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Bad Bosses
Matthew Streger, Esq., MPA, NRP
Keavney & Streger
Have you ever had that boss that you just could not stand? Maybe they were a micromanager, or a blame thrower, or they were threatened by you. How do you handle working for someone who makes you work, or your life, difficult?
This program will examine some of the common types of bad bosses, why their behavior is bad, and what you should do with the boss. We will look at volatile bosses, micromanagers, paranoid bosses, competitors, blame-throwers, power-players, witch-hunters, laissez faire bosses, pleasers, disrespectful actions, and bosses without boundaries.
Most importantly, this program will help to identify if you are actually the bad boss and how to handle that! We will review various archetypes of managers and dysfunctional syndromes and will give the audience real-world skills for dealing with those problem bosses.
We will also review common combinations of bad bosses, and most importantly we will discuss reflective techniques to help you identify your own areas for self-improvement.
Benevolent Apology, Transparency, and Trust: When Things Go Wrong in Critical Care Transport
Carl Bottorf, RN, MPA
Defense Health Agency – Defense Health Network-Europe
The Defense Health Agency has practices developed a series if techniques and strategies that strengthen trustworthiness and clinical transparency within one of the most diverse and largest healthcare organizations in the nation. Processes such as clinical disclosure when outcomes are unanticipated, the stakes are high, or clinical consequences are involving the highest of elected leaders. The programs rely on training, life's experiences, clinical acumen, neutrality and confidentiality, and leader endorsement to bring about situational resolutions are outcomes that build organizational trustworthiness. The attendee should be able to list at least four critical core elements common to most patient/provider disclosure encounters. The attendee can identify and describe information that should not be disclosed in a patient/provider disclosure session.
The attendee can describe the importance of disclosing of factual clinical information as soon as possible. “I want you to know I/we are very sorry this happened.” How to get the disclosure conversation going It is not as easy as one might think - how to keep the conversation going and making the transparency meaningful.
Billers and Clinicians, an Unlikely Friendship: Supporting Sustainability in a Not-For-Profit Setting
Sarah Barber, CPHQ, NREMT-P, FP-C, BS in Psychology & Jaqueline Marquez, CACO, CAPO, CAC
Life Flight Network
Information deserves authority. Ironically, sometimes the subject-matter experts in a particular field lack crucial information to drive their outputs. Clinical crews involved in air medical transport undoubtedly deliver the best possible care and treatment to their patients, but they don’t always generate the best documentation to memorialize their efforts. Non-operational staff in the medical transport industry have a lot to offer when it comes to the production of accurate and detailed patient care records—especially if they work in the billing department! However, such staff are rarely consulted when clinical leaders initiate improvement projects.
This presentation will describe how the Clinical Department and the Billing Department at Life Flight Network worked closely with the Quality Management Department to identify an issue, gather historical data, eliminate gaps in documentation from patient care records, and ultimately reduce the numbers of write-offs, downcodes, and outright denials from insurers.
The opportunity to collaborate on this Action Plan coincided with changes in healthcare legislation, namely the No Suprises Act. While patients and their families get a certain level of protection from the NSA, it is incumbent upon the air medical transport industry to also do everything possible to make excellent healthcare available and sustainable for everyone. It turns out that the IDR (Independent Dispute Resolution) process often contributes not only to confusing and drawn-out verdicts, but it also often results in reduced reimbursements for healthcare providers. However, accurate and detailed clinical documentation can help avoid the IDR process altogether, thereby ensuring sustainable operations for providers and minimizing the potential impact to patients from the psychological and emotional consequences of overwhelming medical bills--not to mention reluctance to engage in healthcare services in the future due to negative experiences with the billing process.
Building Your Dream Team
Leslie Schutte, BSN, RN, CFRN, NR-P, CMTE
Corwell Health Aero Med and North Flight Aero Med
Do you consider yourself an effective communicator? Do you have the ability to motivate your team? Are you ready to transform your team into a dynamic powerhouse with a unified vision? Join us to learn how to attract and hire top talent that aligns with your team’s culture and vision. Understand the importance of establishing a strong base culture and gaining team buy-in on core values and mission.
Explore strategies for fostering open and transparent communication, building trust, and strengthening your team. Discover the value of offering professional development opportunities to inspire growth and innovation. Gain insights into creating a supportive and productive work environment and handling difficult discussions with transparency and empathy.
During this interactive session, ignite your passion for team dynamics, elevate your program to new heights, and ensure your team delivers exceptional patient care while loving what they do. Attend this engaging session that will leave you motivated and equipped to build your dream team!
