The 2011 American College of Emergency Physicians Awards program honors leadership and excellence, and will recognize these recipients throughout the 2011 Scientific Assembly in San Francisco.

The program provides an opportunity to recognize members for their significant professional contributions, as well as service to the College. All ACEP members are eligible to participate in one or more of the College’s award programs.

Frederick C. Blum, M.D., FACEP

John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award – Presented to a current or past national leader in recognition of outstanding contribution to the College. The award honors John G. Wiegenstein, M.D., a founding member and the first president of ACEP.

Dr. Blum is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He has been a member of ACEP since 1985 and a Fellow of the College since 1992, and has dedicated his career to training a new generation of emergency physicians and midlevel providers.

Thanks to Dr. Blum’s efforts as ACEP President in 2005-2006, NEMPAC nearly doubled its contributions and today is the fourth largest medical specialty PAC. Dr. Blum was president during the first ACEP Report Card, the ACEP Rally at the U.S. Capitol, and the Institute of Medicine report on the state of emergency care in the United States.

Since leaving his position on the ACEP Board of Directors, Dr. Blum has focused his efforts internationally, speaking around the world as secretary general and president of the International Federation of Emergency Physicians.

John Skiendzielewski, M.D., FACEP

James D. Mills Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medicine Award – Presented to an active, life, or honorary member for significant contributions to emergency medicine. The award honors the late James D. Mills Jr., M.D., the second president of the College.

Dr. Skiendzielewski is the Emergency Medicine Service Line Director for Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., and former Director of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Geisinger Medical Center. He was a member of Geisinger’s first emergency medicine residency class and has remained to create one of the strongest emergency medicine residency programs in the country.

He served Pennsylvania ACEP in several capacities, including as committee member, board member, and officer. On the national level, he represented Pennsylvania as a councillor, was twice elected to the national Board of Directors, and served as vice president. Additionally, he has served on a range of committees and task forces, many of which he chaired.

In addition to excellence as a teacher, clinician, and ACEP supporter, he is also the author of numerous articles published in emergency medicine and general medical journals.

Cherri D. Hobgood, M.D., FACEP

Outstanding Contribution in Education Award – Presented to a member who has made a significant contribution to the educational aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Hobgood is Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Rolly McGrath Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Prior to this role, she spent 12 years at the University of North Carolina, last serving as vice chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Over the course of her career, she initiated projects on the assessment of medical errors, quality measurement, and teaching teamwork in emergency medicine practice. She is Chair of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine Core Curriculum and Education Committee, which has developed and disseminated model curricula for emergency medicine students and residents worldwide.

Her work in death notification, including the GRIEV_ING communication model, was funded by the Emergency Medicine Foundation and the federal Office for Victims of Crime and is recognized as a standard in palliative care.

Nathan Kuppermann, M.D., FACEP

Outstanding Contribution in Research Award – Presented to a member who has made a significant contribution to research in emergency medicine.

Dr. Kuppermann is the Bo Tomas Brofeldt Endowed Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and a professor in the departments of emergency medicine and pediatrics.

He is the primary or senior author of nearly 100 research papers published in leading journals. His primary areas of study are pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis–associated cerebral edema, clinical and laboratory evaluation of febrile children, and laboratory and radiographic evaluation of pediatric trauma patients.

He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2011 and is the recipient of numerous awards. He served as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network from its creation in 2001 through 2008. In 2011, Nate helped to further develop pediatric emergency medicine in Argentina, and is helping to develop the first pediatric emergency medicine research network in Argentina and Uruguay.

Debra G. Perina, M.D., FACEP

Outstanding Contribution in EMS Award – Presented to a member or nonmember who has made a contribution to emergency medical services that is nationally significant in application or scope.

Dr. Perina is an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, EMS Fellowship Director, and Division Director of Prehospital Care. She is also a Regional Quality Medical Director for the University of Virginia Health Sciences System.

Since 1985, Dr. Perina has served as an emergency medical services medical director for rural volunteer, metropolitan county services, and air medical services in South Carolina and Virginia. She has published more than 20 chapters and articles on EMS-related issues and is coauthor of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Standard Medical Director’s Curriculum.

She has served on several collaborative committees between ACEP, the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and the National Association of EMS Physicians exploring physician certification in EMS, and is now leading the effort to create the first EMS certification examination with the American Board of Medical Specialties.

