The evolving landscape of prehospital care has seen remarkable advancements since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration prioritized EMS in the early 1970's. Innovations like public access AEDs, CPR training, community medical first responder programs, as well as enhanced clinical dispatch prioritization protocols, have significantly enhanced patient outcomes and public safety. However, an outdated reliance on response time as a performance measure, coupled with the use of emergency lights and sirens, continues to create unnecessary risks to patients, EMS providers, and communities.

As highlighted by leading publications like Firehouse Magazine and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS), the traditional focus on response times does not align with modern evidence-based practices. It’s time to move beyond the "how we've always done it" mentality and critically assess whether these practices genuinely serve their intended purpose.

Why Attend the Summit?

The 3rd Annual EMS Safety and System Design Summit promises to be a pivotal event in advancing EMS system design and performance. Building on the success of previous events, this year’s gathering will provide local community and EMS system leaders a functional understanding of the joint position paper published in April by all national EMS clinical and stakeholder groups.

The summit will present research and outcome data demonstrating domains in EMS system performance measures including

• Effective: Is the health care provided clinically appropriate and high quality?

• Safe: Are services being provided in a way that is clinically and operationally safe for patients, responders, and the community?

• Satisfying: How do patients and EMS clinicians feel about the service being provided?

• Equitable: Is the system providing care that is equitable based on patient demographics and service area geography?

• Efficient: Is this service being provided in a way that maximizes the use of economic and operational resources?

• Preconference on November 20: A focused session for EMS system medical directors, offering insights into system performance measures, outcome data, and updates on medical direction.
• Full-Day Session on November 21: Unpacking and exploring the research, data, and findings of the Joint Position paper on EMS System Performance Measures, the summit will feature discussions on the roles of local officials in EMS system performance metrics and safety, leading change to improve patient outcomes while reducing risk and expense, and establishing valid, valuable measures of EMS system performance.  The summit links community leaders with the required methodologies for strategic, meaningful improvements for EMS systems.
• Presentations by National EMS Physicians and System Leaders:  Including the lead researcher and author of the joint position paper, State of Michigan 911 system director, State Of Michigan EMS Physician Director, EMS Physician Vice Chair (retired) and EMS System Directors from Colorado and Oregon.   Speaker information is available  at EMS Safety Summit Speaker Information.

Lunch is Provided!

The event is now at capacity, and registration has closed.