ABA Virtual Masterclass: Leading Burn Center Readiness: Financial, Workforce, and Policy Challenges – November 5
Friday, October 16, 2026
Burn centers face growing operational, financial, workforce, and policy challenges that can affect their ability to sustain services and maintain access to specialized burn care. Preparing for these challenges requires more than clinical expertise. It also requires informed leadership, strategic partnerships, and a clear understanding of the healthcare policies and economic forces shaping burn care.
The American Burn Association’s (ABA) Fall 2026 Virtual Masterclass, Leading Burn Center Readiness , will bring together perspectives from physicians, nurses, administrators, and other burn care professionals to examine these issues and discuss strategies for navigating change.
Taking place Thursday, November 5, 2026, this CE-eligible virtual session will explore reimbursement models, the potential impact of Medicaid cuts, workforce sustainability, hospital administration, access to care, and advocacy. The program will also examine opportunities for the ABA and the broader burn care community to strengthen partnerships and advance shared priorities.
In this article, you’ll learn
How reimbursement changes and potential Medicaid cuts may affect burn center finances and operations.
Why workforce sustainability, hospital administration, and access to specialized care remain important leadership priorities.
How collaboration among physicians, nurses, administrators, and professional organizations can inform burn center readiness.
How advocacy and strategic partnerships can help address policy challenges affecting burn care.
Why Does Burn Center Readiness Matter?
Burn center readiness is the ability to sustain the people, resources, services, and operational capacity needed to provide specialized burn care. Financial pressures, workforce shortages, and changes in healthcare policy can complicate that work.
Burn center leaders must balance immediate operational needs with long-term sustainability. Payment policies influence reimbursement, workforce gaps can affect service availability, and hospital- or federal-level decisions can shape how burn care is delivered.
These challenges extend beyond any single role. Physicians, nurses, administrators, financial leaders, and policymakers each bring perspectives that can help identify risks and inform practical responses.
The November 5 ABA Masterclass will provide a forum to examine these connected issues and consider how the burn care community can prepare for what lies ahead.
What Financial and Policy Issues Will the Session Address?
The program will examine healthcare financing and policy developments that may affect burn centers and access to care.
Topics include:
Inpatient and outpatient payment models for calendar year 2027: An overview of payment models and considerations for the year ahead.
The potential impact of Medicaid cuts on facility payments: A closer look at possible implications for burn center reimbursement.
Economics and access: Discussion of projects involving laser codes and chronic conditions.
ABA legislative priorities: An examination of legislative priorities and areas of overlap among associations.
Understanding these issues can help burn care professionals identify questions to raise within their organizations, follow relevant policy developments, and participate in discussions about the future of specialized care.
The session aims to support informed discussion rather than offer a one-size-fits-all approach to financial or operational decision-making.
How Can Burn Centers Strengthen Operational and Workforce Readiness?
Burn center services depend on the people and systems that support care. Hospital administration, staffing, and workforce sustainability are therefore central to readiness.
The session will explore practical considerations in hospital and burn center administration, along with challenges in addressing workforce gaps and keeping burn centers open.
The program will also feature findings from the ABA’s workforce survey and a nurse’s perspective, adding different viewpoints to the conversation about workforce needs.
These discussions will help frame important questions for burn center teams:
What workforce challenges could affect the continuity of burn care services?
How can clinical and administrative leaders work together to identify operational pressures?
What insights can workforce data provide about the needs of the burn care community?
How can different professional perspectives inform planning and decision-making?
Considering these questions across roles can help organizations better understand the challenges they face and identify opportunities for collaboration.
What Role Do Primary Care Partnerships and Federal Engagement Play?
Burn care does not occur in isolation. Partnerships across the healthcare system and engagement with federal stakeholders can help inform how care is coordinated, supported, and sustained.
The Masterclass will include a surgeon-led roundtable on the value shift to primary care and a session on how the ABA can better partner with federal stakeholders.
The program will also examine advocacy priorities, including opportunities to shape future grassroots efforts.
These discussions will consider how professional collaboration and engagement beyond individual burn centers can contribute to broader conversations about healthcare policy, access, and the resources needed to sustain specialized care.