Daniel J. Sullivan, M.D., JD, FACEP

Colin C. Rorrie Jr. Award for Excellence in Health Policy – Presented to a member or nonmember who has made an outstanding contribution in monitoring and influencing health policy of importance to emergency medicine.

Dr. Sullivan is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Sullivan Group, a medical risk management and patient-safety organization. He is also Chairman of the Board of MEA Management LLC, an emergency medicine staffing organization with more than 300 employed emergency physicians, and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

Throughout his career, Dan has used his dual background to study patient safety issues and create resources to reduce medical errors and reduce risk in the practice of medicine. He has published cutting-edge research defining risk and safety issues in the practice of emergency and acute care medicine, and is a coeditor of the ACEP Risk Management textbook and teaches risk and safety nationally to emergency physicians.

Sanford H. Herman, M.D., FACEP

John A. Rupke Legacy Award – Presented to a current ACEP member for outstanding lifetime contributions to the College. The award honors John A. Rupke, M.D., one of the College’s founding members.

Dr. Herman is an emergency physician and Government Affairs Liaison for Emergency Services Network in Nashville and Tennessee Regional Medical Director for Valley Emergency Physicians Medical Group.

He began his practice of emergency medicine in 1986 and has been a member of ACEP since that time, participating actively in the Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee chapters. He is currently the president of the Tennessee Chapter.

At the national level, Dr. Herman has been a councillor since 1989 and was a member of the Council Steering Committee in 2000-2002. He has served as the chair of two sections, as a member of the Emergency Medicine Practice, Bylaws, and Finance committees, and as a member of the first two Work Force Studies and the second ACEP Report Card working group.

Marilyn J. Heine, M.D., FACEP

Council Meritorious Service Award – Presented to a member who has made consistent contributions to the growth and effectiveness of the ACEP Council.

Dr. Heine practices emergency medicine at Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown, Pa., and hematology oncology in Langhorne, Pa. This month she will be installed as president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Dr. Heine has been active in ACEP at the chapter and national levels since early 1992. She was president of the Pennsylvania Chapter from 2004 to 2005 and has served on national ACEP committees, including State Legislative/Regulatory, Quality & Performance, Nominating, and Federal Government Affairs, where she was also chair.

A councillor in 1998-2006 and again in 2009-2010, Marilyn has been an effective and recognized leader. She has represented the specialty in more general medical organizations, including the Bucks County Medical Society, PAMED, and the American Medical Association. She has testified before Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly on behalf of physicians, and met with then-President George W. Bush and legislative leaders.

Arthur E. Auer

Honorary Membership Award – Presented to an individual who has rendered outstanding service to the College or to the medical profession.

Mr. Auer is Executive Director of the Collin-Fannin County Medical Society, a post he created in partnership with the society’s leaders in 2008. It is the most recent in a series of positions Mr. Auer has held in medical society executive management, including positions with the Los Angeles County Medical Association, the San Joaquin Medical Society, and the Palm Beach Medical Society.

Mr. Auer played a critical role in the creation and development of ACEP as its first executive director. Hired as a consultant by ACEP founder Dr. John Wiegenstein in 1968, Mr. Auer served as executive director from 1970 to 1981. During his tenure, he developed Scientific Assembly into a major annual event, launched the College’s peer-reviewed journal (then known as the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians), supported the creation of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and forged valuable relationships within the House of Medicine.

Leah Heimbach, JD, RN, EMT-P

Honorary Membership Award – Presented to an individual who has rendered outstanding service to the College or to the medical profession.

Ms. Heimbach is a practicing attorney and co-owner and principal of Health Management Solutions LLC, a health care management consulting firm with offices in West Virginia and the metro Washington, DC, area. From 1987 to 2011, she served as executive director of West Virginia ACEP.

Ms. Heimbach became the chair of the Advanced Cardiac Life Support Executive Committee for the state and rose to the position of board member and officer within Basic Trauma Life Support International. She is the author of multiple EMS book chapters and journal articles.

As executive director of West Virginia ACEP, she helped hire a lobbyist and wrote much of what has become one of the strongest tort reform bills in the United States. She also guided the hiring of a constitutional law expert and wrote a bill that addressed one of the worst medical malpractice environments in the nation.