29th Annual Challenges in Critical Care: A Multidisciplinary Approach

D7071

Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM) and Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (SVAACN)

Case studies and research abstracts are now being accepted.

Submission guidelines are in the forms linked below.

Submit Research Abstract

Submit Case Study

Deadline: Monday, June 2, 2025

This annual conference is designed to promote the scientific evaluation of methods of care and to translate current literature into strategies to optimize the care of the critically ill patient.

Physicians, Advanced Practice Clinicians, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Pharmacists, Dietitians and Health Care Professionals involved in critical care may benefit from attendance.

• Develop a plan to apply knowledge gained to promote quality care of critically ill patients as provided by the multi-professional team.
• Evaluate evidence-based management strategies in critical care for incorporation into practice.
• Identify areas in critical care for further study, improvement and research.

• 7 a.m. | Check-In/Posters/Exhibits
• 7:45 a.m. | Welcome

  Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM)
  Lori Demko MSN, ACNP-BC, CCRN
  Joshua Marks MD, FACS, FCCM

  Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (SVAACN)
  Aimee Lee Anderson, MSN, BS, RN, CCRN
  Karen Good, MSN, RN, CCRN, ACCNS-AG

• 8 a.m. | Opening Plenary
  Collaboration and Team Dynamics: Do We Really Need it to Impact Outcomes in the ICU?
  Lauren Sorce, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN, FCCM

  Objectives

  • Define collaboration and team dynamics.
  • Explain collaboration and team dynamics research.
  • Apply strategies of collaboration and team dynamics to the workplace.
• 9 a.m. | Move to Concurrent Session
• 9:05 a.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 1A

  Cardiogenic Shock: Medications to Machines
  Navitha Ramesh, MD, FCCP

  Objectives

  • Recognize clinical signs and symptoms associated with cardiogenic shock.
  • Discuss medical management for cardiogenic shock.
  • Review indications for escalation to mechanical circulatory support (MCS), including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

  Concurrent Session 1B

  Can Phenobarbital Ease the Burden of ICU Admissions for Alcohol Withdrawal?
  Zaffer Qasim, MD, FRCEM

  Objectives

  • Describe the pathophysiology of severe alcohol withdrawal as it relates to current pharmacologic intervention.
  • Identify challenges with implementing a phenobarbital monotherapy pathway for alcohol withdrawal.
• 10:05 a.m. | Break/Exhibits/Posters
• 10:30 a.m. | Philip Drinker Society Lecture – Emerging Patterns in Substance Use: Updates on the Evolving Drug Supply
  Joseph D’Orazio, MD, FAAEM, FACMT, FASAM, FCPP

  Objectives

  • Characterize the current trends in the drug supply in the Philadelphia region, including the increasing presence of fentanyl analogues, non-fentanyl analogues, xylazine, medetomidine, and others.
  • Recognize the clinical challenges associated with polysubstance exposure, including xylazine-fentanyl, medetomidine, and atypical withdrawal syndromes associated with these drugs.
  • Identify strategies for acute management and harm reduction in patients presenting with complications related to counterfeit pharmaceuticals and novel synthetic substances.
• 11:30 a.m. | Move to Concurrent Session
• 11:35 a.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 2A

  Optimizing Outcomes of Patients on Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation
  Samuel Hammerman, MD, MMM

  Objectives

  • Recognize best practices in the approach to vent liberation in PMV patients
  • Discuss care of the tracheostomy in PMV patients.
  • Describe the critical role that speaking valves play in outcomes in PMV patients.

  Concurrent Session 2B

  PASCCM In-training Grant Awardee Presentation

  Presentations and Trials and Liberations: Spontaneous Breathing Trial Durations at an Academic Medical Center
  Alexandra Lopez, MD

  Objectives

  • Review the literature looking at the complications associated with prolonged intubation as well as optimal duration of spontaneous breathing trials.
  • Examine the retrospective data on duration of spontaneous breathing trials at Hershey Medical Center and potential contributing factors.
  • Propose a timed intervention that we will implement at Hershey Medical Center with the aim of reducing duration of spontaneous breathing trials.

  Case Studies TBD

• 12:35 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. | Lunch/Exhibits/Posters/Product Theater
• 1:05 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. | Product Theater
• 1:50 p.m. | Plenary Session
  Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP)
  Marty Sellers, MD, MPH

  Objectives

  • Describe normothermic regional perfusion rationale and technique.
  • Answer ethical questions surrounding DCD and NRP.
  • Discuss NRP impact: increased organ availability, improved post-transplant outcomes, and potential to eliminate waitlist deaths.
• 2:50 p.m. | Break/Exhibits/Posters
• 3 p.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 3A

  Bad Bugs, New Drugs: A Focus on Treatment of Resistant Gram-Negative Pathogens
  Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCIDP

  Objectives

  • Describe gram-negative antibiotics approved in the last ten years and in the pipeline
  • Determine optimal treatment approaches for AmpC-producing Enterobacterales
  • Discuss optimal treatment of drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter baumannii

  Concurrent Session 3B

  Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in Pregnancy
  Morgan Oskutis, MD

  Objectives

  • Describe how the current standard of care for pregnant patients with ARDS should closely resemble that of non-pregnant patients, including key similarities and a few important exceptions.
  • Explain one or two areas in which continued research is needed on how to best care for pregnant patients with ARDS.
  • Describe some of the basic changes in the respiratory system that occur with pregnancy which differ from the nonpregnant patient.
• 4 p.m. | Move to Closing Plenary
• 4:05 p.m. | Closing Plenary
  Where is the Evidence? A Review of the Literature or Lack thereof Behind some Common Practices in the ICU
  John Madara, MD and Joshua Marks MD, FACS, FCCM

  Objectives

  • Explore the evidence-based medicine of common practices in the ICU.
  • Review the literature that is used in clinical practice guidelines.
  • Evaluate possible new indications for old drugs.
• 5:05 p.m. | PASCCM Awards for Case Study and Scientific Poster
• 5:10 p.m. | Closing Remarks/Adjournment
• 5:15 p.m. | PASCCM Business Meeting

Lori Demko MSN, ACNP-BC, CCRN
Committee Chair
Chief Acute Care Nurse Practitioner UPMC Altoona
Pittsburgh Critical Care Associates, Inc.

Joshua Marks MD, FACS, FCCM
Committee Vice-Chair
Associate Professor
Medical Director, SICU
Medical Co-Director, Center for Operational Resource Efficiency (CORE) and Transfer Center
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency Program
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Aimee Lee Anderson, MSN, BS, RN, CCRN
Nurse Manager, Intensive Care Unit
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital
SVAACN Board Member

Barbara Birriel, PhD, ACNP-BC, FCCM
Associate Research Professor
Penn State Nese College of Nursing

Sandralee Blosser, MD, FCCM
Professor Emeritus, Penn State

Lori Cox, MSN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM
Program Director, Critical Care Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Karen Good, MSN, RN, CCRN, ACCNS-AG
Clinical Nurse Specialist
UPMC Pinnacle, Harrisburg Hospital
SVAACN Board Member

Amanda Holyk, PharmD, MBA, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacy Supervisor
Mount Nittany Medical Center

John Madara, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Associate Program Director, Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Niels Martin, MD, FACS, FCCM
Chief, Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, & Emergency Surgery
Vice Chair, Diversity Equity & Inclusion
Director, Traumatology & Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Programs
Associate Professor of Surgery
Department of Surgery; Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania

Jefferson Mixell, MBA, RRT, RRT-ACCS
Manager Respiratory Care
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Ashley Quintili, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical Specialist – Surgical/Anesthesia ICU
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Navitha Ramesh, MD, FCCP
Program Director, Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
UPMC Harrisburg
ICU Medical Director, UPMC Community
UPMC Central PA

Margaret Wojnar, MD, MEd, FCCM
Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Daniel Wu, DO, FACOS, FACS, FCCM
Trauma & Acute Care Surgery
Penn Medicine – Lancaster General Health
ICU Surgical Co-Director
Trinity Health – St Mary Medical Center

Joseph D’Orazio, MD, FAAEM, FACMT, FASAM, FCPP
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Cooper Center for Healing, Addiction Medicine & Medical Toxicology
Department of Emergency Medicine
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Cooper University Health Care

Samuel Hammerman, MD, MMM
Assistant Professor of Medicine
EVP, Chief Medical Officer, Select Medical
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Alexandra Lopez, MD
Fellow
Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

John Madara, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Associate Program Director, Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Joshua Marks MD, FACS, FCCM
Committee Vice-Chair
Associate Professor
Medical Director, SICU
Medical Co-Director, Center for Operational Resource Efficiency (CORE) and Transfer Center
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency Program
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCIDP
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Infectious Diseases Improvement and Clinical Research Innovation UPMC
University of Pittsburgh

Morgan Oskutis, MD
Core Faculty, Critical Care Fellowship and Emergency Medicine Residency
UPMC Harrisburg, UPMC Community
UPMC Central PA

Zaffer Qasim, MD, FRCEM
Associate Professor
Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, and Prehospital Care
University of Pennsylvania Health System

Navitha Ramesh, MD, FCCP
Program Director, Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
UPMC Harrisburg
ICU Medical Director, UPMC Community
UPMC Central PA

Marty Sellers, MD, MPH
Medical Director
Gift of Life Donor Program

Lauren Sorce, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN, FCCM
Senior Scientist, Division of Pediatric Critical Care
Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Scientist
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

AMA

Penn State College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Penn State College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC)

Application has been made to the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) for continuing education contact hours for respiratory therapists.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)

Application has been made.

The fee is $165 per person and includes the cost of instruction, online handout materials and all listed meals.

PASCCM fee is $65

SVAACN fee is $125

Payment is required at the time of registration. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at ContinuingEd@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Registrations received after Thursday, Aug. 14, will incur a $25 late fee.

Cancellations received after Friday, Aug. 8, will be assessed a $25 processing fee.

No refunds will be made for cancellations received after Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Accommodations are the responsibility of the program participant. A list of Hershey area lodging is available upon request or online at ce.med.psu.edu/lodging.

Join us in Hershey

Hershey is conveniently located in central Pennsylvania, just 90 minutes from Baltimore and Philadelphia, two hours from Washington, D.C., and three hours from New York City.

• Harrisburg-Area Attractions
• Hershey Attractions
• Tanger Outlets in Hershey
• Historic Gettysburg
• Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country

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