A Well-Deserved Word of Thanks

Thanks to your support, EMS World Expo continues to surge forward and surpass attendance expectations year over year. In 2026, we’ve added a new spring conference to meet the increased demand for trusted hands-on education and unmatched networking events.

If you’re reading this in print, you’re likely on-site in Austin for EMS World Live, a new spring conference held in partnership with our colleagues at FlightBridgeED. You can read the conference guide in the back half of this special issue for information on faculty, key sessions and important attendee information.

EMS World Expo—which will be held Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2026 in Orlando—remains our flagship event and the one can’t-miss conference of the year for EMTs, paramedics, academia, critical care transport nurses, EMS physicians, researchers, officers, chiefs, and associated professionals with a passion for shaping the future of prehospital care.

EMS World Live and EMS World Expo simply could not happen without the support and collaboration of our valued local host agencies.

These trusted partners open their doors and spend countless hours in preparatory meetings. They provide volunteers to staff the event, organize ridealongs and trauma tours, participate in educational presentations and social events, and help us deliver unforgettable opening ceremonies complete with honor guard, pipe and drum corps, National Anthem performers and welcome remarks from local luminaries.

Put simply, they go above and beyond to serve as gracious hosts for our many thousands of attendees and play a key role in organizing an event of this magnitude. We are truly grateful.

This year at our inaugural EMS World Live event, our friends at Austin-Travis County EMS have stepped up to deliver an unforgettable gathering. See pages 20-23 of this issue to learn more about this top-tier service and how they are moving the industry forward. Don't miss our general session on Friday morning May 29 as ATCEMS Chief Rob Luckritz, president-elect of NAEMT, leads a panel of EMS responders for an exclusive in-depth debrief of an active shooter response in downtown Austin in March.

Orange County Fire Rescue is our boots-on-the-ground partner for EMS World Expo 2026. In addition to all the support outlined above, OCFR will present a one-of-a-kind ASHER training workshop on Tuesday Sept. 29. Keep up with us by visiting emsworldexpo.com and signing up for our mailing list with key announcements and updates.

Of course, we’d be remiss in not acknowledging the agencies that have assisted us in years past—Las Vegas Fire Rescue, Indianapolis EMS, New Orleans EMS, Nasvhille Fire Dept. and the list goes on. In the coming years, EMS World will be reconnecting with friends and colleagues in familiar cities—New Orleans, Las Vegas—as well as venturing out into new and exciting locations such as Charlotte and San Antonio.

We look forward to meeting you at a future EMS World Live and EMS World Expo. And if you are affiliated with any of these metropolitan EMS services, we thank you in advance for your hospitality.  

Jonathan Bassett, MA, NREMT, is senior content and program director for EMS World. He can be reached at jbassett@hmpglobal.com.