Home Education Hub 2026 KHA 97th Annual Convention Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Track

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Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Track

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast & Keynote Speaker

Charles Blahous 

9:20 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.

Strategic Deposition Preparation: Mitigating Risk in Healthcare Litigation

Benny Epling, Esq. 
Partner 
Epling Law Office  

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) partnered with UK HealthCare and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.
 
The KY SOS Program is working with Kentucky hospitals to fight the opioid epidemic.  The program provides services to inpatient, outpatient primary care clinics, and has just expanded its bandwidth to include emergency departments (ED) across the Commonwealth. Reducing opioid overprescribing while improving safe opioid use in inpatient and primary care clinics in Kentucky continues to be the KY SOS mainstay and goal. With the addition of the ED Bridge program, KY SOS now addresses the full continuum of care for Kentucky patients, treatment of pain and treating those with opioid use disorder (OUD).
 
The newest initiative within KY SOS is the launch of the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge Program.  The main objective of the ED Bridge Program is to ensure patients with OUD receive 24/7 access to care.  EDs have an incredible opportunity to make OUD treatment accessible to all.  
 
The state has 11 ED Bridge Programs in place, making a difference in the lives of patients and their communities.  The KY SOS team will continue to expand the ED Bridge Programs into acute care hospital EDs across the state.  
 
The KY SOS ED Bridge Program goal is to increase access to treatment and assist patients in their road to recovery, thus saving lives in Kentucky communities.

This practical session focuses on preparing witnesses and counsel for depositions in medical negligence litigation. Attendees will walk away with strategies to tighten testimony, avoid common missteps, and reduce exposure across high-stakes disputes, with strategies for outside counsel and ways for in-house counsel and risk professionals to support the deposition process.

10:20 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Legislative Update

James C. Musser, Esq.
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Relations 
Kentucky Hospital Association 

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) partnered with UK HealthCare and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.
 
The KY SOS Program is working with Kentucky hospitals to fight the opioid epidemic.  The program provides services to inpatient, outpatient primary care clinics, and has just expanded its bandwidth to include emergency departments (ED) across the Commonwealth. Reducing opioid overprescribing while improving safe opioid use in inpatient and primary care clinics in Kentucky continues to be the KY SOS mainstay and goal. With the addition of the ED Bridge program, KY SOS now addresses the full continuum of care for Kentucky patients, treatment of pain and treating those with opioid use disorder (OUD).
 
The newest initiative within KY SOS is the launch of the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge Program.  The main objective of the ED Bridge Program is to ensure patients with OUD receive 24/7 access to care.  EDs have an incredible opportunity to make OUD treatment accessible to all.  
 
The state has 11 ED Bridge Programs in place, making a difference in the lives of patients and their communities.  The KY SOS team will continue to expand the ED Bridge Programs into acute care hospital EDs across the state.  
 
The KY SOS ED Bridge Program goal is to increase access to treatment and assist patients in their road to recovery, thus saving lives in Kentucky communities.

This presentation will provide a summary of notable legislation from the past year that is relevant to attorneys who represent hospitals. Attendees will be able to identify the applicable legislation and make applications to their own daily practices. 

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

KAHA Annual Business Meeting

Barbara Bowers, Esq. 
President 
Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys 

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

KHA Awards Luncheon

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

2026 Case Law Update

Kristen Fowler, Esq. 
Associate General Counsel/Associate Vice President 
Kentucky Hospital Association 

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) partnered with UK HealthCare and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.
 
The KY SOS Program is working with Kentucky hospitals to fight the opioid epidemic.  The program provides services to inpatient, outpatient primary care clinics, and has just expanded its bandwidth to include emergency departments (ED) across the Commonwealth. Reducing opioid overprescribing while improving safe opioid use in inpatient and primary care clinics in Kentucky continues to be the KY SOS mainstay and goal. With the addition of the ED Bridge program, KY SOS now addresses the full continuum of care for Kentucky patients, treatment of pain and treating those with opioid use disorder (OUD).
 
The newest initiative within KY SOS is the launch of the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge Program.  The main objective of the ED Bridge Program is to ensure patients with OUD receive 24/7 access to care.  EDs have an incredible opportunity to make OUD treatment accessible to all.  
 
The state has 11 ED Bridge Programs in place, making a difference in the lives of patients and their communities.  The KY SOS team will continue to expand the ED Bridge Programs into acute care hospital EDs across the state.  
 
The KY SOS ED Bridge Program goal is to increase access to treatment and assist patients in their road to recovery, thus saving lives in Kentucky communities.

