An older adult falls at home. There is pain, a long medication list, and a story that is not quite clear. What happened before the fall, and what could happen next?

For EMS and emergency care teams, these encounters call for a careful look at how injury, illness, medications, and the patient’s usual level of function come together. Understanding that overlap is central to recognizing risk and planning the next steps.

For our final episode of the 2026 season, we are pleased to welcome a new face to our Emergency Education Night community: Dr. Gerald Pankratz, a UW Health geriatrician, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Services Chief in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at UW–Madison. He also serves as the clinical lead for UW Health’s interdisciplinary Geriatrics Clinic and Mobility and Falls Clinics.

Dr. Pankratz's work in falls prevention, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and medication management brings a valuable perspective to the emergencies our teams encounter every day.

In “The Aging Emergency,” we will explore how frailty, anticoagulation, and coexisting medical conditions influence the assessment and care of older trauma patients. The discussion will address the overlap between medical illness and injury, practical adaptations to prehospital care, and the role of EMS in preventing secondary injury.

We will also examine how information about medications, baseline function, and changes in the patient’s condition can support communication between EMS and the receiving emergency department.

As we close another season of learning together, we return to a purpose that connects every episode: caring for people whose lives, families, and independence may be changed by an emergency. Thank you for bringing your experience, questions, and commitment to these conversations.

Join us in welcoming Dr. Pankratz and closing the year with lessons to carry into the next call.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for EMS providers of all levels, including:

• Emergency Medical Responders
• EMT Basic
• Advanced EMTs
• Paramedics
• Critical Care Paramedics
• Emergency department nurses
• Advanced practice providers
• Physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in emergency and prehospital care

General Educational Objectives

Upon participation in this activity, EMS and emergency care professionals will be able to:

1. Define hidden or silent hypoxia and describe why patients may appear clinically stable despite inadequate oxygenation.
2. Explain the physiologic mechanisms that contribute to silent hypoxia in patients with COPD, sepsis, overdose, and evolving respiratory failure.
3. Identify subtle assessment findings and vital sign trends that may indicate early respiratory deterioration before obvious distress or collapse.
4. Apply evidence informed assessment, oxygenation, ventilation, capnography, reassessment and early notification strategies to patients at risk for respiratory failure

Continuing Education and Accreditation

This activity provides 1.0 Continuing Education Hour through the University of Wisconsin Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership.

EMS Providers: This activity is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE). Granting of CAPCE credit does not represent endorsement by CAPCE or its board members.

EMS participants must attend the live session in its entirety and complete the required attendance verification and evaluation within 30 days to receive continuing education credit.

Cost

There is no cost to attend this activity.

Register here for the live session: "The Aging Emergency": Complex Geriatric Trauma and Medical Overlap