Across the country, EMS agencies are confronting industry-altering operational and financial pressures. Addressing those challenges was the central focus of EMS|MC’s EMSpire 2025, as leaders from across the industry examined these trends through data and case studies designed to help leaders understand what’s changing and how to respond effectively.
This year, EMS Management & Consultants (EMS|MC) welcomed more than 200 EMS professionals in Green Bay, WI, and Charleston, SC, marking one of the most engaged and insightful conference seasons to date.(Click here to see all of the photo highlights from both locations)
What Attendees Revealed About EMS Needs in 2025
Throughout both events, attendee feedback pointed to multiple priorities within the profession. Collaboration and peer-to-peer learning were repeatedly emphasized as essential, with many noting that the ability to share approaches with other agencies was just as valuable as the sessions themselves. Others highlighted the need for clearer guidance around rapidly evolving technologies with A.I. reflected in comments such as “AI in healthcare kept my attention the whole time” and “Loved the AI session. . .very informative and engaging.” Several described the programming as “relevant and timely,” reinforcing the need for practical direction in a landscape defined by reimbursement changes, documentation expectations and workforce pressures.
Financial Sustainability
This year’s programming took a comprehensive look at what is shaping EMS, from financial strategy and mental health to documentation standards, AI adoption and preparing the next generation of leaders. Presenters reinforced a central theme: change is accelerating, and agencies must be equipped to adapt with confidence.
Financial sustainability took the spotlight as PWW Advisory Group EMS & Mobile Healthcare Consultant Matt Zavadsky urged agencies to better leverage available reimbursement opportunities, reminding attendees that “we are leaving revenue on the table if we are not billing for treatment-in-place. . .The primary driver of your cost is readiness.” (Revisit the Pulse of EMS Finance Webinar Series)
Leadership, Culture and Workforce Resilience
At Southeast, EMS|MC Chief Compliance Officer and PWW|AG Consultant Ryan Stark reframed leadership excellence, opening his session with the reminder that “interactions with human beings can have just as positive of an impact as saving someone.” His message was centered on culture, communication, and the long-term influence of ethical leadership on employee retention and patient care.
Mental health also emerged as a defining topic. In their session on building resilience, The Code Green Campaign’s RJ Morrison and Amy Gnojek asked attendees to identify their agency’s most urgent mental health needs. The most common answer: overcoming stigma. As Gnojek emphasized, “We need to stop treating mental health like it’s a character flaw, but as the occupational hazard that it is.”
AI Adoption: Opportunity, Caution and Immediate Application
Artificial intelligence remained front-and-center across both conferences. EMS|MC Chief Technology Officer Bill Sweeney and PWW Advisory Group’s Dr. Shannon Gollnick guided attendees through emerging applications and risks, outlining ways agencies can incorporate AI into revenue operations, QA workflows, and clinical support systems. Sweeney underscored the importance of intentional adoption, cautioning, “There is a need to use this tool, but a cautionary tale to prevent it from stealing from you.” With AI beginning to reshape reimbursement processes and care models, attendees expressed strong interest in practical, actionable direction.
Ethical Leadership and Decision-Making
One of the sessions that pushed leaders to examine their decision-making more critically came during PWW Advisory Group Co-Founder Steve Wirth’s presentation, “Doing What’s Right: Ethical Leadership and Moral Courage in EMS Decision-Making.” Drawing on decades of experience as both a paramedic and EMS attorney, Wirth challenged leaders to confront the complexities of modern EMS decision-making and emphasized that strong leadership requires compassion, integrity, and the courage to act when it matters most. “Ethical decision making requires strong self-esteem,” Wirth stressed, before outlining his seven-point ethical action test:
- Is it legal?
- Is it consistent with our values?
- Is it balanced?
- Would I do it to my family or friends?
- Would I do it to myself?
- Would the most ethical person I know do it?
- How will it make me feel about myself?
Preparing for the Next Generation of EMS Leaders
- The leadership development panel that closed EMSpire Southeast gathered national voices to discuss how the EMS workforce must evolve to meet future challenges:
- “Give space for people to make mistakes—it’s essential for teaching administration skills,” shared Heather Stenbroten of Gold Cross Ambulance.
- “Listen more than you talk and practice emotional intelligence,” advised PWW Advisory Group’s Co-Founder Steve Wirth.
- PWW Advisory Group’s consultant Matt Zavadsky added that younger leaders “grew up questioning everything—don’t be afraid of that.”
- Director/Chief John Michael Poss emphasized early talent identification: “Right from orientation, we start identifying those with potential and building them early.”
- AIMHI President/former Board Member of the American Ambulance Association/EMS1 Editor Rob Lawrence stressed adaptability: “In order to survive we must adapt—and we must adapt by mentoring the next generation of leaders.”
Read Rob Lawrence’s full write-up of the panel discussion from EMSpire Midwest.
A Shared Purpose and a Look Toward 2026
Throughout both events, EMS|MC CEO George Abatjoglou set the tone with a message about purpose, change and collaboration: “Revenue, reimbursement, staffing, technology challenges—these are areas changing super-fast. When we gather in a place like this, it allows us to learn from one another. This conference is about you, not us.”
With EMSpire 2025 now complete, EMS|MC is already planning multiple EMSpire events for 2026 with expanded innovation tracks, deeper compliance and revenue content, and even more opportunities for agencies nationwide to collaborate, connect and prepare for the future of EMS.