Location: Oak Brook, Illinois

With disruption coming from every angle, from government to the tech industry, leaders have a seize-the-moment opportunity to take on the big questions shaping Illinois healthcare. This year’s Leadership Summit will explore how to shift from reactive survival strategies to proactive transformation initiatives. National experts and leaders across our state will discuss productively engaging with decision-makers and influencers in their orbit. You’ll benefit from participating in candid conversations and connecting with peer leaders as our Illinois hospital community navigates disruption together.

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Location: Virtual

For five consecutive years, deficiencies under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Patient’s Rights Condition of Participation have been the most frequently cited among Illinois hospitals. Nationally, Patient’s Rights also consistently ranks among the top condition-level deficiencies identified by CMS and accrediting organizations, including DNV and Joint Commission. This webinar will help hospital staff understand the requirements behind many of these findings.

You’ll learn about CMS requirements for providing care in a safe environment, particularly for patients at risk of suicide or receiving behavioral health services; preventing and responding to abuse; and using restraints and seclusion. The program will also address CMS definitions, documentation requirements and restraint-death reporting. These requirements apply to every patient receiving care in the hospital, making it critical for staff across departments to understand their responsibilities.

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Location: Virtual

Compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is an organization-wide responsibility. Decisions involving medical screening examinations, on-call physician responsibilities, available services, and patient transfers may cross departments and involve external organizations. This three-part webinar series will translate federal EMTALA requirements and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interpretive guidance into practical strategies hospitals can apply across the organization. 

Using recent federal enforcement actions, including from Illinois and other states, participants will examine:

• Recent updates to CMS interpretive guidance;

• Requirements for an adequate medical screening examination;

• Behavioral health and obstetric emergency scenarios;

• EMTALA signage requirements;

• Stabilization standards and appropriate patient transfer requirements;

• Recipient hospital responsibilities under EMTALA;

• On-call coverage expectations and physician response obligations; and

• Documentation requirements for high-risk EMTALA situations, including patients who leave against medical advice or without being seen.

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

Compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is an organization-wide responsibility. Decisions involving medical screening examinations, on-call physician responsibilities, available services, and patient transfers may cross departments and involve external organizations. This three-part webinar series will translate federal EMTALA requirements and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interpretive guidance into practical strategies hospitals can apply across the organization. 

Using recent federal enforcement actions, including from Illinois and other states, participants will examine:

• Recent updates to CMS interpretive guidance;

• Requirements for an adequate medical screening examination;

• Behavioral health and obstetric emergency scenarios;

• EMTALA signage requirements;

• Stabilization standards and appropriate patient transfer requirements;

• Recipient hospital responsibilities under EMTALA;

• On-call coverage expectations and physician response obligations; and

• Documentation requirements for high-risk EMTALA situations, including patients who leave against medical advice or without being seen.

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revises its Conditions of Participation (CoPs) regularly, challenging hospitals to adapt their processes to keep pace with evolving regulations and avoid costly citations. For Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), staying in compliance means mastering a 300-plus page State Operations Manual, absorbing constant updates from CMS, and navigating new survey protocols and interpretive guidelines. Your hospital’s compliance strategy must continually evolve to keep pace with new regulations and the latest standards of care.

Over the past year, CMS has updated CAH regulations and guidelines in several key areas, including emergency preparedness, nutritional services and care for obstetrical patients, even at CAHs without organized obstetrical services. Although the CAH manual does not include a dedicated Patient Rights section, CAHs must still maintain a safe care environment and uphold all patient rights.

This series will address recent regulatory changes affecting infection prevention and control, Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement, and discharge planning, as well as requirements that lack interpretive guidelines. You’ll also examine key compliance requirements related to nursing care plans, medication management, informed consent, and required policies and procedures.

Nationally recognized regulatory expert Nancy Ruzicka, BS, RPh, MBA, MJ, CHC, will lead this 10-hour intensive webinar series designed for CAH leaders and staff. Across three sessions, Ruzicka will walk you through what’s required, what’s new and where CAHs may be most at risk.

Why Attend?
Maintain compliance and minimize your risk of survey citations. Attend to learn the latest CMS requirements and stay survey ready. 

Whether you’re managing patient rights compliance, preparing for a routine recertification survey, or dealing with an unexpected complaint investigation, this program will give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to lead your next survey or handle your next unexpected complaint investigation with certainty. You’ll receive practical compliance strategies tailored for CAHs, with each of the three sessions offering insights into the most commonly cited deficiencies in Illinois and across the nation.

What You’ll Learn
Each session will provide a deep dive into the full CAH manual, focusing on:

Frequently cited CoPs in Illinois CAHs:

• Patient Rights, including restraint use

• Physical Environment including Life Safety Code and Maintenance

• Emergency Preparedness

• Swing Bed Services

Regulatory changes and upcoming revisions:

• Emergency Services and Transfers for Obstetrical Emergencies (2025-2027)

• Patient Rights

• Nutritional  Services

• Infection Prevention Program

• Antibiotic Stewardship Program

• Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI)

• Updated Swing Bed Requirements (including Appendix PP tags)

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

Compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is an organization-wide responsibility. Decisions involving medical screening examinations, on-call physician responsibilities, available services, and patient transfers may cross departments and involve external organizations. This three-part webinar series will translate federal EMTALA requirements and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interpretive guidance into practical strategies hospitals can apply across the organization. 

Using recent federal enforcement actions, including from Illinois and other states, participants will examine:

• Recent updates to CMS interpretive guidance;

• Requirements for an adequate medical screening examination;

• Behavioral health and obstetric emergency scenarios;

• EMTALA signage requirements;

• Stabilization standards and appropriate patient transfer requirements;

• Recipient hospital responsibilities under EMTALA;

• On-call coverage expectations and physician response obligations; and

• Documentation requirements for high-risk EMTALA situations, including patients who leave against medical advice or without being seen.

