Oregon

The Oregon Chapter’s biggest accomplishment in 2023 was developing, advocating for, and shepherding through the State Legislature a bill to greatly expand Narcan availability throughout the state.

Pennsylvania

In May of 2023, PACEP hosted our largest PACEP23 Scientific Assembly at Kalahari Resorts & Convention Center with a record attendance of 282! Great educational sessions, PACEP Olympics, and Spivey, CPC, and the Keystone Case Competition were just a few of the highlights.

Puerto Rico

Through grassroots efforts and national ACEP’s support, ACEP PR was able to derail Senate Bill 1134 that proposed an alternate pathway to emergency medicine specialty certification.

Rhode Island

The chapter’s executive board actively worked on the boarding crisis in our emergency departments with the Governor’s office and authored an op-ed featured on the front page of The Boston Globe. The chapter is nearing success working with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to raise the rates of Medicaid reimbursements for critical care billing. Additionally, chapter members successfully advocated for emergency medical dispatch statewide, which will increase bystander CPR rates and subsequent improved outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The chapter also actively engaged in several initiatives to address climate change’s impact on human health. Chapter members testified before the U. S. Senate Finance Committee, hosted an Earth Day event, secured funding for a 2024 climate change and health symposium, contributed to environmentally friendly design planning for Alpert Medical School’s new life sciences research building, and aided in the development of a Planetary Health curriculum for Alpert Medical School.

South Carolina

The South Carolina Chapter is experiencing sustained growth and success, including a flourishing Leadership Fellows program and dynamic Legislative Day. The chapter maintains involvement in the Coastal Emergency Medicine Conference. On the legislative front, SCCEP successfully advocated against allowing APRNs and PAs to establish independent practice. Additionally, the chapter supported legislation aimed at helping emergency physicians and obstetricians find career pathways in rural areas, while also paving the way for potential freestanding emergency centers to bolster the strength of the state’s safety net.

South Dakota

With the assistance of local resources and national ACEP, the South Dakota Chapter was successfully able to defeat SD SB 175, which would have allowed for a path to independent PA practice, as well as SD SB 87, which would have allowed for optometrists to perform eye and laser surgeries. Going forward, scope of practice legislation will continue to be SD ACEP’s top priority.