Safer Airway Management: Implementing Difficult Airway Response Teams in Hospital Systems

Monday, October 13, 2025

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Location: 107-108

CME/MOC Credit: 1

Disclosure(s):

Benjamin C. Tweel, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Hannah L. Kavookjian, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

MInka L. Schofield, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Emergency management of the difficult airway is a potentially complicated and high-stakes endeavor which may require rapid deployment of providers from multiple disciplines. The Difficult Airway Response Team (DART) was developed to answer this challenge. While DARTs have become more common, there are still large gaps in the presence of these programs in a wide range of hospitals. As the provider seen as the last line of defense in management of the difficult airway, the otolaryngologist has a strong incentive to take an active role in the development of these initiatives.

In this program, we will discuss the role of the DART across several large hospital systems comprising hospitals ranging from large academic centers to small community institutions. We will discuss the elements of a successful DART program, including resource management, education and quality improvement, as well as the key role that otolaryngologists play in these teams. Participants will gain a systems-based understanding of how to establish a DART program at their hospital. This panel will draw on the experience of our institutions, with widely varying resources, to provide relevant strategies to apply to participants’ home institutions.

Moderator(s)

Benjamin C. Tweel, MD

Associate Professor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Panelist(s)

Hannah L. Kavookjian, MD

Assistant Professor
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, KS, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
MS

MInka L. Schofield, MD

Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer
Lee Health System
Fort Myers, FL, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
KM

Kevin Motz, MD

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.