Session Descriptions for ASHA Health Care Summit 2025: Grand Rounds in the ICU

Introduction to the ICU
Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP

Imagine yourself in the middle of the busy ICU, with the beeps, blips, alarms, shoes hitting the tiled floors, and white noise of patient, caregiver, and provider conversations. This session will set the stage for all you will learn during the next day and a half, including discussion of where and how ICUs were created, models of care over time, and key ingredients to Cleveland Clinic's world-famous care.

The Path From Critical Illness to Critical Care
Steven Insler, DO; Lindsey Kreisher, MHA, RRT-ACCS; and Lynne Kokoczka, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CCRN

Diagnosis and treatment of critical illness is not necessarily a straight path. Sometimes it takes unpredictable and sharp turns that require quick response, often resulting in patients going down a clinical path that arguably makes them worse before they get better. This session will focus on care planning for a patient in the ICU—which is impacted by their current, and fluctuating, presentation—and the need for you to be prepared for unplanned results.

Sensitive Conversations: Reading the Room (and the Research)
Krista Dobbie, MD

A strong knowledge base for clinical work in the ICU is necessary; so is the approach to clinical care. Sometimes things get messy and don't go as planned. This session will identify and discuss interpersonal qualities central to functioning well in the ICU (or in any clinical setting) and how compromises in these qualities may affect and effect critical decisions. This session will also emphasize approaches requiring "top of license" practice, balancing data with humanity.

Lessons From Interdisciplinary Team Members
Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP, Mary Katzenstein, MOT, OTR/L; Kelly Ritchey, RD, LD, CNSC; Lauren Bruwer, APRN, AGCNS-BC; Lindsey Kreisher, MHA, RRT-ACCS; and William S. Tierney, MD, MS

ICUs have expanded from including strictly physicians and nurses to including many professions on the interdisciplinary team. In this session, you will join in the conversation with physicians and allied health professionals. They will address how your interactions and clinical decision-making will differ with each member of the multidisciplinary team in the ICU.

A Journey Through One Patient's ICU Experience
Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP

This session will focus on a sample patient in need of critical care. You will go on a journey through the patient’s admission to the ICU, completion of a course of critical care, and discharge. The session will highlight some of the hard, everyday decisions that the multidisciplinary ICU team must make as you bring the patient back from the edge.

Live Rounds: Choose Your Own Adventure
Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP, Mary Katzenstein, MOT, OTR/L; Kelly Ritchey, RD, LD, CNSC; Lauren Bruwer, APRN, AGCNS-BC; Lindsey Kreisher, MHA, RRT-ACCS; and William S. Tierney, MD, MS

This session will feature the same case presented before the break, with additional, complicating factors added and considered. The same case will take a very different path with each twist in this interactive, choose-you-own-adventure session.

ICU Case Study Lab: Team-Based Problem-Solving for SLPs
Lynne Kokoczka, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, and Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP

In this interactive session, you'll work in a small group to dive into complex, real-world scenarios tailored for SLPs in the ICU setting. Explore how to make quick, patient-centered decisions; collaborate effectively under pressure; and step beyond your traditional scope to support the team. Practice staying composed in challenging moments, admitting when you don’t have all the answers, and contributing to group decisions that prioritize patient care and team cohesion.

From Decisions to Outcomes: Debrief on ICU Case Study Lab
Martin B. Brodsky, PhD, ScM, CCC-SLP, and Lynne Kokoczka, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CCRN

This debrief session will revisit the case studies from before the break while weighing considerations for individual and group decision-making. You will delve into the decision-making process, reflect on key actions, and evaluate the outcomes to uncover valuable lessons. This interactive discussion will highlight the diverse approaches to complex scenarios, equipping you with practical strategies for improved patient care and teamwork in critical care settings.

Perspectives From Individuals With Lived Experience in the ICU
Patient and Care Partner

This session will feature people with lived ICU experience, who will share their journey through critical care. You will gain valuable insights into their perspectives on communication, care delivery, and recovery, fostering a deeper understanding of patient-centered care in the ICU. You will also have the unique opportunity to engage in Q&A directly with these individuals.

Bonus Online Content

Your event registration includes the following bonus online courses to watch at your leisure in advance of (or following) the event to supercharge your learning—and earn additional ASHA CEUs.

• Lines, Tubes, and Drains: Clinical Practice Considerations for SLPs in the ICU, Rachel Barrocas, MS, CCC-SLP
• Medications and Lab Values: Clinical Practice Considerations for SLPs in the ICU, Madeline Weber, MA, CCC-SLP
• Communication, Cognition, and Swallowing in ICU Patients With Compromised Airways, Jo Puntil, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
• Assessing Your Patient's Respiratory Status, Rachel O'Hare, RRT
• Oxygen Therapy Systems and Swallowing Considerations, Rory O'Bryan, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
• Rehabilitation of Communication Function Following Critical Illness: Psychosocial Well-Being and Quality of Life, Amy Freeman-Sanderson, PhD, CPSP
• Go With the Flow: Noninvasive and Mechanical Ventilation, Thomas Devlin, BS, RRT, ACCS