Tentative Conference Agenda

Thursday November 5, 2026

6:00 PM -7:00 PM                Welcome Reception

Friday, November 6, 2026

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM     Opening Keynote

Building Moral Resilience: Supporting Teams Through Ethical Challenges and Burnout

Healthcare professionals regularly face ethical challenges that can create moral distress, contribute to burnout, and ultimately impact workforce retention, patient safety, and organizational culture. Drawing on the work of Dr. Cynda Rushton and the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, this keynote explores moral resilience and the capacity to preserve or restore integrity in the face of moral adversity. Attendees will examine the relationship between ethical challenges, workforce well-being, and high-quality care, while learning practical strategies to support individuals and teams during times of stress and uncertainty. The session will highlight leadership approaches that foster psychological safety, ethical practice, and organizational resilience. Participants will leave with actionable insights for creating environments where caregivers can thrive while continuing to deliver safe, compassionate care.

Presented by:

Cynda Hyton Rushton, Ph.D., RN

Dr. Cynda Hylton Rushton, an international leader in bioethics and nursing, is the Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the School of Nursing, and co-chairs the Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Ethics Committee and Consultation Service.  Dr. Rushton is the chief synergy strategist for Maryland’s R3 Resilient Nurses Initiative, a statewide initiative to build resilience and ethical practice in nursing students and novice nurses.  She is co-creator of the Mindful Ethical Practice and Resilience Academy (MEPRA). She serves on the Nursing Advisory Board for Corporate Counseling Associates. Dr. Rushton is a Hastings Center Fellow, Past-Chair of the Hastings Center Fellows Council, and Trustee Emeritus and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. The recipient of many awards, she received the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Distinguished Career Award and the Distinguished Researcher award from American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is the editor and author of Moral Resilience: Transforming Moral Suffering in Healthcare and co-creator of the Rushton Moral Resilience Scale (RMRS).

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM     ASHRM Update

Presented by: Katherine Du Fresne RN, MSN, CPHRM, President of ASHRM

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM     Coffee Break – With Sponsors  

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM     

Strategies for Promoting Professional Resilience for the Risk Manager 

Risk management is demanding work and may carry emotional weight and worries beyond working hours. Accident investigators may experience psychological harm that can snowball further. This session will explore challenges such as critical incident stress, emotional labor, & abusive supervision. Warning signs for the busy risk professional will be shared along with strategies to prioritize a work-life balance and sustainable resiliency of the risk professional.    

Presented by: Tatum O’Sullivan, RN, BSN, MHSA, CPHRM, DFASHRM, CPPS

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM     

Risks Associated with AI implementation

Healthcare risk managers must navigate complex compliance, liability, and operational changes when implementing AI in clinical settings. This session will explore risk management and patient safety exposures such as Algorithmic and Automation Bias, Diagnostic Error, and Data Privacy Violations.  Presenters will share strategies to effectively manage these emerging risks and tips for the creation of a structured governance framework.

Presented by: Alexandra P. Moylan, Valentino Papa & Eileen Kasda, DrPH, MHS

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM     Networking Lunch – Visit with Sponsors 

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM     

Communicating Diagnostic Findings & Impact of Documentation on Claims / Litigation 

Communicating diagnostic findings and maintaining clinical documentation are the two most critical pillars of defense in medical malpractice litigation. For a healthcare risk manager, understanding how breakdowns in these areas drive claims is essential to establishing protocols that protect both patients and the organization. This session will present strategies to reduce communication risk related to diagnostic findings and strategies  to improve the impact of documentation on potential claims / litigation.

Presented by: Myka Whitman Myka Whitman MHL, BSN, RN, CPPS, CPHQ, CPHFH, CPHRM, FASHRM & Karen McKinney

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM     

Signal Over Silence: Changing Workplace Violence Culture One Flag at a Time

Workplace violence is a persistent healthcare threat driving burnout, turnover, and patient safety risks. This session highlights a scalable, system-wide model promoting zero tolerance through culture change, featuring an EHR-integrated “Orange Banner” aggressive patient alert and a buddy sign to notify non-clinical staff, improving communication and response across a 20+ hospital system.   

Presented by: Jerri Kirkland, RN, Lisa Weishner, MS, CPHRM & Solange Taylor, BSN, Esq., CPHRM

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM     Coffee Break with Sponsors 

3:15 PM - 4:15 PM     Closing Keynote

Partnering for Patient Safety: From Tragedy to Transformation

In this powerful closing keynote, Deahna Visscher will share the lessons learned from tragedy, the challenges families face after harm occurs, and the profound impact that can happen when healthcare organizations truly partner with patients and families. Attendees will gain insight into the importance of transparency, communication, trust-building, and the role family voices play in driving meaningful and lasting improvements in patient safety.

Presented by:

Deahna Visscher

Deahna Visscher is an internationally recognized patient safety advocate whose work has driven meaningful improvements in clinical practice, risk mitigation, and healthcare system reliability. Her advocacy began following the preventable death of her infant son due to a misplaced nasogastric (NG) feeding tube, an event that highlighted critical gaps in safety protocols and verification processes. Since that time, Ms. Visscher has collaborated with healthcare leaders, clinicians, and national organizations to advance evidence-based safeguards aimed at eliminating preventable harm. She has contributed to the development of standardized practices for enteral feeding tube verification and has been actively involved in initiatives such as the NOVEL Project and the Patient Safety Movement Foundation’s Actionable Patient Safety Solutions. A sought-after speaker, Ms. Visscher has presented national and international forums, including the World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit, where she shares insights on system failures, human factors, and sustainable safety improvements. Her work emphasizes transparency, accountability, and the integration of patient and family perspectives into risk management strategies. Through her continued advocacy, Ms. Visscher brings a powerful voice to the healthcare risk management community, bridging personal experience with system-level change to support safer, more reliable care delivery.

This meeting has been approved for a total of 6.0 contact hours of Continuing Education Credit toward fulfillment of the requirements of ASHRM designations of FASHRM (Fellow) and DFASHRM (Distinguished Fellow) and towards CPHRM renewal.

An application to provide CPPS Renewal Credits will be submitted for this program.

The Conference will be held at the Turf Valley Resort and MASHRM has negotiated a special discounted rate of $153 per night for our members, sponsors and presenters.  Please click here to make your reservation. 

Click Here to Download Conference Information in PDF 

Click Here to Register as a Sponsor 

Tickets

$199.00 Onsite Attendee- Member Registration

$199.00 Online Attendee - Member Registration

$250.00 Onsite Attendee - Non Member Registration

$250.00 Online Attendee - Non Member Registration