Over 250 people attended Superior’s inaugural symposium at the Rosemont Convention Center in Illinois, Saturday, February 22 – Sunday, February 23, 2025. Attendees listened to lectures, participated in continuing education (CE), networked with fellow EMS professionals and more during the two-day event. The theme – Start to Finish: Providing World Class Care.
Saturday kicked off with a welcome from Brad Stephens, IL State Rep. and Village President of Rosemont and David Hill III, CEO of Superior Ambulance. Dr. George Chiampas, Chief Medical Officer of U.S. Soccer and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, followed the welcome with a presentation about the marathon, the biggest event Superior staffs every year. Dr. Chiampas presented on the importance of marathon medicine and providing a unified approach to one of the largest races by finishers worldwide, emphasizing the impact Superior has on the event.
Scott DeBoer, founder of Pedi-Ed-Trics, presented on the importance of pediatric care in a fun and engaging way, using SpongeBob and Jeopardy to refresh EMS professionals on the essentials of pediatric care. He also led a few breakout sessions diving deeper into the topic.
Throughout the day, Superior hosted a Mega Code On The Go competition, challenging crews to evaluate a patient in a marathon-like scenario. Biking through traffic, administering CPR and loading a patient were all included in the competition. The crew that completed the course the fastest without endangering others won a grand prize of two $500 gift cards thanks to Hub’s sponsorship.
Various expo booths from our sponsors were also available for attendees to view. This included a virtual reality (VR) headset brought over from our partner school, Life Support Training Institute (LSTI)! The VR allowed employees to explore different systems in the human body. LSTI currently uses this technology to enforce concepts learned in EMT class in Michigan, and Superior hopes to bring this to EMT classes in the rest of our five-state footprint soon!
Lunch was provided during our keynote speaker’s presentation. Amanda Gaylord, a paramedic and inspirational speaker, told her amazing story of recovery from an accident with an 18-wheeler in April 2024. Her journey from paramedic to patient was inspirational and moved many Superior employees.
Other presentations included The Legal Side of EMS by Kim Godden, Radio Reports by Sara Van Dusseldorp, Unique Challenges of Mass Scale Running Events by Greg Hipp, and discussions about disaster deployment from leaders at Pafford Ambulance and Superior’s Indiana and Illinois teams.
Day one of sessions concluded with Asbel Montes and Loida Howell discussing the importance of “Grace under Pressure” and what it takes to lead from a position of grace.
Honoring Superior employees at the Awards Celebration Saturday night was the highlight of the event! Employees from all five states were recognized for most calls run, saves and years served with the company. The event concluded with a comedy show and music from the band Vital Signs.
Day two of the Superior Symposium included ACLS, CPR and PALS renewal classes, along with presentations from Dr. Scott French, Superior’s Medical Director, and Kim Godden, Vice President of Legal, Corporate Compliance, Education and Government Relations at Superior. The symposium concluded with a presentation from Superior’s executive team on the company’s vision for providing world class care in 2025 and beyond.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event and to our generous sponsors for supporting Superior’s inaugural symposium! We look forward to next year’s event!
