16th Annual
Tri-State Emergency Responders Conference
Dubuque, IA
Save the Date
We’re bringing top-tier national presenters to deliver high-impact education close to home. Northeast Iowa Community College invites you to the 16th Annual Tri-State Emergency Responders Conference on Oct. 15–16 at the Diamond Jo Casino.
New dates, same elite training! This year's shifted Thursday-Friday schedule makes it easier than ever to elevate your emergency care practice. Learn from elite national presenters, network with colleagues and browse the latest industry equipment in our free exhibit hall. Comprehensive sessions are meticulously designed to meet the advanced training needs of pre-hospital providers—including EMR, EMT, AEMT and paramedic levels—as well as emergency department and critical care nursing professionals.
Elevate your lifesaving skills and lock in your registration. Sign up today to secure your spot!
Conference Agenda
Check In
Exhibit Area Opens
Sessions Begin
Bizarre and Unusual Case Studies: You Can't Make This Stuff Up!
A review of bizarre case studies that the presenter has actually experienced that will bring to light the importance of thinking outside of the box and not getting stuck in tunnel vision when dealing with complicated calls that are not textbook scenarios. This lecture will discuss the importance of patient assessment and prioritizing treatment plans when multiple medical and trauma issues exist together.
Objectives
- Understand the importance of scene size up even when call seems benign.
- Recognize the importance of thinking outside the box to avoid tunnel vision.
- Decipher how to mix trauma with medical and recognize where do you start? How do you prioritize?
- Understand how to put it all together and identify which emergency to treat first.
Making a Difference in Chest Trauma
Differentiating between major thoracic injuries can sometimes be a challenging process. An entertaining but memorable method for approaching the scene size-up will be introduced. Participants will also be provided with a simple yet effective strategy for differentiating between tension pneumothorax, massive hemothorax and pericardial tamponade.
Objectives
- Repeat the elements of a scene size-up.
- Differentiate between tension pneumothorax, massive hemothorax and pericardial tamponade.
- State the primary indicators for load-and-go situations during a trauma assessment.
Happy Birthday!
Over 50% of EMS calls involve geriatric patients. Are we providing the care they truly deserve? This session challenges assumptions and focuses on dignity, respect and understanding aging.
Objectives
- Understand aging.
- Apply Five M’s.
- Define EMS role.
The WHY Behind The Patient and What’s Scrolling on the Cardiac Monitor
This class is designed for EMTs to gain a better understanding of what cardiac rhythms make their ALS partner start to scramble on a call, and the why behind it. It will review basic critical rhythms, what they do to the body and why.
Objectives
- Learn the names of critical heart rhythms and what they look like on the monitor.
- Learn the pathophysiology behind each rhythm and what they do to the body to create the various signs and symptoms.
- Gain a better understanding of how to help their partner by being able to be proactive on a call and assist with the treatment of the patient.
- Review the treatments for each rhythm that they can do on a BLS level.
The Airway is Talking… But Are You Listening?
Your patient is breathing… but what are they really telling you? Every airway is communicating—through sounds, effort, positioning and subtle changes that can quickly become life-threatening if missed. In EMS, we often focus on interventions, but recognizing what the airway is telling us BEFORE it fails is where great patient care begins. Wheezing, stridor, silence, work of breathing—these are not just findings; they are warnings. The challenge is slowing down long enough to recognize them and understanding what they mean in the moment. This session takes a real-world look at airway assessment and management. We’ll focus on recognizing early warning signs, understanding what different airway presentations are telling you and making timely decisions that prevent deterioration. Because by the time the airway stops talking… it may already be too late.
Objectives
- Identify key airway sounds and what they indicate.
- Recognize early signs of airway compromise.
- Differentiate between ventilation and oxygenation issues.
- Apply appropriate airway management strategies based on patient presentation.
It’s Not About the Trauma
Non-traumatic musculoskeletal disorders encompass many potential conditions. This session will address the more common conditions that can be identified in the prehospital setting. More importantly, participants will be introduced to a method that helps differentiate and clinically approach non-traumatic musculoskeletal problems.
Objectives
- Identify relevant elements associated with gangrene, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, gout, cellulitis, fasciitis, fibromyalgia, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and osteoporosis.
- Identify and illustrate the differences between various non-traumatic musculoskeletal disorders.
- Discuss the clinical relevance associated with various non-traumatic musculoskeletal disorders.
That SMELL, the LOOK, Now TREAT it!
Burn calls can be some of the worst calls an EMS provider can get. This presentation reviews the burning process, possible causes and specific treatments for burns, including special populations. It will also discuss the deep-seated fears FF/EMS professionals share about getting burned, the uphill battle of recovery, and the inevitable post-recovery question, “Now what?”
Objectives
- Understand the definition of burns, degree of burns and anatomy of burns.
- List the different causes of burns.
- Identify the treatment of the different types of burns, including special populations.
- Understand the importance of burn prevention by listing the statistics of FF/EMS burn victims, how to prevent them and the difficult recovery from burns.
