EMS World Expo Hits the Jackpot in Las Vegas

The 2015 EMS World Expo, held September 15–19 in Las Vegas, NV, attracted nearly 5,000 attendees from 38 countries for five days of education, networking and product debuts.

Following two days of workshops and the fourth annual World Trauma Symposium, the core conference program kicked off Thursday, September 17, with the recipients of the 2015 National EMS Awards of Excellence recognized.
The winners, commended for their outstanding achievements in the field of EMS, included Calvert Advanced Life Support from Prince Frederick, MD, the 2015 Volunteer EMS Service of the Year, sponsored by ZOLL, and Richmond Ambulance Authority from Richmond, VA, the 2015 Dick Ferneau Career EMS Service of the Year, sponsored by Ferno.

Also presented was the second annual Mike Smith Memorial Scholarship Award to Stephanie Gilbert.

The opening keynote was delivered by Brent Myers, MD, MPH, FACEP, who provided a glimpse into the future of EMS in his compelling presentation that focused on how mobile integrated healthcare and community paramedicine are transforming prehospital operations.

Looking to the next few years, Myers says 60%-80% of Medicare payment will not be fee for service, but instead will focus on if the patient received adequate care. This is where community paramedicine programs could step in to improve patient care while helping ease congestion in hospitals.

Immediately following the keynote was the opening of the EMS World exhibit hall. This year’s exhibition featured 353 exhibitors showcasing the latest products, services and technologies transforming the delivery of prehospital care.

The exhibit hall offered many additional educational opportunities for attendees. EMS World Expo faculty presented free 30-minute sessions in the Learning Center, the Sim Lab walked participants through various simulation scenarios using the latest high-fidelity simulators, and, new this year, the active shooter simulation enabled groups of attendees to walk through sift-and-sort procedures.

Mark your calendar for the 2016 EMS World Expo and NAEMT Annual Meeting, October 3–7 in New Orleans, LA. Visit EMSWorldExpo.com for more information.