Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA): July 9
Location:
3-Part Webinar Series
9:30 – 11:30 a.m. ꟾ July 9, July 23, August 6, 2025
Registration:
Health System Registration
IHA offers a “Health System” registration to accommodate systems enrolling multiple hospitals and offsite offices. To register as a Health System, choose the “Health System” option when registering.
| Registration Option | IHA Member Fee (per webinar) | Non-Member Fee (per webinar) |
| Hospital Registration | $195 | $295 |
| Health System Registration | $395 | $795 |
Hospital Registration
Applies to a single hospital location. All internal units and departments at that location may participate under one registration.
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Example: Hospital A selects Hospital Registration and provides access to its own departments only. Affiliates or other facilities may not use this registration.
Health System Registration
Applies to an entire health system, including corporate offices and all affiliated hospitals. All units and departments within the registered system may participate.
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Example: Health System B selects Health System Registration and provides access to every affiliated hospital and its corporate teams.
Over the past year, EMTALA enforcement has intensified, and hospitals nationwide have faced six-figure fines for screening errors, signage omissions and transfer missteps.
In this three-part webinar series—refreshed from our August 2024 offering—you will:
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Review core federal requirements and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interpretive guidelines to ensure your team understands each critical step.
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Examine compliance strategies for the 2024 CMS signage update.
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Discuss the November 2024 Conditions of Participation (CoP) Emergency Services requirements related to patient transfers — how they interact with EMTALA transfer requirements and new minimum required equipment requirements.
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Analyze recent civil monetary penalty cases to identify areas of vulnerability in emergency department protocols.
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Consider practical compliance strategies and tools that support your ongoing compliance.
By the end of this series, your team will be up to date on regulatory changes, enforcement trends and practical considerations for strengthening emergency-department operations and maintaining EMTALA compliance.
Agenda
Part 1: EMTALA Essentials and Obstetrical Preparedness
In this session, participants will learn to articulate EMTALA’s core definitions and the requirements for medical screening exams and stabilization. You will explore the newly adopted 2025 Conditions of Participation new transfer requirements and minimum required equipment under the Condition of Emergency Services—and you will review the 2024 CMS signage updates to ensure proper patient‐rights poster display.
Objectives
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
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Describe basic requirements of EMTALA.
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Identify why EMTALA is the most-frequently cited deficiency in Illinois acute care hospitals and nationwide, as well as why it is the second-most frequently cited in Illinois Critical Access Hospitals.
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Outline 2024 hospital and critical access hospital civil monetary penalties.
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Explain the new Conditions of Participation emergency services minimum equipment and transfer requirements as they relate to EMTALA.
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Review how the hospital can keep current on regulatory changes.
Who Should Attend
These webinars have been designed for a wide audience, including the following leaders and staff:
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Behavioral health and psychiatric staff
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Emergency department staff
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CEOs
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Nurses
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Chief medical officers
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Physicians
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Chief nursing officers
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Quality improvement staff
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Compliance officers and legal counsel
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Risk managers
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Department directors
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Safety officers
Speakers
Nancy M. Ruzicka B.S., RPh., MBA, MJ, CHC
Nancy is a recognized expert on state and federal rules, regulations and interpretative guidelines. She is the owner of Ruzicka Healthcare Consulting and provides consultation to individual client hospitals, nursing facilities, rural health clinics, physician offices and other Medicare certified healthcare providers through both onsite mock surveys, remote consultation and interpretation of Medicare Conditions of Participation. She also provides education on federal regulations throughout the nation to multiple state hospital associations including the Minnesota Hospital Association, Iowa Hospital Association, Missouri Hospital Association, Texas Hospital Association and South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organization. She has also served as content expert and editor for regulatory client hospital education for Lammico, a medical malpractice insurance company.
Previously Nancy worked as Director of Integrity and Compliance and Privacy Official at Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines and Director of Regulatory Compliance at UnityPoint Health, Des Moines. She also has more than 20 years of experience with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. While working for the State of Iowa, she surveyed all types of organizations including hospitals, critical access hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, intermediate care facilities for developmentally disabled, nursing homes and other Medicare certified entities. She was also responsible for updating state hospital licensing regulations which had not been updated since the early 1970’s.
Nancy holds master’s degrees in health law and business administration and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, all from Drake University. She is certified in health care compliance and maintains her Iowa pharmacy license.