By EMS1 staff
EMS leaders will gather July 13-16, 2026, at the Sheraton San Diego Resort in San Diego, California, for Pinnacle 2026, a conference focused on leadership, workforce strategy, clinical innovation and the future of mobile healthcare.
EMS1 is proud to be the Premier Media Partner for Pinnacle, supporting the exchange of ideas and insights that help EMS leaders address the profession’s most pressing challenges.
This year’s event comes at a critical time for the industry. EMS agencies continue to face staffing shortages, rising call volumes, fatigue, financial strain and increased expectations from communities, clinicians and system partners. Pinnacle offers leaders a place to step back from daily operations, examine what is changing and identify practical strategies to bring home.
EMS1 and Fitch & Associates will also debut the What Paramedics Want in 2026 Report in conjunction with the conference. EMS leaders can bookmark ems1.com/ems-trend-report to get their copy when the report is released.
Featured sessions
The Pinnacle 2026 agenda includes sessions on workforce sustainability, retention, preparedness, leadership, clinical innovation and organizational culture.
- The opening keynote, “One Second After: Preparedness, Leadership, and the Fragility of Modern Society,” will feature William R. Forstchen, American historian and author. The session will challenge EMS and public safety leaders to consider how their agencies would operate during catastrophic disruptions to power, communications, healthcare, supply chains and other critical systems.
- On July 13, “Burnout and Fatigue in EMS & Fire: Shared Responsibility or System Failure?” will examine one of the most difficult issues facing public safety agencies. Led by Steve Knight, senior partner, Fitch & Associates, the session will explore the organizational, operational and personal contributors to fatigue, including staffing models, deployment practices, secondary employment, financial stress and readiness for duty.
- On July 14, the Women in Leadership session will continue the conversation from last year’s preconference program, with a focus on advancing leadership opportunities, addressing gender-based barriers and building more inclusive public safety organizations.
- On July 15, “What Paramedics Want: Key Insights from the 2026 EMS Trend Survey” will offer a first look at findings from the latest EMS workforce research. Presented by Joe Coons, director of safety and communications center manager, LifeFlight Eagle, and Kerri Hatt, editor-in-chief, EMS1, Lexipol, the session will examine what paramedics value, expect and need from their organizations, including leadership support, compensation, culture, wellness and career pathways.
- The July 15 session “On-Demand Whole Blood: How Drone Technology Could Transform Field Resuscitation” will explore how drone delivery could expand access to whole blood in the field. The discussion will address operational considerations, costs, shelf-life challenges and the potential for drones to improve prehospital resuscitation logistics.
- Pinnacle closes July 16 with “Retention Over Recruitment: Rethinking the EMS Workforce Crisis,” presented by Aaron Dix of Prisma Health. The keynote will challenge EMS leaders to focus less on reactive hiring and more on building organizations where people want to stay.
Featured speakers
Pinnacle 2026 brings together EMS, public safety, clinical, legal, operational and technology leaders, including:
- Kelly Cope, faculty, Fitch & Associates, LLC
- Remle Crowe, director of clinical and operational research, ESO
- Kevin Fairlie, attorney, Fairlie Law, LLC
- Kerri Hatt, editor-in-chief, EMS1, Lexipol
- David Hyatt, chief, Union Emergency Med
- Brandon Jones, deputy chief of fields operations, St. Charles County Ambulance District
- Steve Knight, senior partner, Fitch & Associates
- Douglas Kupas, president, NAEMSP
- Henry Lewis, executive director, South Carolina EMS Association
- Bruce Moeller, executive director, Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services University of South Florida
- Jamie Pafford-Gresham, president and CEO, Pafford Emergency Medical Services
- Ed Racht, chief medical officer, Global Medical Response (GMR)
- Todd Stout, founder and president, FirstWatch
- Carly Strong, chief operating officer, Lifeline Ambulance
- Mike Taigman, improvement guide, FirstWatch
- David K. Tan, chief medical officer & medical director, St. Charles County Ambulance District
- Gerad Troutman, associate chief medical officer, innovation for Global Medical Response
- Chris Way, president, NAEMT
Register for Pinnacle 2026
Pinnacle 2026 will be held July 13-16, 2026, at the Sheraton San Diego Resort in San Diego, California.
To view the agenda, hotel information and registration details, visit pinnacle-ems.com.
