Each year, ACEP’s Council elects new leaders for the College at its meeting. The Council, which represents all 53 chapters, 39 sections of membership, the Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA), and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, will elect the College’s President-Elect and four members to the ACEP Board of Directors. This month, we’ll meet the Board candidates, and in September, we’ll meet the President-Elect candidates.

L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP (Rhode Island)

Current Professional Positions: director of health policy and legislative advocacy and site quality director, US Acute Care Solutions; medical director, Pequot Emergency Department, Groton, Connecticut.
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, UMASS Medical Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Medical Degree: MD, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington (1990)

Response
As we approach ACEP’s 50th Anniversary, there is much to celebrate. The founders of the College were true visionaries who recognized the uniqueness and importance of our specialty. The practice of emergency medicine has evolved over the past 50 years to meet the needs of our patients and the healthcare system. We are the 24-7-365 healthcare safety net for the nation, filling the gap for the U.S. healthcare system’s inadequacies. And although some would characterize us as being “the expensive emergency department,” patients and other healthcare providers choose us because they know that we are the experts in quickly and accurately evaluating acute illness and injury.

My involvement and leadership within ACEP began more than 25 years ago with my election to the EMRA Board, serving as the representative to ACEP and the ACEP Board of Directors. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many amazing people within ACEP. Through my work on various committees and task forces, I have both listened to and learned from emergency physicians who truly represent the breadth and depth of our specialty. In my time serving on, and chairing, the Membership, State Legislative/Regulatory, and Federal Government Affairs Committees I learned of the unique challenges faced by the various emergency medicine practices as they provide care to our patients. As a member of the Alternative Payment Model and Single Payer Task Forces, I have worked to encourage ACEP to think outside the box as we envision the future of emergency medicine delivered in new healthcare system paradigms.

Personally, I have practiced clinically and administratively in a variety of emergency medicine settings and groups. During my career, I have worked as an academic faculty member at a residency training site, in a single-coverage tiny community hospital ED, and pretty much every size ED in between. This variety of experiences helps me to be able to better understand and appreciate the unique perspectives of the emergency physicians who care for patients on a daily basis. During my time in service of ACEP I have strived to become a better listener in order to be able to better represent our specialty in discussions within the house of medicine and with healthcare policy­makers.

As part of the evolution of the practice of emergency medicine, we will need to ensure that the laws, regulations, and policies that govern the care we provide adapt to the needs of our patients, and the practice of emergency medicine. Working in the advocacy arena over the past 25 years, I have had the opportunity to work at the federal, state, and local level to ensure that emergency physicians are recognized for the quality care we provide, and compensated appropriately for that care. As models of healthcare delivery evolve, ACEP will need to be vigilant and defend the specialty and practice of emergency medicine, regardless of where our patients are. I believe that I can bring my advocacy experience to the ACEP Board to help in this mission.

Kathleen J. Clem, MD, FACEP (Florida)

Current Professional Positions: professor of emergency medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando; executive vice president and chief clinical officer, Adventist Health System, Altamonte Springs, Florida; emergency physician, Florida Hospital and Adventist Health System
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California
Medical Degree: MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine (1989)

Response
My skill set includes clinical emergency medicine, academic leadership, and healthcare system leadership. All are crucial as we lead our specialty into the future. ACEP needs experienced leaders to lead through this critical time in healthcare. I have been an involved ACEP member since 1993 and have over 20 years of experience in community, academic, and now health system leadership. I will use my skills to keep emergency medicine’s excellence as we shape the future of our specialty.

I am a leader in the efforts to empower emergency physicians to get our patients the appropriate and timely access to the next level of care they need. I am involved in innovations to harness technology to smooth transitions between community and hospital care, and between emergency departments and inpatient care. I have experience in advocating for emergency medicine to our state and national government leaders. I will work to continue to ensure the safety of our communities by advancing the science of prehospital and large-scale emergency and disaster care. I will continue to lead in emergency medicine’s unique position as the hub of healthcare and speak to the importance emergency medicine serves in coordinating, facilitating, and guiding the direction of care that touches all Americans.