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revises its Conditions of Participation (CoPs) regularly, challenging hospitals to adapt their processes to keep pace with evolving regulations and avoid costly citations. For Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), staying in compliance means mastering a 300-plus page State Operations Manual, absorbing constant updates from CMS, and navigating new survey protocols and interpretive guidelines. Your hospital’s compliance strategy must continually evolve to keep pace with new regulations and the latest standards of care.

Over the past year, CMS has updated CAH regulations and guidelines in several key areas, including emergency preparedness, nutritional services and care for obstetrical patients, even at CAHs without organized obstetrical services. Although the CAH manual does not include a dedicated Patient Rights section, CAHs must still maintain a safe care environment and uphold all patient rights.

This series will address recent regulatory changes affecting infection prevention and control, Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement, and discharge planning, as well as requirements that lack interpretive guidelines. You’ll also examine key compliance requirements related to nursing care plans, medication management, informed consent, and required policies and procedures.

Nationally recognized regulatory expert Nancy Ruzicka, BS, RPh, MBA, MJ, CHC, will lead this 10-hour intensive webinar series designed for CAH leaders and staff. Across three sessions, Ruzicka will walk you through what’s required, what’s new and where CAHs may be most at risk.

Why Attend?
Maintain compliance and minimize your risk of survey citations. Attend to learn the latest CMS requirements and stay survey ready. 

Whether you’re managing patient rights compliance, preparing for a routine recertification survey, or dealing with an unexpected complaint investigation, this program will give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to lead your next survey or handle your next unexpected complaint investigation with certainty. You’ll receive practical compliance strategies tailored for CAHs, with each of the three sessions offering insights into the most commonly cited deficiencies in Illinois and across the nation.

What You’ll Learn
Each session will provide a deep dive into the full CAH manual, focusing on:

Frequently cited CoPs in Illinois CAHs:

• Patient Rights, including restraint use

• Physical Environment including Life Safety Code and Maintenance

• Emergency Preparedness

• Swing Bed Services

Regulatory changes and upcoming revisions:

• Emergency Services and Transfers for Obstetrical Emergencies (2025-2027)

• Patient Rights

• Nutritional  Services

• Infection Prevention Program

• Antibiotic Stewardship Program

• Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI)

• Updated Swing Bed Requirements (including Appendix PP tags)

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, but its growing capabilities also introduce new risks to patient care, workforce stability, communications, cybersecurity, and healthcare operations. The 2026 IHA Emergency Preparedness Exercise, “Broken Trust: AI Takes Control,” will challenge Illinois hospitals and health systems to respond to a sophisticated cyber incident in which AI is weaponized to amplify the attack, manipulate trusted information and communications, disrupt the healthcare workforce, and create cascading impacts to clinical and business operations.

This live interactive webinar will immerse multidisciplinary hospital teams statewide in an evolving scenario designed to evaluate and strengthen organizational decision-making, cyber resilience, continuity strategies, communication pathways, and workforce stability. Throughout the exercise, participants will respond to scenario injects, assess critical operational decisions, and benchmark their approaches with hospitals and health systems across Illinois.

Learn More About This Event

Location: Virtual

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revises its Conditions of Participation (CoPs) regularly, challenging hospitals to adapt their processes to keep pace with evolving regulations and avoid costly citations. For Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), staying in compliance means mastering a 300-plus page State Operations Manual, absorbing constant updates from CMS, and navigating new survey protocols and interpretive guidelines. Your hospital’s compliance strategy must continually evolve to keep pace with new regulations and the latest standards of care.

Over the past year, CMS has updated CAH regulations and guidelines in several key areas, including emergency preparedness, nutritional services and care for obstetrical patients, even at CAHs without organized obstetrical services. Although the CAH manual does not include a dedicated Patient Rights section, CAHs must still maintain a safe care environment and uphold all patient rights.

This series will address recent regulatory changes affecting infection prevention and control, Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement, and discharge planning, as well as requirements that lack interpretive guidelines. You’ll also examine key compliance requirements related to nursing care plans, medication management, informed consent, and required policies and procedures.

Nationally recognized regulatory expert Nancy Ruzicka, BS, RPh, MBA, MJ, CHC, will lead this 10-hour intensive webinar series designed for CAH leaders and staff. Across three sessions, Ruzicka will walk you through what’s required, what’s new and where CAHs may be most at risk.

Why Attend?
Maintain compliance and minimize your risk of survey citations. Attend to learn the latest CMS requirements and stay survey ready. 

Whether you’re managing patient rights compliance, preparing for a routine recertification survey, or dealing with an unexpected complaint investigation, this program will give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to lead your next survey or handle your next unexpected complaint investigation with certainty. You’ll receive practical compliance strategies tailored for CAHs, with each of the three sessions offering insights into the most commonly cited deficiencies in Illinois and across the nation.

What You’ll Learn
Each session will provide a deep dive into the full CAH manual, focusing on:

Frequently cited CoPs in Illinois CAHs:

• Patient Rights, including restraint use

• Physical Environment including Life Safety Code and Maintenance

• Emergency Preparedness

• Swing Bed Services

Regulatory changes and upcoming revisions:

• Emergency Services and Transfers for Obstetrical Emergencies (2025-2027)

• Patient Rights

• Nutritional  Services

• Infection Prevention Program

• Antibiotic Stewardship Program

• Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI)

• Updated Swing Bed Requirements (including Appendix PP tags)

Learn More About This Event