Cheap & Easy Tech That Will Help Improve Operations and Communications
John Paladino, MS, CMTE
Alpha Star Air Ambulance
During this session we will review WhatsApp, Google Docs/Sheets and show how we operate our system on a daily basis. Everything we do from Clinical Review to Base Operations runs on these free applications. Benefits on WhatsApp will be shown from building base operations/descriptions for each of 15 HEMS bases as well as our 2 FW bases. Communication is tracked and verified all while maintaining access control. Google Docs/Sheets will show how we track, trend and review real time data to help us meet CAMTS standards as well provide quality assurance.
We will also provide an overview of our system here (at present, 15 HEMS bases and 2 FW bases) and how we use these tools to support communication across bases that are spread out across a very large country. Even Clinical training and meeting attendance is tracked via these free applications.
Finally, we will show live demonstrations of how the systems work in real time.
Flight Plan for the Press: Communicating with Confidence
Natalie Hannah, MS
Life Flight Network
Speaking with the media can be intimidating, but with the right strategies, you can take control of the narrative and confidently share your expertise. Whether responding to a crisis or highlighting the lifesaving work of your team, media interactions are an opportunity to inform and build trust with your audiences.
This session will provide essential tools to help you prepare for interviews, craft clear and compelling messages, and navigate tough questions with confidence. Learn the dos and don’ts of working with reporters, how to stay calm under pressure, and ways to avoid common pitfalls. From live interviews to press inquiries, you’ll gain practical techniques to ensure your message is accurate, engaging, and impactful.
With the right preparation and mindset, media interactions don’t have to be daunting. Whether you’re a seasoned spokesperson or new to media engagement, this session will give you the confidence and skills to take the mic with ease.
Lead with What’s Strong, Not What’s Wrong – The Appreciative Inquiry Competitive Advantage
Donna Miller, RN, CMTE, CRP
Reinvention Professionals LLC
With change happening at an exponential speed, organizations must adapt or risk being left behind. The air medical industry is no exception—facing workforce shortages, operational inefficiencies, and financial pressures that demand new ways of thinking and leading. Rather than reacting to crises, what if we shifted our approach to focus on possibilities and strengths?
This interactive session introduces Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a transformative approach to reinventing air medical transport by leveraging what works, rather than fixing what’s broken.
Donna Miller, a Nurse and Certified Reinvention Practitioner (CRP), with over 20 years of experience in ground and air medical transportation, will guide attendees through practical strategies to align passion, purpose, and practice in ways that foster innovation, engagement, and sustainability.
Whether you’re an executive, manager, or frontline provider, this session will equip you with fresh perspectives and actionable tools to navigate change with confidence and drive meaningful, future-ready transformation in air medical transport.
No Surprises Acts (NSA)- Observations from the Front Lines
Guy Barber, MPH, EMT-P & Chris Myers
No Surprise Bill, LLC
Effective on Jan 1, 2022, the NSA was created to Protect patients from Surprise Medical Bills from Out-of-Network (OON) Providers, making it illegal for Providers to “Balance Bill” Patients.
However, lawmakers anticipating a significant impact on Providers’ revenue, established a Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process to help Providers pursue reimbursement for these Out-of-Network services from Payors/Insurers.
Presenters Chris Myers and Guy Barber have had the opportunity to engage this process from its inception and collaborate with impacted stakeholders across the process. This includes providers, CMS, payors, and IDRE Mediators.
In this presentation- we will share an overview of the process, real world case studies of HEMS programs who have engaged and achieved favorable results, and trends/predictions for the future direction of the NSA.
Participants will learn how to assess their program's financial health as it relates to reimbursement. A simplified approach towards understanding their financial data, and its implications, as well as an actionable tool kit for developing a comprehensive payor strategy plan.
The Art of Effective Leadership in Transport Medicine
Danny Nayman, NRP, MBA, FP-C, CCP-C, CMTE, International College of Advanced Practice Paramedics
Sue Hollowell, BSN, RN, CMTE, CFRN, CCRN, CTRN, CEN, CPEN TCRN, FP-C, Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association
Effective leadership is the cornerstone of success in transport medicine, where paramedics and nurses work in high-stakes, dynamic environments. The Art of Effective Leadership in Transport Medicine explores essential leadership principles that enhance team performance, improve patient outcomes, and foster professional growth.
This session delves into the core tenets of leadership, including vision, purpose, and leading by example. Participants will gain insights into different leadership styles—autocratic, democratic, transformational, and servant leadership—understanding how each approach impacts team dynamics and decision-making in transport medicine.
