30th Annual Challenges in Critical Care: A Multidisciplinary Approach

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PA Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM) and Susquehanna Valley A Chapter of AACN (SVAACN)

Case studies and research abstracts are now being accepted.

Submission Guidelines:

Case Studies

Research Abstracts

Deadline: Monday, June 15, 2026

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

  Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM)
  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
  Finding Joy on the Path to Improvement: On Purpose
  Dannette Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS

  Objectives

  • Describe the origins of AACN, the path to current state and the impact on Acute and Critical Care Nurses and their journey throughout their careers.
  • Discuss the impact of healthy work environments on nurse well-being, retention, and patient outcomes.
  • Identify strategies nurses can use to intentionally cultivate connection, authentic leadership, and purposeful engagement within your professional practice and healthcare environments.
• 8:50 a.m. | Move to Concurrent Session
• 9 a.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 1A

  Navigating Scylla and Charybdis in Critical Care: Leadership Skills and Lessons Learned
  Cherylee W. J. Chang, MD, FACP, FCCM, FNCS

  Objectives

  • Evaluate the different leadership styles and means to optimize these differences for a cohesive team.
  • Review pitfalls and strategies while communicating with team members.
  • Discuss the competing priorities of leadership roles in the ICU.

  Concurrent Session 1B

  Case Study Presentations To Be Determined

• 9:45 a.m. | Move to Concurrent Session
• 9:50 a.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 2A

  Post-ICU Syndrome
  Nicole Herbst, MD

  Objectives

  • Use a case presentation to demonstrate challenges after critical illness.
  • Define Post-ICU Syndrome and risk factors.
  • Review strategies to prevent and treat Post-ICU Syndrome.

  Concurrent Session 2B

  Ethical Challenges in Home Ventilation
  Jerin Juby, DMgt, RRT

  Objectives

  • Identify the core ethical principles, such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice, that arise during the initiation of home mechanical ventilation.
  • Analyze the psychological, physical, and socioeconomic burden placed on informal family caregivers of ventilator-dependent patients.
  • Discuss the ethical obligations of the interprofessional team to assess, address, and advocate for caregiver well-being.
• 10:35 a.m. | Break / Exhibits / Posters
• 11 a.m. | Midday Plenary
  Predicting the Future – Neuroprognostication in Acute Brain Injured Patients
  Cherylee W. J. Chang, MD, FACP, FCCM, FNCS

  Objectives

  • Explain current barriers to neuroprognostication after acute brain injury.
  • Discuss current guidelines for neuroprognostication.
  • Review best practices to impact outcome in the management of various causes of acute brain injury.
• 11:45 a.m. | Philip Drinker Society Lecture
  CAR-T Patients and Complications in 2026: What to Know and Consider in the ICU
  Joseph Van Galen, MD, MS

  Objectives

  • Explain CAR-T indications and timelines as context for patients presenting to ICU.
  • Discuss common and rarer CAR-T adverse events in a physiologic framework to guide differential and management.
  • Apply clinical factors that might be used to rule in or out certain adverse event diagnoses.
  • Evaluate patient factors that might favor more or less aggressive approaches for immunosuppression when adverse events are suspected.
• 12:30 p.m. | Lunch / Exhibits / Posters
• 1:30 p.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 3A

  PASCCM In-training Grant and AACN Impact Grant Awardees

  Endotheliopathy in Patients Who Have Suffered Brain Death: Association Between Syndecan-1 and Its Effect on Organ Transplantation
  Michael Ghio, MD

  Objectives

  • Characterize endothelial glycocalyx injury following brain death using serum Syndecan-1 as a biomarker of endotheliopathy.
  • Determine whether Syndecan-1 levels in brain-dead donors predict coagulopathy and other clinical outcomes.

  Comparison of Combination Test (CT and Troponin) Against the Gold Standard Echocardiogram to Assess for Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Acute Pulmonary Embolism
  Anna Klele, DO

  Objectives

  • Compare the combination of CT pulmonary angiography and troponin testing against echocardiogram, for identifying right ventricular dysfunction.

  Examining the Impact of Intensive Care Unit Diary Programs on Critical Care Nurses
  Abby Hackenberger, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, CNE

  Objectives

  • Describe the role of ICU diaries for patients, families, and nurses.
  • Discuss the potential intrinsic and extrinsic impacts of ICU diary program participation on critical care nurses.
  • Compare perceived benefits and challenges of ICU diary participation from the perspective of critical care nurses.