I work clinically in a high-volume community emergency department and teach emergency medicine residents. I have served as a medical director, tackled reimbursement issues and tort reform at the state level. I understand that unnecessary, bureaucratic demands on our time and energy matter. I have worked to decrease documentation requirements that do not add to patient care. I am also actively involved in improving electronic medical record use to increase efficiency and navigability.

As a past academic chair, I bring additional experience as we work through challenges to our specialty, educating the next generations of emergency physicians, and the complexities associated with residency and faculty financial support.

As a current health system Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, overseeing 47 hospitals and more than 1.6 million ED visits per year, I have led efforts for hospitals to be incentivized to rapidly admit patients, supported resources for timely consults, and worked to build bridges with other specialties.

My experience as an ACEP Steering Committee member, Committee Chair for Public Relations, Chair of National Chapter Relations, American Association of Women Emergency Physicians Chair, and Membership Committee Chair have provided key leadership opportunities and understanding of ACEP administration and the process of creating positive change as an organization.

I value, seek out, and treasure opportunities to listen to physicians. The importance of listening-to-understand cannot be overstated. My highest priority as a member of the Board of Directors would be to seek opportunities to hear from as many ACEP members as possible. I will collaborate with the Board to incorporate the concerns and solutions offered by our members into the work we do in our state chapters and nationally to advance emergency medicine.

Francis Counselman, MD, FACEP (Virginia)

Current Professional Positions: founding chairman, department of emergency medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk; attending physician, Emergency Physicians of Tidewater, Virginia Beach; Editor-in-Chief, Emergency Medicine
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, Eastern Virginia Medical School; internal medicine internship, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Medical Degree: MD, Eastern Virginia Medical School (1983

Response
Professionally, I’m a hybrid—equal mix community and academic EM physician. After emergency medicine residency graduation, I joined Emergency Physicians of Tidewater (EPT)—a private practice, democratic group of board-certified emergency physicians. In addition, I began serving as an Assistant Program Director of the EM residency program from which I graduated.

In 1990, I was appointed the Program Director of the EM residency. I served in this role for the next 20 years, and oversaw its growth and maturation. In many ways, it’s the best job in all of EM. This job only deepened my commitment to quality EM education; it is part of my DNA.

When I started, EM was a division of the Department of Family Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. It was clear to me we should to be an academic department. I spent one year meeting with every department chair, explaining why we deserved such status. In 1992, we were granted academic departmental status, becoming the first in Virginia and only the 26th in the nation; I was appointed the inaugural chair and continue to serve today. This taught me how to effectively deal and negotiate with other departments, advocate for EM clinically and academically, and run a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

For the past 20 years, I have served on the Board of Directors of EPT, helping lead our democratic practice group through the changing healthcare environment, demands from hospital administration, reimbursement issues, and all manner of other threats.

In 2008, I was asked to serve as the President of the medical staff of our 1,100-plus physician, two-hospital system; the first emergency physician to do so. I gained invaluable experience and education in dealing closely with hospital administration, interacting with other clinical services, and overseeing the hospital transition to an electronic medical record. I now see EM through many different lenses, but always guided by the desire and passion to promote a healthy working environment for all emergency physicians.

Finally, I have served as President of two national EM organizations—the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Emergency Medicine. I have firsthand experience in serving large groups of emergency physicians—academic and community—by listening, advocating, and working hard on their behalf.

From all of my experiences, I am acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities offered by private practice and academic EM. While some make a hard distinction between the two, there is much more in common than unique. Issues of fair reimbursement, coding and billing, appropriate staffing, leaving without being seen, patient satisfaction, boarders, throughput metrics, and on-call availability are all important, regardless of your practice type. You have to be knowledgeable of all of these issues, and advocate for a working environment that is healthy, professionally rewarding, and satisfying for patients and emergency physicians. I have the passion and the experience to work hard on these issues on behalf of all of the ACEP membership. I hope you will support my nomination.