The Quiet Kid is the Sick Kid
Not all pediatric patients cry, scream or fight you. Sometimes the sickest pediatric patient is quiet, still and not making a sound.
In EMS, we are often reassured by noise and activity—but in pediatrics, silence can be one of the most dangerous signs. A child who is lethargic, withdrawn or minimally responsive may already be in significant distress.
This session focuses on recognizing the pediatric patient who doesn’t look dramatic but is actually critically ill. We will explore subtle signs of deterioration, behavioral cues and how to quickly identify when a child is much sicker than they appear.
Because in pediatrics, the quiet kid… is often the sick kid.
Objectives
- Recognize subtle signs of serious illness in pediatric patients.
- Differentiate between normal and abnormal pediatric behavior.
- Identify early indicators of respiratory and circulatory failure in children.
- Apply rapid assessment techniques for critically ill pediatric patients.
Day 1 Wrap Up & Exhibit Area Closes
Entertainment at the Mississippi Moon Bar
Check In
Sessions Begin
Building Resilience to Occupational Trauma
Trauma exposure occurs repeatedly and unavoidably during the career of a first responder. This session will review the emotional effects of trauma exposure, common brain processes that follow trauma, strategies to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the essential components of evidence-based treatments that effectively address PTSD symptoms.
Objectives
- Identify common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Understand the brain’s self-protective response to traumatic events.
- Increase awareness of strategies for managing post-traumatic symptoms and reducing PTSD risk.
- Learn essential components of effective PTSD treatment.
How We "ALL" Will Die!
Every living-breathing creature will eventually die from the process of shock, even the little bean plant you tried to grow in the styrofoam cup when you were in kindergarten. It is our job as EMS providers to recognize, intervene and stop the process of dying.
Objectives
- Control bleeding.
- Use tourniquets
- Recognize shock.
Capnography: It’s Not Just a Silly Line on the Monitor!
This course will review the basics of capnography so that every level of EMS provider can understand what that silly line means on the monitor and start to understand the overall respiratory pictures of their patient.
Objectives
- Define capnography and understand the importance of measuring it.
- Understand the various waveforms and their meanings.
- Use each waveform in the patient treatment plans.
Elusive Endocrinology
Have you ruled out diabetes but can’t explain your patient’s altered condition? This interactive case study presentation highlights Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome and Graves’ disease. A nuts-and-bolts approach will be used to address the ALS and BLS considerations for managing these less-than-common conditions.
Objectives
- Discuss the pathophysiology associated with Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome and Graves’ disease.
- Identify common signs associated with Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome and Graves’ disease.
- Prioritize treatment for managing patients with Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome and Graves’ disease.
- Describe why this information is relevant to their clinical practice.
Wait….What? How did you…? Never Mind! Now What?
This course reviews the rapid trauma assessment and takes a detailed look at the importance of the secondary assessment, based on two case studies experienced by the presenter. The course stresses the value of each type of assessment and the potential for patient harm if BOTH are not carefully completed.
Objectives
- Understand the importance of scene size-up, even when the call seems benign.
- Know when to do a rapid trauma assessment and when to complete a secondary assessment.
- Understand how to put it all together for the best patient outcome.
Pour Some Sugar On It
Diabetes is one of the most common medical emergencies encountered by EMS providers. Patients often present with altered levels of consciousness (LOC) and may exhibit unusual or uncharacteristic behaviors. It is essential for EMS practitioners to always consider the possibility of a diabetic emergency in these cases. Failing to recognize and address this can lead to poor patient outcomes.
Objectives
- Recognize symptoms.
- Apply treatment.
- Understand medications.
What’s With the Vessels?
Differentiating among various vascular-related diseases can be a daunting task for the EMS provider. For example, there appears to be little difference between acute arterial occlusion and deep vein thrombosis upon an initial glance. This session will highlight and illustrate how vascular disorders differ from one another. More importantly, participants will be given a method to better differentiate and clinically approach these conditions.
Objectives
- Identify relevant elements associated with atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, aneurysm, dissecting aneurysm, pulmonary embolism, acute arterial occlusion, peripheral arterial disease and deep vein thrombosis.
- Identify and illustrate the differences between various vascular disorders.
- Discuss the clinical relevance associated with various vascular disorders.
Taboo – Don’t Even Think About It!
End-of-life situations challenge everything we are trained to do. This session explores hospice care, emotional challenges and how to provide comfort and dignity.
Objectives
- Maintain dignity.
- Differentiate hospice vs. palliative.
- Define EMS role.
Day 2 Wrap Up
Entertainment at the Mississippi Moon Bar
Registration Options
One-Day Conference
- Choose Your Day
- Up to 8 CEHs
Sponsors
Thank you to the organizations that support our annual conference!
Accommodations
Grand Harbor Hotel
Phone: 563.690.4000, ext. 1
Rate: $139/night
Reserve by: September 15
Call and ask for the NICC room block
Holiday Inn Dubuque
Phone: 563.556.2000
Rate: $149/night
Reserve by: September 15
Call and ask for the NICC room block
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