the three prior years, Kirsten established an independent consulting practice providing policy, finance, and strategic expertise to clients, including: Aurrera Health Group; the National Alliance of Mental Illness – California; California Public Administrators, Public Guardians, and Public Conservators Association; California Hospital Association; Hospital Association of Southern California; and Hospital Council of Northern and Central California.
Barbara L. Bond, M.D.
Emergency Medicine
Sutter Health
Dr. Barbara Bond is a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician with more than 15 years of experience working in a variety of clinical settings. She has frontline experience with the complexities of hospital operations as well as those of health care systems. Dr. Bond helped develop a system-wide overcapacity scoring system and surge plan for Sutter system hospitals. She has served as Chair of Sutter’s Emergency Medicine Leadership group for the past nine years, supporting 21 emergency departments. She is also a subject matter expert for Sutter Health’s Emergency Management System (SHEMS). Dr. Bond currently practices at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California.
Sean Burrows, EMT-P
Fire Captain and Paramedic
Alameda County Fire Department
Sean Burrows, EMT-P, is a working fire captain and paramedic for the Alameda County Fire Department. Sean has been a paramedic for 29 years and a firefighter for 28 years. Sean is the chair of the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services and represents the California Professional Firefighters.
Nick Clay
President
Emergency Medical Services Administrators’ Association of California
Nick is a passionate leader in health care with over two decades of experience in EMS and global health care. He worked his way up through the ranks in the private ambulance industry, leaving to launch the industry’s first paramedic/EMS program in the large passenger cruise space. During his career, he has been recognized for his ability to simultaneously manage multiple initiatives and for his talent at cross-functional collaboration. Nick serves as the President for the Emergency Medical Services Administrators’ Association of California.
Steve Grau
Vice President
California Ambulance Association
Steve Grau is the CEO/Founder of Royal Ambulance and the Founder/Chairman of Onward Health. For the last twenty years, Steve has dedicated himself to EMS and solving transportation barriers to access to care. Royal Ambulance serves six Bay Area counties and over 25 hospitals, focusing on patient flow and data-driven transportation solutions. Onward Health provides technology and door-through-door transportation, serving systems such as VA, UCSF, UCI, Stanford Children’s, and others. Steve serves as a CAA VP, Legislative Committee leader, and Chair of Education.
Alexander Hamilton
Southern Branch, Assistant Branch Director
California Fire Chiefs Association
Alex Hamilton is the Fire Chief for the Oxnard Fire Department, where he started his career as a firefighter in 2005. Chief Hamilton has served in a variety of assignments, including Grant Writer and Grant Project Manager as well as a hazardous materials specialist, urban search and rescue team member, member of the Police/Fire Dive Team, Peer Support Team, and Honor Guard. Additionally, is a leader in the field of Firefighter behavioral health, teaching a variety of classes in suicide intervention and awareness, resiliency, peer support and sleep hygiene. Chief Hamilton has deployed on multiple occasions to assist Fire Departments after major disasters.
Dennis Hemphill
Senior Vice President/Chief Security, Safety, Executive Protection and Emergency Management
CommonSpirit Health
Dennis Hemphill is the SVP/Chief of Security, Safety, Executive Protection, & Emergency Management at CommonSpirit Health. Dennis started working in health care security in 1998 when he was hired by Advocate Health Care, a Chicago Base Health Care system as the system director of Security and Safety. In 2001 Dennis was hired by CHW, who later became Dignity Health, as Vice President of Security, Safety & Emergency Management. With the alignment of CHI in 2019, he was promoted to SVP. Dennis is a retired law enforcement officer and brings a wealth of knowledge in his role with over 25 years in health care security experience in working towards providing a reasonable, appropriate, safe, and secure environment for all.
Zita Konik, MD, FAEMS
President-Elect
Emergency Medical Services Directors’ Association of California
Zita Konik currently serves as the Medical Director for Alameda County EMS Agency in California, which supports EMS care to 1.8 million people, and previously was the Napa County EMS Medical Director. She is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medicine services. She currently is the President-elect of the Emergency Medical Services Directors’ Association of California and Vice-President of the California chapter of the National Association of Emergency Physicians.
Sheree Lowe
Vice President, Policy
California Hospital Association
Sheree Lowe has been a vice president on CHA’s policy team since 2003. In 2022, she began providing leadership in developing, communicating, and implementing CHA policy related to nursing, emergency services, trauma, and medication safety. Previously she managed the policy interests of Acute Psychiatric Hospitals (APH), behavioral health units in medical/surgical hospitals, and Chemical Dependency Recovery Hospitals (CDRH), providing both in and outpatient mental health and substance use disorder services – commonly referred to as behavioral health.
Alicia Macklin
Partner
Hooper, Lundy & Bookman PC
Ms. Macklin is a trusted advisor to a range of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care providers, along with hospitals and health systems. She has counseled many of California’s hospitals on unsettled areas of law, with an emphasis on compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Her work with providers includes advising on licensing and accreditation, Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement, federal and state privacy and confidentiality requirements, and operational issues. She also helps California providers navigate voluntary and involuntary treatment under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act).
Aimee Moulin, M.D.
Founder, Principal at CA Bridge
Professor at UC Davis Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Aimee Moulin is an Associate Professor at UC Davis Medical Center where she is the Behavioral Health Director for the Emergency Department. Dr. Moulin has a dual appointment in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry. She completed a fellowship in Quality Safety and Comparative Effectiveness with a focus on acute care for patients with behavioral health disorders. She is Co-Director of the California Bridge Project that provides a link for patients with opiate use disorder to recovery. Dr. Moulin is also Past President of the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians and recipient of their Walter T. Edwards Service Award.