  Concurrent Session 3B

  ARDS-QUEST: The Machine Learning/Augmented Intelligence Emerging Threat Dashboard We Needed During the Pandemic But Did Not Have
  Lewis Kaplan, MD, FACS, FCCP, FSIS, MCCM

  Objectives

  • Describe the key components of an emerging threat dashboard.
  • Articulate how change in ARDS frequency can be utilized to identify an emerging threat.
  • Share how machine learning/augmented intelligence underpins the data analysis and data visualization of an ARDS frequency dashboard.
  • Explain how a dashboard approach for one syndrome is readily applicable to other high-consequence infections or conditions.
• 2:15 p.m. | Move to Concurrent Session
• 2:20 p.m. |
  

  Concurrent Session 4A

  Emerging Toxicologic Threats: Medetomidine and More
  Angela Slampak-Cindric, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM

  Objectives

  • Identify emerging toxicologic threats encountered in critical care practice.
  • Describe the pharmacology, clinical manifestations, and diagnostic challenges associated with toxicologic exposures.
  • Develop an evidence-informed management approach for critically ill patients with suspected or confirmed exposures.

  Concurrent Session 4B

  Uses and Abuses of NIPPV in Critical Care
  Herbert Patrick, MD, MSEE, FACP, FCCP, FCCM

  Objectives

  • Recognize that NCO2 and CPAP increase paO2 and not alter paCO2.
  • Describe how BiPAP and AVAPS lower paCO2 and minimally increase paO2.
  • Explain how to avoid facial mask pressure points which result in facial skin severe ulcers.
• 3:05 p.m. | Break / Exhibits / Posters
• 3:15 p.m. | Closing Plenary
  Palliative Panel
  Khagen Bhattarai, RRT, Angelle Green, RN, BSN, Robin George, BSN, RN, HEC-C, Robin Hicks, DO and Navitha Ramesh, MD, FCCP

  Objectives

  • Learning TBD
• 4:15 p.m. | PASCCM Awards/Closing Remarks/Adjournment
• 4:20 p.m. | PASCCM Business Meeting

Joshua Marks MD, FACS, FCCM
Committee Chair
Professor of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgery
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Jefferson Health Surgeon Leader for Surgical Critical Care
Medical Co-Director, Jefferson Health Transfer Center
President PA Chapter Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM)

John Madara, MD
Committee Vice-Chair
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit
Medical Director of Respiratory Care
Associate Program Director, Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

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

Lori Demko MSN, ACNP-BC, CCRN
Lead Acute Care Nurse Practitioner UPMC Altoona
Pittsburgh Critical Care Associates, Inc.
Immediate Past President PA Chapter Society of Critical Care Medicine (PASCCM)

Brenda Engler, BS, DNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN
Director Acute Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, Geisinger School of Nursing
Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Geisinger Health System

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

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

Divakar Sharma, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine,
Director, Intensive Care Unit, LVH-Pocono
Medical Director, Respiratory Care
Lehigh Valley Health Network

Khagen Bhattarai, RRT
Respiratory Therapist
UPMC Community Osteopathic

Cherylee W. J. Chang, MD, FACP, FCCM, FNCS
Division Chief, Neurocritical Care
Professor, Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Medicine: Division Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Duke University
President, Society of Critical Care Medicine
Past-President, Neurocritical Care Society

Angelle Green, RN, BSN
Professional Staff Nurse II, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
UPMC Community General Osteopathic Hospital

Robin George, BSN, RN, HEC-C
Research Coordinator
Medical Education Program
UPMC of Central PA

Michael Ghio, MD
Fellow
Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, & Emergency Surgery
University of Pennsylvania

Abby Hackenberger, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, CNE
Associate Teaching Professor
Pennsylvania State University
Sr. Professional Staff Nurse II
UPMC

Nicole Herbst, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Robin Hicks, DO
Medical Director-Supportive Care & Palliative Medicine
UPMC Central PA

Jerin Juby, DMgt, RRT
Assistant Professor
Program Director, Respiratory Therapy
Chair, Department of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Sciences
Jefferson College of Health Professions

Lewis Kaplan, MD, FACS, FCCP, FSIS, MCCM
Professor of Surgery
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Department of Surgery
Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery

Anna Klele, DO
Fellow
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Lehigh Valley Hospital

Dannette Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Patient Care Services- Union Hospital
ChristianaCare Cecil Campus
Director- Board of Directors (2024-2027)
American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)

Herbert Patrick, MD, MSEE, FACP, FCCP, FCCM
Department of Medicine
Jefferson Health – Northeast

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

Angela Slampak-Cindric, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM
Coordinator, Acute Pharmacy Services, Critical Care & Emergency Medicine
Director, Geisinger Medical Center PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency Program
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy, Geisinger College of Health Sciences
Enterprise Pharmacy

Joseph Van Galen, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Medical Oncology, Division of Transplant and Cell Therapy
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

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 6.25 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.

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)

This activity is eligible for ACPE credit; see final CPE activity announcement for specific details.

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

PASCCM fee is $50

SVAACN fee is $125

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• Harrisburg-Area Attractions
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• Historic Gettysburg
• Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country

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