John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award

Nicholas J. Jouriles, MD, FACEP
Dr. Jouriles is professor and chair of emergency medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, and vice president of the academic division at US Acute Care Solutions. He joined ACEP in 1985, was Ohio Chapter President in 1997, and was ACEP President in 2008. He was Chair of the 2003 Scientific Assembly.

While ACEP President, Dr. Jouriles’s motivation was to serve the members and make emergency medicine a better specialty. His presidency included release of the second ACEP National Report Card, and he convened the first Summit of all EM organizations, a meeting to discuss issues common to the specialty and how we could work together to address them. He worked with other medical societies to place EM-friendly language into the Affordable Care Act. He was President during ACEP’s 40th anniversary.

Dr. Jouriles’s publication history includes helping to write the medical school EM curriculum, the EM core competencies, and international EM curricula for medical students, trainees, and emergency physicians.

He is a board member and president of the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance, a member of the Council of Emergency Residency Directors, Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, International Federation of Emergency Medicine, an American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) examiner, and a charter member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM).

Dr. Jouriles enjoys rollercoasters, travel, dining, water sports, and time with his lovely wife Michele and talented daughter Jennifer.

John A. Rupke Legacy Award

David E. Wilcox, MD, FACEP

Although Dr. Wilcox’s personal family has always been his highest priority, his wife Margaret will readily admit that a close second is his “ACEP family.”
Over the past 40 years of ACEP’s 50 years, it has been Dr. Wilcox’s distinct privilege and personal honor to serve ACEP, the ACEP Council, the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians, the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF), and the National Emergency Medicine Political Action Committee (NEMPAC). Each of these entities has kindly acknowledged this consistent service, and has rewarded Dr. Wilcox’s with the following awards:

• NEMPAC 911 Network Outstanding Legislative Achievement Award—Twice, October 1997 and May 2009
• National EMS Week “Answering the Call” Award—August 2001
• EMF Outstanding Contributions Award—October 2007
• ACEP Council Teamwork Award—October 2007
• ACEP Hero of Emergency Medicine Award—February 2008
• ACEP Council Meritorious Service Award—October 2010
• Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians Phil Stent Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Emergency Medicine—Nov 2011

During the first half of his emergency medicine career, Dr. Wilcox was in academic positions at Brown University Medical Schools in Providence, Rhode Island, and the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Medical School in Worcester, teaching medical students and residents, in addition to teaching paramedics at Northeastern University in Boston. In June of this year, UMASS Emergency Medicine initiated their inaugural David E. Wilcox, MD, FACEP, National Service Award, a humble local equivalent to the ACEP John Rupke Legacy Award.

During his first 40 years in emergency medicine, Dr. Wilcox has been blessed with a long, broad, interesting, enjoyable, and rewarding career. Following true to the John Rupke Legacy, it is Dr. Wilcox’s intention to continue showing up, giving back, and paying it forward, until he is no longer physically capable of doing so.

James D. Mills Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medicine Award

Thom A. Mayer, MD, FACEP
Dr. Mayer is founder of BestPractices, Inc, the medical director for the NFL Players Association, a medical director for Studer Group, clinical professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and 100 book chapters, and has edited or written 20 textbooks.

Dr. Mayer was named the ACEP Outstanding Speaker of the Year in the second year the award was given, and has twice been named ACEP’s “Over-the-Top” award winner. In sports medicine, his work at the forefront of changing concussion diagnosis and management in the NFL has changed the way in which these athletes are diagnosed and treated.

Dr. Mayer served as chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Annandale, Virginia, from 1989 to 2002, taking a community emergency department to one of the most renowned and innovative emergency departments in the nation, winning numerous awards. He has served on the Inova Health Care System Foundation Board since 2000.

On September 11, 2001, Dr. Mayer served as one of the command physicians at the Pentagon rescue operation, coordinating medical assets at the site. He has served on the Department of Defense on Defense Science Board Task Forces on Bioterrorism, Homeland Security, and Consequences of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Despite these accomplishments, he continues to push the envelope of innovation in emergency medicine, sports medicine, and indeed health care itself.

Judith E. Tintinalli Award for Outstanding Contribution in Education

Corey M. Slovis, MD, FACEP
Dr. Slovis is professor of emergency medicine and medicine, and chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Slovis has completed residencies in internal medicine and emergency medicine at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He is board certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and most recently in emergency medical services. He serves as the medical director for Metro Nashville’s Fire Department and Nashville International Airport.