John T. Finnell, MD, FACEP, FACMI (Indiana)

Current Professional Positions: fellowship program director, clinical informatics, Indiana University, Indianapolis; president, American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Academic Forum; member, AMIA Board of Directors; member, AMIA Education Committee; American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) senior case examiner reviewer; ABEM item writer; ABEM oral examiner; ABEM case development panel
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, University of California, San Francisco–Fresno
Medical Degree: MD, University of Vermont, Burlington (1991)

Response
How many of us recall growing up with “Emergency!” which debuted on NBC on Jan. 15, 1972? What an awesome team. Firefighters Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto working together with nurses (Dixie McCall) and emergency physicians Kelly Brackett and Joe Early, MD, FACS, ACEP. Yes, ACEP was listed in their credentials, founded only four years earlier, found its way into our hearts and living rooms.

ACEP continues to represent a family of physicians who share a commitment to improving the quality of emergency care. I’ve been a member of ACEP for over 30 years and have practiced in multiple settings. I’ve worked for both private and small groups, and currently serve as the program director of Clinical Informatics and as teaching faculty in the Indiana University residency program. While we all wear many hats, I consider ACEP to be my home, and my informatics training to add unique value, which will truly complement the existing ACEP Board.

Healthcare is entering a period of rapid change. Advancement of new technologies will fundamentally change how we practice medicine. Hospitals will become smaller as more healthcare will be done at home. Precision medicine where treatments will be based on genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Aging will become a treatable disease.

I’m well aware that the “promise of technology” with the advent of electronic records has presented new challenges. The burden of the electronic record has resulted in increased rates of physician burnout and spawned a new class of scribes. However, my particular set of skills helps to transform the realities of all emergency physicians. True transformation requires trusted data and sound analytics. We all work with problematic electronic records, order sets, and decision support that drive us crazy. However, I’ve built systems that truly reflect emergency medicine’s best practices and our particular realities of care. I’ve led collaborative and creative teams to streamline our existing processes in order to enhance the efficiency of our department. I understand the nuances of data collection and measurement and can help our Board to ensure the success of all of our practices.

As part of my extensive career, I’ve been able to bridge the crucial gap between generations of physicians through the use of technology. We are all part of connected teams. Using tools like Slack, Trello, and Basecamp to bridge that divide. I want us to work smarter, not harder. We are currently working on tools to help mine “Big Data.” When a patient presents to the ED with chest pain, why should we have to search for an old ECG, cardiology notes, or stress reports? These all should be readily available and instantly viewable.

Nomination to ACEP’s Board is an honor and a privilege. I would like the opportunity to bring the advances in emergency medicine that we have in Indiana to ACEP. I have the full support of my family, practice group, and state to serve you. I’m asking for your support and will bring your voice to lead our College into the future.

Jeffrey M. Goodloe, MD, FACEP (Oklahoma)

Current Professional Positions: attending emergency physician, Hillcrest Medical Center Emergency Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma; professor of emergency medicine, EMS section chief, and director, OK Center for Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa; medical director, medical control board, EMS System for Metropolitan Oklahoma City & Tulsa; medical director, Oklahoma Highway Patrol; medical director, Tulsa Community College EMS Education Programs
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, Methodist Hospital of Indiana/Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis; EMS fellowship, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Medical Degree: MD, Medical School at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (1995)

Response
Speaking for emergency physicians translates specifically to advocating for emergency physicians. Effective advocacy for emergency physicians is built upon understanding and respecting us. All of us.

I’m celebrating 20 years since emergency medicine residency graduation. In my journey as an emergency physician, I’ve been taught by generalists, other specialists, non-EM residency trained/EM boarded faculty and EM residency trained/EM boarded faculty. These mentors, teachers, and colleagues are female and male, spiritual and not spiritual, and as diverse in interests as I could have ever imagined. I’ve found valuable medical and life lessons from them all.

