Nominations may also be e-mailed to kklauer@acep.org or faxed to 972-580-2816. All nominations must be postmarked, e-mailed, or faxed no later than Feb. 14.

Elections for the Board of Directors will occur on Sunday, October 26, during the 2014 Council meeting in Chicago.

Please contact Sonja Montgomery at 800-798-1822, ext. 3202, or by e-mail at smontgomery@acep.org if you have any questions about the nomination process.

Leadership Awards

ACEP’s Award Program has been developed to recognize all members for significant professional contributions as well as service to the College. All members of ACEP are eligible to participate in one or more of the College’s award programs. Nominations for Leadership and Excellence Awards are due by Feb. 14. An article outlining each of the awards and the nominations process was published in the January issue of ACEP Now (www.acepnow.com). Members also can find information at www.acep.org/awards.

ED Director of the Year

For the fifth consecutive year, Blue Jay Consulting, the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF), and ACEP will recognize and celebrate exemplary collaborative skills in the emergency department with the Outstanding Emergency Department Director of the Year Award. Nominations are being accepted now through Feb. 17. The award nominee must be an active or life member of ACEP and be serving in a leadership position in an emergency department. The nominee must demonstrate significant contributions to the department in the following categories:

• Collaboration with nursing
• Quality patient care
• Operational effectiveness
• Education
• Community service
• Synergistic approach to leadership within the hospital or hospital system

The nominee must demonstrate collaborative relationships with nursing and ancillary departments to implement and improve operational and clinical standards based on evidence-based practice. The nominee will create and sustain a high degree of patient satisfaction with emergency care delivery and will implement creative and innovative strategies to address emergency department throughput.

The selection panel, which will consist of appointees from EMF and Blue Jay Consulting, will judge the entries. The awardee must be present at the ACEP Emergency Department Directors Academy, Phase II, in Dallas on April 29, 2014. All entries must be completed and received via the Web site no later than Feb. 17, for consideration by the selection panel. Entries are limited to seven pages, plus an abbreviated curriculum vitae.

For more information, go to www.emfoundation.org/medicaldirectoraward.

Aetna Agrees to Settlement Regarding Unfair Payments to Out-of-Network Providers

Aetna has agreed to a settlement to pay claims that were reimbursed at less than usual and customary charges during a period from June 3, 2003, to Aug. 30, 2013, for out-of-network providers or provider groups. The settlement arises in part from Aetna’s use of the Ingenix database and Aetna’s out-of-network reimbursement policies that improperly reduced reimbursements for covered services. The WhatleyKallas law firm has prepared a step-by-step guide to claiming funds from the $120 million settlement pool.