Brandon Shelton
System Security Director
CommonSpirit Health
Brandon Shelton is the System Security Director for Common Spirit Health, a position he has held since 2013. With over 18 years of experience in health care security, Brandon brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. His career in health care began in 2006 after retiring from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he served in the Investigative Services Unit as a Gang Investigator. Brandon’s extensive background in law enforcement and investigations has equipped him with valuable skills in threat assessment, risk management, and ensuring the safety and security of health care facilities and personnel. He is dedicated to implementing robust security strategies and protocols to safeguard patients, staff, and visitors within the health care environment.
RaDonda Vaught
RaDonda Vaught was the subject of one of the highest-profile healthcare criminal cases in recent years. She holds a BSN and a Certificate in Leadership from Western Kentucky University. While working as a BSN prepared registered nurse, Mrs. Vaught committed a medication error that ended the life of a patient in 2017. She was charged under administrative law by the Tennessee Department of Health, leading to the revocation of her nursing license by the Tennessee Board of Nursing in a July 2021 hearing. Additionally, she was charged under criminal law and found guilty by jury trial of two felony charges in March of 2022: Negligent Homicide, and Abuse of an Impaired Adult, with placement on an Elder Abuse registry in the state of Tennessee. Mrs. Vaught is uniquely qualified to speak firsthand on the impact this sentinel event has had on her life and her profession, along with the implications of the legal actions that followed. A passionate advocate for safety and improvement, her story will be one that is not easily forgotten.
Member Early Bird: $325*
Government Early Bird: $325*
Nonmember Early Bird: $1000*
*Early bird pricing expires on April 15, 2024.
Member: $350
Government: $350
Nonmember: $1100
Members are CHA member hospitals. Nonmembers are non-hospital health care providers, clinics, and post-acute facilities that serve hospitals. Education programs and publications are a membership benefit and are not available to eligible non-member California hospitals.
Cancellation Policy
A $75 non-refundable processing fee will be retained for each cancellation. Cancellations must be made in writing 7 or more days prior to the scheduled event and emailed to education@calhospital.org. No refunds will be made after these dates. Substitutions are encouraged. In the unlikely event that the program is cancelled, refunds will be issued to paid registrants within 30 days.
Confirmations
A confirmation will be sent to all registrants. On-site registrations and any unpaid registrations may be subject to an additional 10% fee.
Special Accommodations
If you require special accommodations pursuant to the American’s with Disabilities Act please call (916) 552-7637.
Photography
CHA will photograph this event. If you prefer not to be photographed, please email CHA at
education@calhospital.org.
Quality Assurance/Grievance
The CHA education quality assurance/grievance policy is available upon request by emailing rthomason@calhospital.org. If you have any concerns or dissatisfaction with the quality of a CHA education program, please contact Robyn Thomason, Vice President, Education at (916) 552-7514, or email rthomason@calhospital.org.
Questions?
Contact the Education Department at education@calhospital.org.
Full attendance at the educational session is a prerequisite for receiving professional continuing education (CE) credit. Attendees must sign in at the forum, complete post-event survey and, when required, include state bar or professional license number. CE certificates will be emailed approximately three weeks after the forum. Lunch and breaks are not included for continuing education credit. (Amount of CE offered subject to change.)
Behavioral/Social Work — Emergency Services Forum course meets the qualifications for up to 6.0 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs and LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. CHA is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs and LCSWs. Provider approval number 128427. CHA maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
At the conclusion of the forum, participants will be able to:
- State three reasons for strengthening the Emergency Medical Services system landscape, patient care delivery, and ambulance patient offload times.
- Apply four techniques for operationalizing ambulance patient offload time reduction protocols.
- Identify recent changes in the behavioral health system and its impacts on emergency departments in California.
- Assess three strategies and organizational security practices to protect emergency departments and increase safety for patients, staff, and visitors.
- Identify EMTALA and its intersection with emergency medical service providers and hospital compliance.
- Determine the potential impacts of combined human and system factor errors.
Compliance — The Compliance Certification Board (CCB)® has approved this event for up to 7.2 live CCB CEUs. Continuing Education Units are awarded based on individual attendance records. Granting of prior approval in no way constitutes endorsement by CCB of this event content or of the event sponsor.
Health Care Executives — CHA is authorized to award 6.0 hour of pre-approved ACHE Qualified Education credit for this program toward advancement, or recertification, in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Participants in this program who wish to have the continuing education hours applied toward ACHE Qualified Education credit must self-report their participation. To self-report, participants must log into their MyACHE account and select ACHE Qualified Education Credit.
Nursing — Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider CEP #11924, for up to 6.0 conference contact hours.
Hyatt Regency Newport Beach
1107 Jamboree Rd
Newport Beach, CA 92660, CA 92501
(949) 729-1234
Discount Deadline is April 14, 2024.
The Hyatt Regency Newport Beach has rooms available at a discounted rate beginning at $199 for the meeting. A $10 resort fee will also be added to your reservation. For reservations, call (949) 729-1234 and mention the “Emergency Services Forum.” Don’t delay; the deadline for discounted sleeping rooms is April 14, 2024. To book a room online, click here.
For sponsorship opportunities at the Emergency Services Forum, contact Lisa Hartzell.
We would like to thank our corporate sponsors for their support of the 2024 Emergency Services Forum.
Gold Sponsor:
Silver Sponsors:
