UPMC Hamot 2025 APPalooza APP Pearls for Practice

September 26, 2025

Celebrate National APP Week with Us at Two Exciting Events on Friday, September 26!

This year, we’re bringing both signature APP events together on one dynamic day!

APPalooza Conference

7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Lincoln Education Room - UPMC Hamot
Free to attend • Virtual option available

Start your day with a full slate of educational opportunities at the APPalooza Conference. Join your fellow Advanced Practice Providers for a comprehensive and engaging experience focused on the latest clinical updates, practical workshops, and skills-building sessions designed to support your professional growth. Each session includes interactive Q&A time with expert presenters. Can't make it in person? We've got you covered with a virtual attendance option!

Advanced Practice Providers Appreciation Evening

6 p.m.
Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center, Erie, PA

Join us for an evening of celebration as we honor you! The Advanced Practice Providers Appreciation Event will feature beverages and heavy hors d'oeuvres for you and a guest to enjoy while we recognize your hard work and dedication.

Attend one or both — we’d love to see you at both!

Target Audience

This program is designed specifically for advanced practice providers interested in updating their practice and refreshing their knowledge related to common disease states, comorbidities and complications.

Learning Objectives

  • Review current Pap guidelines and interpretation of results.
  • Discuss evaluation and management of ovarian cysts.
  • Outline appropriate STD testing and HRT testing guidelines.
  • Review the importance of optimal glycemic control in primary care
  • Define CGM and the available types of CGM
  • Identify patients who would qualify for, and benefit from, CGM
  • Educate patients on the evidence and benefits of CGM as a treatment option
  • Interpret CGM data and reports, focusing on decreasing risks and optimizing patient outcomes
  • Discuss how to treat inpatient migraines/headaches prior to consulting Neurology
  • Review how to recognize red flags for migraine/headache
  • Recognize when to consult Neurology
  • Examine trends in APP liability, including malpractice, vicarious liability, and the shift toward APPs as independent defendants.
  • Evaluate the impact of expanding autonomy on accountability, team dynamics, patient safety, and institutional risk
  • Analyze civil and criminal case studies to understand the human toll on both providers and patients
  • Identify strategies to mitigate liability and navigate lawsuits, including transition-to-practice, competence guardrails, escalation culture, and practical steps for first-time defendants.
  • Describe the incidence of tick-borne illnesses in Northwestern Pennsylvania (NWPA)
  • Recognize the various bacterial infections, carried, by ticks, that can be transmitted to humans
  • Identify symptoms associated with tick-born illnesses
  • Discuss appropriate treatment options for various tick-borne illnesses
  • Practice at least 2 strategies to build confidence in difficult situations
  • Describe at least 3 ways to intervene early to de-escalate situations
  • Articulate at least 3 effective de-escalation techniques
  • Apply the ACC/AHA stepwise approach to evaluate perioperative cardiovascular risk in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.
  • Identify when additional cardiac testing or cardiology referral is warranted based on surgical risk, functional capacity, and patient comorbidities.
  • Optimize perioperative management of cardiovascular medications (e.g., beta-blockers, statins, ACEi/ARB, anticoagulants, antiplatelets) to reduce complications and improve surgical outcomes.
  • Enhance performance in compliant reporting of ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes as it relates to risk adjustment methodology ensuring CMS provides proper resources for the care of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage and Affordable Care Act plans. 
  • Improve knowledge of the provider’s role in Medicare Advantage risk adjustment by reporting an accurate clinical picture of their patients through diagnosis code reporting. 
  • Gain a foundational understanding of documentation best practices including terminology, specificity, and concepts to support accurate representation of patient acuity and clinical complexity
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 5.50 AAPA Category I CME
  • 5.50 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 5.50 Attendance
Course opens: 
05/13/2025
Course expires: 
12/31/2025
Event starts: 
09/26/2025 - 3:00am EDT
Event ends: 
09/26/2025 - 6:00pm EDT
Cost:
$1.00
Add to calendar: 

Advanced Practice Providers Appreciation Event will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

APPalooza Conference Program:

7:30 – 8

Registration/Continental Breakfast

 

8 – 8:05

Introduction

Niky Friedl, DNP, AG-ACNP

8:05 – 8:50

OBGYN Hotline, when it's time to phone a friend!

Lauren Leone, PA-C

Amanda Meacham, PA-C

8:50 – 9:20

Optimizing Diabetes Care in Primary Care

Karen Kelly, CRNP

9:20 - 9:50

Inpatient Migraine Management

Nicole Belz, CRNP

9:50 – 10

Refreshment Break

 

10 – 10:45

With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility: On the Frontier of APP Liability and Risk

Ben Reynolds, MSPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA

10:45 - 11:30

Tick Talk: The Bite, the Bug, and the Battle Plan

Christine Zdaniewski, PharmD

11:30 – 12:10

Lunch/Networking

 

12:10 – 1:10

When Situations Heat Up: Strategies to Build Competence and Confidence

Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW

1:10 – 1:40

Don’t Miss a Beat: Preop Cardiac Risk Made Simple

Samantha Delucia, PA-C

1:40-2:25

Documenting for Impact:  ICD-10-CM and the True Picture of Patient Severity

Marlana Tice, CCS-P, CCS, CPC

Beth Theobald

2:25

Closing Remarks and Adjournment

 

 

Erie, PA
United States

APPalooza Conference:

  • Lincoln Education Room located inside of UPMC Hamot Magee-Womens in Erie, PA

Advanced Practice Providers Appreciation Event:

  • Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center, 7792 Peach St, Erie, PA, 16509

Attire for both is business casual.

SPECIAL NEEDS

 Advance notification of any special needs (i.e. gluten free or vegan meal, private room for nursing mothers, handicap accessibility) will help us provide better service. Please notify us of your needs at least two weeks in advance of the program by e-mailing the Hamot CME office at [email protected] or calling 814-877-5691.

 

Travel

If you are traveling from out of town and would a hotel stay, please e-mail [email protected] for a link to our discounted room rates.

Course Directors:

Niky Friedl DNP AG-ACNP

CRNP, Associate Supervisor

Critical Care Medicine

UPMC Hamot

Carmen Henderson, CRNP

APP Supervisor

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Brenna Lee, PA-C 

UPMC Comprehensive Lung Center

Pulmonary Department Supervising APP 

President of UPMC Hamot APP Advisory Committee

Mentor Me Northwest Region Representative 

Sarah Troup MPAS, PA-C

APP Supervisor

UPMC Hamot Trauma and Great Lakes Surgical Specialists

Catherine Watson, DNP, CRNP

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Critical Care Medicine/ Intensivist Department

UPMC Hamot

Faculty

Nicole Belz, DNP, CRNP, ACNPC-AG

Nurse Practitioner

UPMC Hamot Neurology

 

Samantha Delucia, PA-C

Supervisor - APP

UPMC Hamot Heart and Vascular Institute

 

Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW

Director of Clinical Care Services

UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor

UPMC Chautauqua and UPMC Jameson, Ambulatory Behavioral Health

 

Karen Kelly, MSN, FNP-BC

Family Nurse Practitioner

Primary Care Partners

 

Lauren Leone, PA-C

Physician Assistant - Expert

UPMC Magee-Womens - Erie

 

 

Amanda Meacham, PA-C

Physician Assistant - Expert

UPMC Magee-Womens - Erie

 

Ben Reynolds, MSPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA

Chief Advanced Practice Officer, UPMC

Director, UPMC Office of Advanced Practice Providers

Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical School

 

Marlana Tice, CCS-P, CCS, CPC

Program Director, Risk Adjustment-HCC Coding Education

UPMC Health Plan

 

Christine Zdaniewski, PharmD, BCPS

PGY1 Residency Program Director

Pharmacy Manager – Clinical Services

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Critical Care

UPMC Hamot

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

No relationships with industry relevant to the content of this educational activity have been disclosed.

Authors disclosure of relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients is listed above. No other planners, members of the planning committee, content reviewers and/or anyone else in a position to control the content of this education activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose.

ACCREDITATION

In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (AAPA)

The University of Pittsburgh has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 5.5 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation. 

NURSING (CNE)

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 5.5 contact hours. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation. 

 

Available Credit

  • 5.50 AAPA Category I CME
  • 5.50 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 5.50 Attendance

If you are interested in exhibiting at this conference, please e-mail Haylee Esposito at [email protected], or call 814-877-5691.

Price

Cost:
$1.00
Please login or register to take this course.

Both events are free of charge this year!

Note: You are welcome to register for the appreciation event, the conference, or both. We encourage you to attend both events to make the most of the experience.

We are excited to announce the opening of nominations for two prestigious awards recognizing the outstanding contributions of our Advanced Practice Providers (APPs):

Lifetime Achievement Award – Honoring an APP whose career has demonstrated exceptional dedication, leadership, and lasting impact on patient care and the profession.

Clinical Excellence Award – Celebrating an APP who exemplifies excellence in clinical practice, patient advocacy, and interprofessional collaboration.

We invite you to nominate colleagues who embody the spirit of these awards and have made a meaningful difference in our community. Please include specific examples of their achievements, leadership, and contributions to clinical excellence or the advancement of the APP role.

Nomination Deadline: Friday August 29th 2025 at 5pm

Submit Nominations To: https://forms.office.com/r/5M1X4UJN5w