A key focus will be on emotional intelligence, stress management, and conflict resolution, crucial skills for maintaining high-functioning teams in high-pressure settings. Through real-world case studies, attendees will analyze leadership successes and challenges, learning how to navigate difficult conversations, provide constructive feedback, and prevent burnout.
Leaders in transport medicine must be adaptable, embracing change while fostering a culture of trust and empowerment. By refining communication skills and decision-making strategies, participants will leave with actionable insights to elevate their leadership effectiveness and drive positive change within their organizations.
Join us for an engaging and interactive session that will equip you with the tools to become a more impactful leader in transport medicine!
First Response, Last Defense - Quality Improvement Privileges
Matthew Streger, Esq., MPA, NRP
Keavney & Streger
Are you really covering yourself when you conduct a sentinel event review? What about the quality improvement flags that are a daily part of our charting systems?
Legal privileges shield certain information from being used against you, but the attorney-client, work-product, and self-critical analysis privileges are poorly-understood and easy to misuse. There are opportunities here for protecting our agencies, our providers, and our data, but missteps can open the door to this information being used against us in civil litigation. Failure to properly protect this information can literally allow you to prove your own negligence in a court case.
This session will review concepts of civil litigation, evidence, discoverability, and exclusion, then look at state and national laws that govern this area. We will use real cases to illustrate how these privileges work, and help you develop best-practices for self-protection. This session is a must-see for all clinical managers, quality improvement personnel, and medical directors.
The Only Thing I Hate More Than Change is How Things are Right Now
Garrett Cavaliere, DO, NRP & Amanda Rosito, FP-C, NREMTP
Penn State Health Life Lion Critical Care Transport
No one wants change! In fact, humans are programed to resist change. However, for us to improve, change is necessary. As leaders in out of hospital care delivery, we must be experts at implementing change. This session discusses the challenges of change! Utilizing a real-life flight program as the case study, this presentation goes through the psychology of change, different change implementation models as well as the real world challenges experienced undergoing radical change in a short period of time. Using Penn State Health Life Lion Critical Care transport as the example, the presentation will walk the audience through the change development process, patient care guideline development as well as a staggered, targeted education rollout and supporting equipment rollout. This presentation is designed to be interactive with audience members sharing their personal experiences, insights and challenges to give multiple perspectives on the age old question of “how do we do better?”
What Bees Can Teach Us About Leadership, Teamwork, and Operational Excellence in Medical Transport
Michael Perkins, MBA-HCA, EMT-P, CMTE
MedFlight of Ohio/ MedCare Ambulance
This unique presentation draws a compelling parallel between the structured, highly coordinated world of beekeeping and the dynamic leadership required in medical transport services. Just as a beehive thrives on precise communication, role specialization, and collective resilience, successful organizations in both air and ground medical transport depend on these same principles to function at peak efficiency. By examining the behaviors of bee colonies, industry leaders can extract valuable lessons on fostering collaboration, maintaining adaptability, and sustaining long-term growth within their teams. This session will challenge conventional leadership approaches by demonstrating how nature’s most efficient workers provide a blueprint for enhancing organizational success. The speaker, an avid beekeeper with over 30 years of leadership experience in medical transportation, brings a unique perspective to this discussion.
This engaging session will provide leaders with fresh, nature-inspired perspectives on managing their organizations with greater precision, collaboration, and strategic foresight. Attendees will walk away with actionable leadership strategies designed to enhance both individual and team effectiveness, ultimately improving outcomes in medical transport services.
Optimizing Patient Care Through Centralized Logistics
Matthew S. James, EMT
In the fast-paced world of emergency medical services and critical care transport, efficient logistics play a crucial role in delivering high-quality patient care. This session explores how a centralized approach to medical supply chain management enhances operational efficiency, ensures regulatory compliance, and improves patient outcomes.
Attendees will learn how centralizing medical equipment evaluation and repair streamlines incident response, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring prompt resolutions. The session will also highlight the benefits of centralized warehousing and distribution, including supply conservation, inventory consistency, and improved management of regulated materials like blood products and controlled substances.
Additionally, participants will gain insight into the value of strong relationships with medical supply and equipment vendors—ensuring early awareness of product changes, supply chain disruptions, and collaboration opportunities with other transport programs. The discussion will also cover how clinical logistics teams can create standardized internal kits, reducing crew workload and enhancing consistency in patient care.
Join us to discover how strategic logistics can elevate patient care, improve operational efficiency, and drive excellence in critical care transport