In today’s fast-paced world, achieving peak performance requires more than just ambition—it requires a balanced approach to wellness and mindfulness. In this interactive breakout session, Silas Grant will guide you through the five key pillars that drive success: focus, resilience, emotional intelligence, creativity, and sustainable energy. Learn practical strategies for integrating wellness into your daily routine to enhance mental clarity, manage stress, and stay productive over the long term. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or someone looking to elevate your personal and professional life, this session will provide the tools you need to cultivate the 360° edge that supports lasting peak performance.

Over the last decade, the homicide rate in Washington, DC, skyrocketed by a staggering 161%, creating a critical crisis for both the community and the DC Fire Department. In the face of the escalating emergency, finding a solution became imperative through forging crucial external partnerships and ensuring the representation of vulnerable populations to ensure health equity, the implementation of prehospital whole blood became the groundbreaking answer. The seminar takes you through a clinical case of a patient who, without the use of whole blood, would not have survived their injuries. Join us as we explore the transformative journey in prehospital medicine – where each decision holds the weight of life and death and collaborative innovation redefines emergency response in the heart of the nation’s Capital.

Medical errors can be overwhelming for EMS providers leading to intensive feelings of guilt, humiliation and worthlessness. When investigations by supervisors aren’t performed properly EMS providers can easily become “second victims”. When a medical error occurs its critical to understand why it happened and identify solutions to minimize risks to future patients. “Just Culture” refers to a values-supportive system of shared accountability where health care organizations are accountable for the systems they have designed and for responding to the behaviors of their employees in a fair and just manner. Employees, in turn, are accountable for the quality of their choices and for reporting both their errors and system vulnerabilities. Come learn how the DC Fire and EMS Office of the Medical Director has adopted a “Just Culture” approach to cases it reviews and how this approach has already paid dividends on making EMS care safer in the District.

This session will explore common breakdowns in prehospital-to-hospital transitions and strategies to enhance teamwork, documentation, and efficiency during codes.

As emergency call volumes and patient transports reach record highs, the connection between EMS and hospital care has never been more critical. Bridging the Gap explores the often-overlooked disconnect between pre-hospital and clinical care—and how stronger collaboration can improve patient outcomes.

This presentation highlights the importance of shared understanding, communication, and mutual respect between first responders and emergency department teams. Drawing on the dual perspective of both EMS and clinical provider, the discussion focuses on practical ways to align field and hospital operations through joint training, case continuity, and cultural integration.

By fostering a unified approach to emergency care, Bridging the Gap aims to create a seamless, patient-centered experience from the field to the hospital doors.

When hallways are full and the emergency department is bursting at the seams, ambulance offload delays can feel inevitable. But what if they aren’t? Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how one hospital is rewriting the playbook—using smart quality improvement strategies to speed up patient offloads without waiting for the ED to get less crowded. Discover how they’re improving flow and turning system strain into system change. This workshop isn’t just about what’s broken—it’s about what’s working.

This presentation will motivate, educate and inspire those in attendance to improve their nutrition by teaching how to read a food label, ingredients to avoid in packaged foods and the healing powers of fruits and vegetables. 

This presentation will explore emergency department and hospital throughout, examine how bottlenecks form, and discuss their impact on patients, EMS, and surrounding facilities. It will also highlight how optimizing workflows can lead to improved patient outcomes.

“Timely stroke care depends on seamless coordination between EMS and hospital teams. In this session, Kelsey Dawson (Georgetown University Hospital) and Gabe Gan (DC Fire and EMS) will share how collaborative initiatives—like immersive stroke simulations, joint Paramedic Grand Rounds, a standardized feedback process, and a citywide EMS stroke training video—have strengthened the EMS-to-ER handoff and improved patient outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical ideas to build meaningful hospital-EMS partnerships in their own systems.”