How Does Advocacy Support the Future of Burn Care?
Advocacy lets healthcare professionals and organizations communicate the needs of patients, care teams, and healthcare systems to policymakers.
For the burn care community, advocacy can help bring attention to issues involving reimbursement, workforce sustainability, access to specialized services, and the long-term needs of burn centers.
The November 5 session will conclude with a discussion focused on 2027: The Year of Advocacy and the ABA’s future grassroots efforts.
This conversation will explore how the burn care community can engage in shared priorities and contribute to discussions that affect the future of burn care.
Full Agenda: November 5, 2026
Leading Burn Center Readiness
Thursday, November 5, 2026 | 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. CT | Virtual
The session features presentations and discussions on reimbursement, healthcare policy, workforce sustainability, hospital administration, access to care, and advocacy.
8:45–9:00 a.m. CT | Inpatient and Outpatient Payment Models for CY27
Speaker: Denise Garris, CPC
9:00–9:15 a.m. CT | Impact of Medicaid Cuts on the Facility Payment Side
Speaker: Clifford Sheckter, MD, MS, FABA
9:15–9:30 a.m. CT | Value Shift to Primary Care: A Surgeon's Roundtable
Speakers: Jeffrey Carter, MD, FABA; Taryn Travis, MD, FABA; James Holmes, MD, FABA
9:30–9:45 a.m. CT | Q&A Break
9:45–10:00 a.m. CT | Hospital and Burn Center Administration: The Ins and Outs
Speaker: Pamela Vanderberg, MSN, MBA, RN
10:00–10:15 a.m. CT | Addressing Workforce Gaps and the Challenges of Keeping a Burn Center Open
Speaker: John Kubasiak, MD, FACS, FABA
10:15–10:30 a.m. CT | Strategic Partnerships: How the ABA Can Better Partner with Federal Stakeholders
Speaker: Suzanne Schwartz, MD, MBA
10:30–10:45 a.m. CT | Break
10:45–11:00 a.m. CT | Findings from ABA's Workforce Survey
Speaker: Alisa Savetamal, MD, FABA
11:00–11:15 a.m. CT | A Nurse's Perspective
Speaker: Erika Dommes, BSN, RN, CBRN
11:15–11:30 a.m. CT | Break
11:30–11:45 a.m. CT | Economics and Access: Projects on Laser Codes and Chronic Conditions
Speaker: Taryn Travis, MD, FABA
11:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CT | ABA Legislative Priorities and Association Overlap
Speaker: Julie Pawelczyk
12:00–12:15 p.m. CT | 2027: The Year of Advocacy: Discussion on ABA's Future Grassroots Efforts
Speaker: Ryan Fey, MD
The overall program is scheduled to conclude at 12:30 p.m.
About the November 5 ABA Virtual Masterclass
Leading Burn Center Readiness is the third session in the ABA’s 2026 Virtual Masterclass Series, a year-round educational program designed to help burn care professionals stay current on developments affecting clinical practice, operations, and the broader burn care system.
The Fall 2026 session will bring together perspectives from across the burn care community in a focused discussion of financial, operational, workforce, and policy challenges.
Program Details
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Central Time
Format: Virtual
Course Director: Taryn Travis, MD
Audience: Burn center leaders, administrators, CFOs, policy experts, and interdisciplinary burn care teams
Continuing education: CE-eligible
Access: Live virtual participation and on-demand recordings
Individual ABA member registration: $39
Group registration: $29 per participant for groups of 20 or more
Register for the November 5 Masterclass
This activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Avita and Vericel.
Key Takeaways
Burn center readiness involves financial sustainability, workforce capacity, operational planning, and policy awareness.
Payment models and potential Medicaid changes are important considerations for burn center leaders.
Workforce data and perspectives from physicians, nurses, and administrators can help inform planning.
Partnerships with healthcare stakeholders and engagement with policymakers can support broader burn care priorities.
Advocacy offers a way for the burn care community to communicate shared needs and contribute to discussions about the future of specialized care.