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Faculty

Angela Cornelius

MD, MA
Associate System Medical Director
Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director

Dr. Angela Cornelius is an Associate Medical Director for the Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director, where her primary responsibilities are EMS CC and innovations. Board-certified in EM, FM, and EMS, she is an Associate Professor EM with TCU and LSU Shreveport who practices at John Peter Smith Hospital as core faculty and is the program director for the Baylor All Saints EMS Fellowship. She serves as Chair of the NAEMSP Preparedness Committee and immediate past chair of the ACEP Disaster Medicine committee and Air Medical section. She sits on the Expert Planning Committee for the DFW World Cup planning and is the subject matter expert for disaster surge. Current administrative projects include enhancing and creating more robust community paramedicine programs and EMS induction of buprenorphine for OUD.

2026 Sessions

When the World Comes to Texas: EMS Readiness, Innovation, and Lessons from Hosting a Mega Sports Event

This session will explore what it took for EMS systems to prepare for one of the largest global sporting events ever brought to U.S. soil. The World Cup Tournament brought an unprecedented influx of international visitors, cultural diversity, security concerns, and large-scale mass gatherings to North Texas. With millions of spectators across multiple venues, fan festivals, watch parties, and spontaneous celebrations, the event tested the limits of prehospital care. This presentation explores how EMS agencies can prepare for the operational, clinical, logistical, and communication challenges of hosting large mass gathering events like the World Cup.

Participants will gain insight into the robust planning efforts across Texas, including interagency coordination involving EMS, fire, law enforcement, public health, federal partners, stadium medical teams, and private medical contractors. The session will break down what “readiness” truly means in the context of a global mega-event: surge planning, crowd medicine strategy, heat-injury preparedness, language and cultural considerations, and maintaining day-to-day EMS coverage despite system strain. The talk will blend big-event planning, operational readiness, interagency coordination, medical intelligence, EMS innovation, and the unique challenges of caring for hundreds of thousands of international visitors over multiple weeks.

Speaker

Thursday, May 28 9:10–9:40 AM
Room Waller Ballroom B
Faculty

Angela Cornelius

MD, MA
Associate System Medical Director
Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director

Dr. Angela Cornelius is an Associate Medical Director for the Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director, where her primary responsibilities are EMS CC and innovations. Board-certified in EM, FM, and EMS, she is an Associate Professor EM with TCU and LSU Shreveport who practices at John Peter Smith Hospital as core faculty and is the program director for the Baylor All Saints EMS Fellowship. She serves as Chair of the NAEMSP Preparedness Committee and immediate past chair of the ACEP Disaster Medicine committee and Air Medical section. She sits on the Expert Planning Committee for the DFW World Cup planning and is the subject matter expert for disaster surge. Current administrative projects include enhancing and creating more robust community paramedicine programs and EMS induction of buprenorphine for OUD.

Not on Our Watch: How EMS Can Build and Lead a Community Narcan Distribution Program

EMS agencies sit at the center of the opioid epidemic, responding to overdose after overdose—often treating the same individuals multiple times. While EMS has mastered overdose reversal, we have not always been positioned to prevent the next one. Narcan distribution programs empower EMS agencies to move upstream, reduce overdose deaths, engage high-risk individuals, and build community partnerships that change the trajectory of opioid use disorder.

This presentation will guide EMS leaders through the process of developing and implementing a sustainable, data-driven community Narcan distribution initiative. Attendees will learn how to identify target populations, build partnerships, train responders and bystanders, secure stable funding, measure impact, and avoid common pitfalls. Real-world examples and templates will help any agency—fire-based, third-service, hospital-based, or private—launch a program with immediate lifesaving benefit.

Speaker

Thursday, May 28 3:10–3:40 PM
Room Waller Ballroom B
Faculty

Angela Cornelius

MD, MA
Associate System Medical Director
Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director

Dr. Angela Cornelius is an Associate Medical Director for the Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director, where her primary responsibilities are EMS CC and innovations. Board-certified in EM, FM, and EMS, she is an Associate Professor EM with TCU and LSU Shreveport who practices at John Peter Smith Hospital as core faculty and is the program director for the Baylor All Saints EMS Fellowship. She serves as Chair of the NAEMSP Preparedness Committee and immediate past chair of the ACEP Disaster Medicine committee and Air Medical section. She sits on the Expert Planning Committee for the DFW World Cup planning and is the subject matter expert for disaster surge. Current administrative projects include enhancing and creating more robust community paramedicine programs and EMS induction of buprenorphine for OUD.

Faculty

Matthew Willens

EMT-P, FP-C, CP-C, CHW
EMS Supervisor
Fort Worth Fire Department

EMS Training and Education for the department. His responsibilities include recruit training, continuing education, Field Training Officer oversight, and part of Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement initiatives.Previously, Matthew served as a Clinical Coordinator in the Office of the Medical Director for the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority in Fort Worth, Texas. In this role, he provided clinical oversight for the system’s Mobile Integrated Health and Critical Care Team programs, ensuring high standards of patient care .With more than 25 years of experience in EMS, Matthew has worked in diverse EMS systems across New York, Ohio, and Texas, bringing a broad and practical perspective to prehospital medicine, education, and system development.
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