Keynote and General Session Speakers

Get a sneak peek at some of the wonderful keynote and general session speakers gracing the podium at the 13th annual ACDIS conference!

The annual ACDIS conference averages 90-100 speakers, presenting 50+ breakout sessions on all aspects of CDI. Click here to read the 2020 agenda!

Please note that our 13th annual conference was scheduled to be held May 5-8, 2020, at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACDIS has made the difficult and unprecedented decision to postpone the conference until fall 2020. Find more details here



Mitchell Levy, MD,
MCCM, FCCP

General Session
"Sepsis transition update"

Mitchell Levy, MD, MCCM, FCCP

Sepsis-2 or Sepsis-3? It’s a question looming large on the minds of CDI professionals around the country.

Hardly a week goes by without a mention of sepsis in the medical literature, whether peer-reviewed scientific journals or non-peer-reviewed medical publications. Recently, more evidence has surfaced that seems to support the importance of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) in the risk assessment of sepsis patients. The recent publication of new sepsis and septic shock management guidelines has added even more uncertainty to reconciling a clear set of criteria that enables early detection, while avoiding overdiagnosis or immature diagnoses that may lead to unnecessary care.

All this is occurring as U.S. hospitals continue to struggle with tracking and measuring severe sepsis and septic shock bundles as part of the Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program mandated by CMS.

Learn from a physician who played a principal role in pioneering both definitions when you attend the 13th annual ACDIS conference (May 5-8, 2020, The Mirage Hotel and Casino).

Mitchell M. Levy, MD, MCCM, FCCP, is chief, division of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, department of medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he is professor of medicine. He is also serves as medical director of the medical ICU at Rhode Island Hospital. He has been an investigator on numerous pharmacologic and biologic trials intended to treat sepsis, cardiovascular and pulmonary pathology. He has expertise in trial design, clinical trial execution and trial management and is one of the three founding members of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC). Dr. Levy is past-president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (2009).

Dr. Levy’s current research interests include implementation science in sepsis, clinical trials in sepsis, biomarkers, and end-of-life care in the ICU. He authored over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 25 book chapters. He is the co-director of the Ocean State Clinical Coordinating Center, which manages large, international, multi-center clinical trials in sepsis. Dr. Levy is very active in the field of quality and safety, and has worked on several state-wide initiatives on quality, including New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Colorado, and New Jersey. He advises the New York Department of Health Sepsis Initiative and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SEP-1 Measure Program.



Mike Rayburn

Keynote
"What If?"

Mike Rayburn

Every major invention, accomplishment and victory in human history began with the simple, almost childlike curiosity of a “What If…?” question - “What if we could? I know we can’t, but what if we could?” International keynote artist, Mike Rayburn, will share three simple, powerful tools which took him from playing empty bars, to headlining Carnegie Hall (eight times!). They work for anyone. And everyone. Always.

Mike Rayburn is a two-time TED Talk Presenter, an innovative entrepreneur and Hall of Fame speaker who uses world-class guitar and comedy to teach change and innovation to corporations world-wide. He has headlined Carnegie Hall, headlined in Las Vegas, and performed more than 5,000 presentations in 20 countries on five continents. Rayburn is a regular on Sirius/XM and morning radio nationwide. He has performed as guitarist with The Beach Boys and John Oates. Rayburn’s keynote is called “The What IF? Keynote Experience.” You will learn three simple tools for harnessing your unrealized potential, creating and leading change, and becoming a virtuoso performer. You’ll hear amazing music including a solo guitar version of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Oh, and you laugh a LOT! No one does what Mike Rayburn does.



Noelle Pikus-Pace

Keynote
"Where You Look is Where You'll Go"

Noelle Pikus-Pace

On February 14, 2014, Noelle Pikus Pace crossed the finish line at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and finally earned an Olympic medal- but it wasn’t an easy road. She learned through her trials the importance of setting specific goals each and every day in an effort to progress forward. After a terrible crash in Germany, she realized the importance of eliminating doubts, fears and worries within our daily lives and that where you look is where you’ll go. Noelle will undoubtably make you laugh as she shares this story and applies it to life. The audience will walk away, recognizing that it is those small decisions we make daily that will shape our habits and who we will inevitably become.