This presentation will provide a summary of notable medical negligence and healthcare appellate decisions in Kentucky in the last year and any relevant pending cases before Kentucky’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Attendees will be able to identify important appellate decisions that may impact current or future litigation involving healthcare providers and healthcare corporations. 

2:15 p.m.  – 3:15 p.m.

EMTALA in the Real World  

Catherine Lynn Allison, Esq. 
Assistant General Counsel
University of Kentucky, Office of Legal Counsel  

Jennifer Henry Jackson, Esq. 
Member
Stites & Harbison  

Stacy Shea Luna, Esq. 
Attorney
Stites & Harbison 

Noelle Holladay True, Esq.
Assistant Chief Compliance Officer
Office of Corporate Compliance
UK Healthcare

 

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) partnered with UK HealthCare and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.
 
The KY SOS Program is working with Kentucky hospitals to fight the opioid epidemic.  The program provides services to inpatient, outpatient primary care clinics, and has just expanded its bandwidth to include emergency departments (ED) across the Commonwealth. Reducing opioid overprescribing while improving safe opioid use in inpatient and primary care clinics in Kentucky continues to be the KY SOS mainstay and goal. With the addition of the ED Bridge program, KY SOS now addresses the full continuum of care for Kentucky patients, treatment of pain and treating those with opioid use disorder (OUD).
 
The newest initiative within KY SOS is the launch of the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge Program.  The main objective of the ED Bridge Program is to ensure patients with OUD receive 24/7 access to care.  EDs have an incredible opportunity to make OUD treatment accessible to all.  
 
The state has 11 ED Bridge Programs in place, making a difference in the lives of patients and their communities.  The KY SOS team will continue to expand the ED Bridge Programs into acute care hospital EDs across the state.  
 
The KY SOS ED Bridge Program goal is to increase access to treatment and assist patients in their road to recovery, thus saving lives in Kentucky communities.

This continuing education presentation explores EMTALA beyond the statute and regulations, focusing on how the law is interpreted, enforced, and litigated in real-world clinical settings. Using recent enforcement actions, case law trends, and practical hypotheticals, the session examines common compliance pitfalls involving medical screening exams, stabilization, transfers, and on-call coverage, with particular attention to emergency department operations and hospital policies. Attendees will gain practical insights into risk areas regulators scrutinize most, how EMTALA obligations intersect with evolving care models and state laws, and strategies for advising providers and health systems on defensible compliance in high-pressure clinical environments. 

3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Break

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Staying on the Up and Upjohn: Ethical Considerations When Dealing with the Government

Christopher Melton, Esq. 
Bricker Graydon Wyatt LLP 

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) partnered with UK HealthCare and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as part of the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to launch the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program.
 
The KY SOS Program is working with Kentucky hospitals to fight the opioid epidemic.  The program provides services to inpatient, outpatient primary care clinics, and has just expanded its bandwidth to include emergency departments (ED) across the Commonwealth. Reducing opioid overprescribing while improving safe opioid use in inpatient and primary care clinics in Kentucky continues to be the KY SOS mainstay and goal. With the addition of the ED Bridge program, KY SOS now addresses the full continuum of care for Kentucky patients, treatment of pain and treating those with opioid use disorder (OUD).
 
The newest initiative within KY SOS is the launch of the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge Program.  The main objective of the ED Bridge Program is to ensure patients with OUD receive 24/7 access to care.  EDs have an incredible opportunity to make OUD treatment accessible to all.  
 
The state has 11 ED Bridge Programs in place, making a difference in the lives of patients and their communities.  The KY SOS team will continue to expand the ED Bridge Programs into acute care hospital EDs across the state.  
 
The KY SOS ED Bridge Program goal is to increase access to treatment and assist patients in their road to recovery, thus saving lives in Kentucky communities.

Multiple events can trigger the need to respond to either active or anticipated government intervention into a medical practice. Lawyers can be made aware of likely government action either through complaints, whistleblowers, subpoenas, or even execution of search warrants. Each of these scenarios requires a different response; and each response triggers ethical responsibilities that lawyers need to be aware of. This presentation examines these scenarios and provides a discussion of the ethical rules implicated in our responsive actions of representing highly-regulated medical providers and provides practical insights into how lawyers can respond to investigations. Attendees will have a greater understanding of the ethical rules as they apply to government investigations. This includes the ethical and professional responsibility impacts of responding to government action, including internal investigations, and formation of defense strategies. 

The Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys is an organization of attorneys who represent or who are employed by healthcare organizations. KAHA promotes excellence among these attorneys by providing education and facilitating collaboration. If you’re interested in KAHA membership, please email Kristen Fowler at kfowler@kyha.com.

Continuing Education Credits

Information coming soon.