I’ve worked at a rural/small suburban community hospital, with its 16-bed ED and with phone handsets duly worn, proving the frequency of transfers to “the big city” that most often involved more than one conversation (aka persuading, pleading, and/or praying). I’ve worked at an inner-city tertiary referral hospital with an annual ED census soaring past 100,000 patients. I’ve also worked at larger suburban and even urban hospitals that many assumed were “nice little places to practice emergency medicine” while my partners and I routinely saw four to five patients an hour throughout 10-plus hour shifts, many with acuities requiring invasive airway management, central lines pre-routine ultrasound guidance, and trauma/STEMI/stroke/sepsis teams that were all comprised of one emergency physician, two nurses (if we were lucky), and one respiratory therapist (maybe).

For the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to share the benefits of those experiences, while still learning emergency medicine advances daily, as I teach fellows, residents, and medical students in the base hospital for an EM residency and conduct research in a historically medically underserved state.

Also, as an emergency physician, I’ve built upon my love for prehospital care that I discovered as a paramedic in college and medical school years. I’ve served in EMS for 30 years, 22 of those as a medical oversight physician, currently the clinical leader for over 4,000 credentialed professionals in the metropolitan Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas. I also find professional fulfillment in serving in special events medical planning and on-site coverage, including many NASCAR and IndyCar events as well as law enforcement tactical missions.

Each of these roles—bedside clinician, teacher, researcher, EMS medical oversight leader, special mission clinician—has an axis of being an emergency physician. Add in years of advocacy and service in state and national ACEP and I can’t hardly believe what started as a hopeful vision has come to this fulfilling reality.

If you recognize yourself in any of the above, I can effectively help to speak for you. If you don’t, I’m sincerely willing to listen so I can better understand and factor your perspectives.

Do we all have continual challenges? Yes. Can we find the answers together? Yes. Between our dates of birth and death, we all have a dash. Emergency physicians make positive differences with those dashes. Part of my positive difference is a sincere desire to serve you as a member of the ACEP Board of Directors, speaking for you.

Christopher S. Kang, MD, FACEP, FAWM (incumbent, Washington)

Current Professional Positions: department of emergency medicine and faculty, emergency medicine residency, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington; Olympia Emergency Services, PLLC, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia, Washington; adjunct assistant professor, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland; clinical assistant professor, University of Washington, Seattle; assistant professor, physician assistant program, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, Northwestern University, Chicago
Medical Degree: MD, Northwestern University (1996)

Response
My continued service on the Board of Directors would advance the College’s ability to speak for all emergency physicians because of my affinity and ability to see from and appreciate diverse perspectives that stem from my personal background and professional career and which are evidenced by my College service.

I spent my childhood in Asia, North America, and Europe, where I was sometimes a member of the majority, sometimes the minority. Since medical school, I have observed and practiced a wide range of medicine in various settings across the country and around the world, including Asia, Central America, and the Middle East. I welcome and respect different values, cultures, and clinical practices.

Professionally, my career reflects the diversity of the practice models of emergency medicine. I work at a federally operated medical center and for an independent group in a community hospital. I also serve on the faculty of an accredited emergency medicine residency and emergency medicine physician assistant fellowship program. My responsibilities have included advisor, curriculum development, didactic and simulation instruction, research director, faculty development, and liaison to other departments and hospitals. Both jobs provide me firsthand experience with different patient populations, levels and generations of emergency medicine providers, healthcare systems, and employment and reimbursement models.

Within the College, I have solicited the counsel of past leaders and advised resident physicians, junior members, and committee and chapter leaders. I have assisted the composition, presentation, and adoption of numerous Council resolutions, some of which involved emerging and contentious issues. Over the past three years, I have visited multiple chapters and sought out and served as a liaison to numerous College sections to learn more about and foster your interests. I have also represented the College at state and national meetings with other professional, industry, and government organizations. Trust and respect have been earned, individual and specialty relationships forged, and the foundations for future collaboration cultivated. Continued appreciation for and inclusion of you will enhance patient care and rapport, fortify membership identity and contentment, and promote the growth and maturation of our specialty.

