Keynote Speakers

OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Scott Freitag

Leading Meaningful Change in a Changing World

Isn’t it amazing to know that dispatchers in more than 3,000 communications centers throughout the world use the protocols just like you do? The instructions you give a mother to help her baby begin breathing again are the same ones provided by dispatchers in Brazil, Australia, Botswana, the Netherlands, India, Greece, and China. Dispatchers in more than thirty countries use the protocols to provide the best possible outcomes for those they serve.

While emergency services operations vary from country to country, the one consistent piece tying these operations together is the use of the protocols. Scott Freitag will share his experiences and insights into the protocol’s unprecedented growth around the world since becoming President of the Academy.

Attendees will hear personal stories of how dispatch professionals overcame challenges throughout the world to successfully implement the protocols in their countries and get a "peek" behind the Academy curtain to see how it all works, translating the protocols into 19 languages/dialects, meshing the varied cultural change in the International Standards Committee, and other fascinating facts that make it all work.

As countries look to communications centers using the protocols in the U.S., U.K., and Canada as models for their emergency dispatching, Scott will explore ways we can "Take the Challenge" and lead the way to meaningful change in public safety, not just in our own communities, but across the globe.

CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Matt Iseman

Your Prescription for Laughs

As the bottom line increasingly becomes the top priority, every employee in the healthcare industry has felt the added pressure in an already stressful field. With job descriptions changing from week to week and enough paperwork to fell a good-sized forest, there has never been a more stressful time to work in healthcare. Insurance payments are down, support staff is being cut, and job satisfaction is at an all-time low. In fact, the only thing that is up is stress. Be it the antiquated computer systems (or their unwieldy upgrades), the constant job cuts, or the seemingly constant "reviews," Dr. Iseman has seen it all. But, more importantly, he sees the humor in it. Showing how to use humor to combat stress, Dr. Iseman proves that laughter really is the best medicine.