Dr. Slovis has received numerous teaching awards including Outstanding Speaker of the Year by the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Hal Jayne Award for Academic Excellence by the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, and the Peter Rosen Award by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine for outstanding contributions in the area of academic leadership. He has been named Medical School Best Clinical Professor seven times, and has been awarded the title master clinical teacher by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. In addition to his teaching activities, Dr. Slovis has authored more than 100 medical articles and 50 book chapters and has also co-authored or been an editor of three books.

Colin C. Rorrie, Jr. Award for Excellence in Health Policy

L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP
Dr. Cirillo works as a partner at US Acute Care Solutions where he serves as the director of health policy and legislative advocacy, a position he has held for the past 14 years. He also works clinically in both Rhode Island and Connecticut and serves as the local ED medical director for the Pequot Emergency Department in Groton, Connecticut.

He served as clinical faculty at the Albany Medical Center emergency medicine residency program for three years before moving to Rhode Island. There he served as the chief of emergency medicine at the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket. In addition to his emergency department hospital leadership, Dr. Cirillo oversaw the creation of the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Rhode Island Department of Health. As the inaugural chief of the center, Dr. Cirillo and his team developed protocols and training for Rhode Island to implement a coordinated and effective statewide response system to a wide variety of public health emergencies.

Dr. Cirillo has served in numerous health policy related leadership positions within ACEP. He has served on, and chaired, ACEP’s Membership, State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, and Federal Government Affairs Committees. He currently serves on the NEMPAC Board of Trustees and on the ACEP’s Alternative Payment Model and Single Payer Task Forces, and on the EDPMA/ACEP Joint Task Force. He is a Past President of the Rhode Island Chapter of ACEP and has been a Councilor or alternate Councilor every year since 1992, except for 2008 when he ran for public office and missed the Scientific Assembly.

Dr. Cirillo and his wife Libby live in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and are the proud parents of Amanda (age 24), Connor (age 23), Matthew (age 21), and Trevor (age 19). They are also happy “parents” to family dogs Josh and Jenny. He is an active leader in the Boy Scouts of America and loves cooking, especially homemade craft pizzas.

Council Meritorious Service Award

James C. Mitchiner, MD, FACEP
Dr. Mitchiner is currently an attending emergency physician at both St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he has practiced emergency medicine for 30 years, and at St. Joes Chelsea Hospital in Chelsea, Michigan. In addition, he has a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Michigan Medical School.

He is Past President of the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians and has served ACEP in several capacities, including as Chair of its State Legislative and Regulatory Committee, a member of the Federal Government Affairs Committee, and on Task Forces covering EMTALA, emergency department crowding, health care and the uninsured, and alternative payment methods.

He is the Past President of the Washtenaw County Medical Society and currently serves on the board of directors of the Michigan State Medical Society, where he chairs its Health Care Delivery Committee. In addition, he is the medical director at MPRO, Michigan’s federally-designated health care quality improvement organization.

Disaster Medical Sciences Award

Gregory Ciottone, MD, FACEP
Dr. Ciottone is the director of the division of disaster medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, and the founder and director of the BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine. He is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School and an instructor of health care policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH). He also serves as the director for medical preparedness at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, a joint program of the HSPH and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Dr. Ciottone has taught disaster medicine in over 30 countries around the world and has consulted for the U.S. State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and White House, earning an award for outstanding achievement in support of the White House medical unit and the president of the United States in 2017.

In the early 1990s he worked with the United States Agency for International Development to create sustainable programs in disaster medicine throughout the former Soviet Union, and helped lead an International Atomic Energy Agency program for nuclear accident preparedness in eastern Europe. He also served as commander of the federal disaster medical assistance team Massachuestts-2, one of the first into Ground Zero during the World Trade Center disaster on Sept. 11, 2001.

Dr. Ciottone has written over 100 scholarly works, including the first two editions of his textbook Ciottone’s Disaster Medicine. For his work at Ground Zero during Sept. 11, he received an official citation from the Massachusetts Senate and was honored by the Boston Red Sox by throwing-out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park. In 2009 he worked personally with Mikhail Gorbachev towards improved health care infrastructure in Russia. In 2017 Dr. Ciottone was inducted as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Dr. Ciottone lives in Westminster, Massachusetts, with his wife and children.

