Our Invited Keynotes* for 2011 include:

Assistant Fire Commissioner Stephen Gregory (Rtd)

Fire Department New York City

Director Steve Souder

Fairfax County Virigina 9-1-1 Public Safety Communications Centre

Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer John Pooley

Head of Emergency Prepardness

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Dr. Janine Krieber

Expert on Terrorism and International Security

Royal Military College

*This is the list of invited speakers and may be subject to change.

2010 was a success for all our attendees.

Please take a look back at our 2010 Keynote Speakers:

Chief Bruce K. Farr: "Innovations in EMS Service Delivery"

As part of an overburdened health care system, we need to explore all options that use existing resources in efficient and creative ways to meet our service demands. At Toronto Emergency Medical Services (EMS), we have implemented a number of innovative programs to divert incoming, non-urgent requests for service through 911 to alternative pathways and to assist those who frequently use EMS as their healthcare safety net to get the community-based health care resources they need. The results have produced greater integration of services between, EMS, hospital, Public Health, Elderly & Community Care and promoted more appropriate patient care and Emergency Department utilization through options designed to better meet patient need.

As organizations responsible for the public’s safety and well being are forced to increase the cost effectiveness and efficiency of their operations, they turn to technological solutions to achieve those results. Implementing server based technology solutions helped them realize the benefits of sharing and collecting information between divisions, departments, and, ultimately employees. Today, the demand is for instant information to advance the quality and delivery of their services - through the use of Mobile Workforce technology solutions. Mobile devices are becoming the mode of operation in organizations trying to maximize their resources, innovate in their delivery of services and guarantee the timeliness and accuracy of their response. Geomatics and GPS solutions encompassing server technology, corporate data, wireless networks and mobile devices are becoming prevalent in public safety today.

The presentation is designed to be informative, with an unbiased view towards any technology solution or deployment method. The speaker will discuss different ways of configuring the Geomatics and GPS delivery system including how the data is managed, what GPS options, mobile devices and applications are available, and some innovative ways of maximizing your public safety investment in these technologies.

 Captain Mary Ann Gilchrist BScN, RN ENC(C): "Military Medical Creativity in Afghanistan"

Since the Taliban regime fell in 2001, Canada has steadily increased its military presence in Afghanistan. Canada has a major role in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and has over 2000 soldiers based around Khandahar. Insurgent activity inevitably leads to injuries to both civilians and military personnel alike.

While serving in Kandahar medical staff come across a multitude of field injuries and illnesses that test their critical care abilities. And since they also deal daily with limited resources military medical personnel are challenged to "think outside the box" as part of their routine. The phrase "MacGyver" medicine is commonly used to describe the atmosphere surrounding the Role 3 Multi-National Medical Unit. This presentation will outline creative problem solving using the resources around you, providing concrete examples of military medical personnel make it work in wartime settings.

Mr. Jan Benedict Wandek: Australia's Answer to the Interoperability Question

The one common finding after every incident, disaster and planning exercise is that communications between agencies is found to be less than optimal to provide public safety support. Black Saturday's Bush Fires in the State of Victoria in February of 2009 proved to be no exception. The magnitude of that event - with emergency operations centres (EOC) themselves cut off from attending personnel - gave rise to finding a solution that did not depend on having a specific geographic location or upon costly or complicated interfaces between public safety agencies. Nor would the solution call for a need to have municipal representatives be physically present in the EOC.

This presentation will preview the National Safety Agencies answer - a solution that allows for the sharing of information and managing the operations and decision-making of all multi-agency emergency coordination centres involved in any major incident or event. The solution has a familar format and structure that can be quickly adapted to any environment with a minimal amount of training required to set it up, providing an umbrella of communications between stakeholders.