Join Doug Wolfberg of PWW as he makes his first appearance at the Working Together conference. Doug will cover essential documentation issues geared toward EMS providers of all levels. This full-day class builds critical skills in writing effective patient care reports that will withstand legal scrutiny, support prompt and accurate billing decisions, and support your organization in a billing audit. You’ll see charts to give you an opportunity to apply the skills taught in this seminar. We will cover EMS documentation in court cases, documenting patient consent and refusals, effective charting formats, documenting special situations such as "do not resuscitate," and understanding the medical necessity and billing rules for emergency and non-emergency documentation.

Objective Based Strategy & Tactics  Tim Sendelbach and Ed Buchanan, Fire Chiefs

Strategy and tactics has been the heart and soul of fire service training for more than 150 years. This high-impact presentation has been designed to address some of the more common issues facing the fire service today, including fireground command and control, RIT operations, accountability, fireground benchmarking, communications, and air management. Using a series of interactive scenarios, this program will allow attendees to witness the effectiveness of "Objective Based Assignments" and how such a program can enhance the safety and effectiveness of the modern fireground. This program includes a number of interactive computer-based simulations for attendees representing all ranks.

You Make the Cut Pig Lab  Charles Cady, MD and M. Riccardo Colella, DO

Understanding the respiratory and cardiac systems is a cornerstone to providing effective pre-hospital care. These systems represent the ABCs. We’ll divide this day-long pre-conference into two parts, with one-half dedicated to each system. We’ll start with a classroom session that will cover the basic anatomy and physiology of each system, the basis for understanding disease process, as well as the appropriate treatment strategy and its impact. Case studies will be presented to illustrate a number of diseases and how they relate to the normal anatomy and physiology, and how pre-hospital treatments make sense. The meat of the program, so to speak, will be a hands-on dissection of real pig lungs and hearts. In this class, you’ll be the one performing the dissection! This is a first for the Working Together conference, making it a class you won’t want to miss. Limited to the first 150 participants to register.

Volunteer EMS Management  Jon Politis, MPA, NREMT-P

Many volunteer emergency services today struggle to meet the demands of increased calls for service and at the same time see declining numbers of volunteers. Gone are the days of waiting lists. Today, many services find it difficult just to make the "rubber hit the road." Adding paid staffing can be both a blessing and a curse for an organization. A blessing if done properly, a curse that causes rapid deterioration if implemented poorly. This one-day management seminar is a primer on the key leadership and management issues for volunteer and non-profit services. It will focus on key themes of successful services in EMS today.

Perfecting Patient Assessment  Connie Mattera, MS, RN, TNS, EMT-P

Every EMS call has one thing in common: The need for a quality patient assessment. The cornerstone of excellent prehospital care is the emergency responder’s ability to perform and appropriately, adequately, and skillfully execute a patient assessment. Everything you find must be analyzed to help you form your prehospital impression. You use your ability to obtain a thorough history, to inspect, palpate, and auscultate the patient. You perform initial diagnostic tests such as SPO2, ECG, and blood glucose readings. Assessment findings lay the foundation for competent care, but only if they have been accomplished accurately and interpreted correctly. Come spend the day with Connie Mattera as she dissects the elements of assessment and gives you practical pointers for everyday practice. This session is guaranteed to make you a better EMT!