About
The Oregon EMS Conference has been the premier conference for prehospital providers in Oregon since 1991.
Our focus and mission is Excellence in Education for providers within Oregon and the Northwest.
History
The Oregon EMS Conference began in 1974 Skip Kirkwood, then State EMS manager, and David Long, then Director of the Oregon Training Education Research Foundation (OTREF) founded the Oregon EMS Conference more than 31 years ago. The two believed in the importance of holding an annual EMS Conference to ensure rural providers of Oregon had access to excellence in prehospital training. The first Conference was held in the Portland area in 1992. This Conference included the first EMS and Trauma Office’s Awards Banquet.
Since then, the Oregon EMS Conference has been held throughout the State of Oregon and grown into one of the largest EMS Conferences in the Northwest.
Attendees from Alaska, Washington, California, and Idaho regularly attend this event. Our Conference features renowned national speakers and local experts from Oregon. The conference committee comprises volunteers from across the state, including Community Colleges, Hospitals, EMS providers, private and public EMS systems, vendors, and other allied healthcare professionals.
In 2022 the Conference moved from under the nonprofit status of OTREF to the Oregon EMS Association (OREMSA). This change brought a new wave of leadership and a partnership with the OREMSA. 2024 will see the Conference move to a new venue to continue to extend our reach across the entire state while maintaining an affordable conference.