Outstanding Contribution in EMS Award

David E. Persse, MD, FACEP
Dr. Persse’s career in medicine started with 10 years’ experience as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in upstate New York and New Jersey. After receiving his pre-med training at Columbia University in New York City, he attended Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Dr. Persse completed residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. He was awarded a grant from the SAEM and completed fellowship training in emergency medical services and resuscitation at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the City of Houston Emergency Medical Services program.

Following his EMS fellowship, Dr. Persse became the assistant medical director for the emergency medical services system of Houston. He then moved to California to become the medical director of the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute, and the assistant medical director of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency. In 1996, Dr. Persse assumed the role of the Director of Emergency Medical Services for the City of Houston.

In May 2004, he was appointed by the City Council as Houston’s Public Health Authority. He has been the lead author or co-author on over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has overseen Houston’s Public Health response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Harvey, as well as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, and he is currently the incident commander for the Zika virus response.

Dr. Persse is a member of the board of directors and executive committee for the South East Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council and is past chair of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. He is the recipient of the 2007 Keith Neely Outstanding Contribution to the National Association of EMS Physicians for his leadership during the Hurricane Katrina response and the 2009 Michael K. Copass Award from the U.S. Metropolitan Medical Directors. He is a 2015 EMS Top 10 Innovator Award Winner from the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. Dr. Persse is a professor of medicine and surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Medical School Houston. He is also a tactical physician with the Houston police S.W.A.T. team.

Outstanding Contribution in Research Award

Lynne D. Richardson, MD, FACEP
Dr. Richardson is professor and vice chair of emergency medicine and professor of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City; and system vice chair of emergency medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System.

She is one of the most accomplished investigators in emergency medicine. Both she and the research division she has built at Mount Sinai are consistently ranked in the top five in the country in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Her research focuses on issues of health care access, quality, and equity. She has designed innovative models of emergency care to improve patient outcomes, as well as novel emergency department-based care coordination and care transition interventions to support population health initiatives.

Dr. Richardson is also one of our specialty’s most respected research mentors. She directed one of the original emergency medicine K12 programs and leads the first T32 program awarded in emergency care research. She serves as a senior health policy advisor for the EMF.

Dr. Richardson has made highly influential contributions to eliminating health care disparities in both the research and policy arenas. She is a member of the New York City Board of Health, the first emergency physician ever to serve in that board’s more than 150-year history. She serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of the Centers for Disease Control and is the current chair of the ACD Health Disparities Subcommittee. A former recipient of the ACEP Colin C. Rorrie, Jr. Award for Excellence in Health Policy, she has also been honored by ACEP as a Hero of Emergency Medicine and with a New York ACEP Chapter Improving Emergency Care Award. In 2016, Dr. Richardson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Honorary Membership Award

Marjorie Geist, RN, PhD, CAE
During her 20 years as a nurse, Dr. Geist was an emergency nurse in three county emergency departments and taught emergency nursing at the University of Texas at Austin. During her 27 years at ACEP, Marjorie staffed numerous committees, sections, and task forces in the education, practice management, and academic affairs departments. She served as staff academic liaison to the Review Committee for Emergency Medicine, SAEM, the Council for Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association, and ABEM. She also implemented ACEP’s academic and research educational meetings: Teaching Fellowship, Emergency Medicine Basic Research Skills, and Research Forum (EMBRS).

Honorary Membership Award

Barbara M. Tomar, MPH
From March 2002 until her retirement in June 2017, Ms. Tomar was ACEP’s federal affairs director in the Washington, D.C., office. She was responsible for addressing policies affecting emergency physicians and their patients on the federal regulatory front. The major challenge of her tenure was the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which, weighing in at over 2,000 pages, spawned another 20,000 pages of regulations over a four-year roll-out. Ms. Tomar also staffed several ACEP committees and task forces, the Emergency Medicine Action Fund, and two sections, as well as serving for 15 years as Council reference committee staff.

Before joining ACEP, Ms. Tomar was a health policy staffer for the American Hospital Association for eight years, worked for several health consulting firms in the D.C. area, and at the Washington, D.C., VA Hospital.

Ms. Tomar misses ACEP but is loving retirement and considers herself blessed to have both of her grown children, Louisa and Eli, living in the D.C. area. Eli and his wife Michelle have two boys, ages 3 and 1, who get lots of her attention when she isn’t hiking, taking bike trips, volunteering, and spending time with friends.