As a result of my unique background and career, I can and will continue to represent and advocate for emergency physicians and their clinical practices, interests, and priorities to advance quality emergency care and the evolution of our profession.

Michael J. McCrea, MD, FACEP (Ohio)

Current Professional Positions: attending physician and core faculty, Mercy Emergency Care Services, Team Health, and Lucas County Emergency Physicians, Inc., Premier Physician Services, Toledo, Ohio; staff physician, Emergency Professionals of Ohio, Inc., Team Health, Middleburg Heights
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus
Medical Degree: MD, Medical College of Ohio at Toledo, 2004

Response
My voice is your voice. I have worked in an eight-bed critical access ED. I have worked in a 60-bed urban tertiary care center. I have been a community medical director of a single coverage rural ED. I am an assistant program director supervising 42 EM residents. I have been a democratic partner, an independent contractor, and an employee of a contract medical group. Although I am core faculty for our residency, I still work in the community without residents at a single-coverage ED within our health system. Currently I am a teacher and mentor to residents and medical students, but I have never forgotten my roots in the community, fresh out of residency, just trying to get through the rack. I bring this varied and shared experience to my leadership.

This diverse background of practice experiences allowed me to speak and advocate for EM physicians in Ohio during my two terms as Ohio ACEP President. Having worked in nearly all practice environments provided me with firsthand insight into the issues that face emergency physicians. When I met with legislators or government officials, my personal experience gave real credibility to our message as I spoke for emergency physicians in Washington, D.C., or in our state capitol. I have testified before the Ohio House of Representatives on multiple occasions and I have developed personal relationships with the state and national officials from my district. Those relationships began at ACEP’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference and Ohio ACEP’s Advocacy Day. I have learned and seen firsthand the value of our advocacy. Although Ohio ACEP is widely known for our education courses, it is advocacy that ranks number one in importance to our chapter members every year on the chapter member survey.

Yet we must not forget that ACEP speaks for EM residents in training and medical students as well as the practicing physician. During my tenure on the Ohio Chapter Board, we separated our resident assembly from our annual member meeting into a standalone event to emphasize the importance of resident members in our Chapter. This year I authored a bylaws amendment for our Chapter to designate one Ohio councillor seat for a resident. It passed unanimously at our annual meeting. For the past four years I have chaired a new event, the Midwest Medical Student Symposium, for medical students interested in EM. Our medical student membership has grown as a result. Working daily with residents and medical students allows me to respond to these members’ needs as well.

Our members want voices that listen to their needs, speak for them, and advocate for our profession and our patients. My experiences have refined my voice and demonstrated that I can speak confidently for all current and future emergency physicians as a member of the ACEP Board of Directors.

Mark Rosenberg, DO, FACEP (incumbent, New Jersey)

Current Professional Positions: chairman of emergency medicine, chief innovation officer, and associate professor of emergency medicine, St Joseph’s Health, Paterson, New Jersey; Board of Directors, Emergency Medicine Foundation; Pain Management Task Force, U.S Department of Health & Human Services; Pain Task Force, Institute of Healthcare Improvement
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency and internship, Metropolitan Hospital, Philadelphia
Medical Degree: DO, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (1978)

Response
In the very beginning, my mentor told me to join ACEP for life and that is exactly what I did. I have been a member ever since 1979. I have served on the Council, committees, and task forces and was elected to the ACEP Board in 2015.

During my career I have had the opportunity to work in small community hospitals as well as large medical centers. I have experience working with large national companies as well as small groups. I have had the privilege of owning my emergency medicine practice management company as well. Currently, I am employed as Chairman of Emergency Medicine and Chief Innovations Officer in a teaching hospital with an emergency medicine residency program. Emergency medicine residents are mirrors of our profession. They question the status quo, verbalize obstacles and barriers, and communicate opportunities to improve our practice. We have the opportunity to listen, discuss, collaborate, and innovate throughout our department, hospital, and community. We learn from each other.

Through my work with ACEP as well as my work within my hospital community, I have found myself collaborating with senators and congressmen on issues of importance to emergency physicians such as out-of-network billing, access to care, and population health issues. I have found that I am not shy and have a love affair with the microphone. I have learned not to talk for the sake of talking but to have a goal and know what needs to be said. I have been successful most recently with legislation for an alternative to opioid (ALTO) program in my home state of New Jersey and it is now on its way to becoming national legislation. The ALTO program is an example of our discipline adapting to the needs of our communities. We remain that safety net across the country.

I remember where I started. I remember staying up all night wondering what I could have done differently when I have lost a patient. At this point in my career, I am up all night wondering what I can do for our College and how best can I serve. I believe I enhance ACEP’s ability to speak for all emergency physicians because of my diverse practice experiences, my activities with ACEP, and my genuine love and respect for our profession. Thank you.

Thomas J. Sugarman, MD, FACEP (California)

Current Professional Positions: emergency physician and chair of emergency services, Sutter Delta Medical Center, Antioch, California; senior director of government affairs, Vituity, Emeryville, California; urgent care physician, East Bay Physicians Medical Group, Lafayette, California
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine residency and internship, Harbor UCLA
Medical Degree: MD, University of Illinois at Chicago (1989)

Response
ACEP is the preeminent organization advocating on behalf of emergency physicians and our patients. Since completing my EM residency in 1992, I have averaged at least 10 shifts a month as a pit doctor, practicing in three states and in multiple practice settings. I primarily practice at a small, but busy, suburban hospital (60,000 visits a year). My group, Vituity (formerly CEP America), is a democratic partnership and 100 percent physician owned with no investor ownership. We share best practices and solutions across our multiple sites, spanning the breadth of EM. Vituity exists to offer doctors the opportunity for a fulfilling medical practice, delivering care the way we want our families to receive care. My personal practice experiences include rural hospitals, urban hospitals, teaching hospitals, for-profit, nonprofit, and government-owned hospitals. As an actively practicing pit doc, I understand the challenges facing EPs and our patients.

During my years in California ACEP and ACEP leadership, I learned that listening and understanding various perspectives is key to influencing positive change. ACEP Board of Directors members must not only understand the needs and goals of all EPs, but also the views of patients, other specialties, government officials, payers, hospitals, and other stakeholders in the medical system. We must educate and innovate for our patients and communities to enjoy high-quality emergency care that is both available and affordable. Patients deserve to feel secure when seeking care for perceived emergencies without fear of dire economic consequences. They also deserve better tools to access the right care at the right time, with the right follow-up for post­stabilization care. Without stabilizing reimbursement, improving practice enjoyment, and increasing resources for EM training, there will not be enough high-qualified EPs to deliver emergency care. ACEP, on behalf of EPs, must thread the needle by improving the value of the care EPs provide and ensuring that EM practices are sustainable. As an example, working with the EMS Committee, California ACEP, and the mobile integrated healthcare/community paramedicine task force, we were able to modernize ACEP’s policy on community paramedicine. The new policy allows for care to be delivered in appropriate settings without undermining access to emergency care and EMTALA.

I will represent you and make decisions on the Board from a paradigm of improving patient care and ensuring access to quality care. ACEP must mitigate EP practice hurdles such as administrative hassles, excessive time documenting in electronic health records, and unreasonable Maintenance of Certification requirements so EPs can focus on clinical care. I remain convinced that the best paradigm to advocate for improvements to our EM practices is to view the situation from the patients’ perspectives. What is good for our patients and the community will be good for emergency medicine and emergency physicians.

I humbly ask for your vote so that I may represent you on the Board of Directors. Thank you.