This year’s ACEP annual meeting shattered the old attendance record, with more than 6,250 emergency medicine specialists registered for all for four days and hundreds more single-day registrants, guests and exhibitors. The previous record was 5,900 four-day attendees who visited Las Vegas in 2010. ACEP would like to thank everyone who went to Seattle, enjoyed top-notch education, and visited some of the city’s tourist attractions at the kickoff party and closing celebration.

Gerardi Chosen as ACEP President-Elect

ACEP Councilors elected Michael J. Gerardi, M.D., FAAP, FACEP, to serve as ACEP’s President-elect for the upcoming year. Dr. Gerardi’s term as president will begin at ACEP14 next year in Chicago.

Dr. Gerardi is an emergency physician and faculty member at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He also is senior vice president for Emergency Medical Associates. In addition, Dr. Gerardi has served for nearly 20 years as director of pediatric emergency medicine at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, N.J. For the past five years, he has served as a member of ACEP’s Board of Directors. Dr. Gerardi also is a long-standing member of the New Jersey Chapter, having served as treasurer, secretary, and President.

Dr. Gerardi earned his medical degree at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed residencies in internal medicine and pediatrics at Emory University, Atlanta.

Board, Council Welcome New Members

ACEP’s Council voted for officers and members of the ACEP Board of Directors at the Council Meeting. Council Vice Speaker James Cusick, M.D., FACEP, was elected and will join Council Speaker Kevin Klauer, D.O., EJD, FACEP, who ran for that post unopposed. Elected to the Board of Directors were Debra Perina, M.D., FACEP; James Augustine, M.D., FACEP; and incumbents Robert O’Connor, M.D., MPH, FACEP; and Paul Kivela, M.D., FACEP.

At the last day of ACEP13, the Board elected officers for 2013-14. They are: Dr. Andrew E. Sama, Chair; Dr. O’Connor, Vice President; and Dr. Kivela, Secretary-Treasurer.

EMF Reports Successful Meeting

The Emergency Medicine Foundation raised $203,000 during the 2013 Council Meeting, which set a new record for donations. The Silent and Live Auction netted another $28,000, and ACEP members pitched in to make ACEP13 one of the most successful meetings in EMF history. A “Taste of the Northwest” event featured a tour of the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. EMF officials reported that the Major Donor Lounge, new to ACEP’s annual meeting, was a big success. EMF would like to thank the Council and ACEP13 members for their donations to help fund emergency medicine research.

NEMPAC Reports

In response to the turbulent political environment, ACEP members are supporting NEMPAC, ACEP’s Political Action Committee, at record levels to ensure that emergency medicine has a strong voice in Washington DC. Implementation of the new health care law continues to present challenges to the specialty, along with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and liability issues, making it more important than ever for emergency physicians to stay active and engaged in the process.

During the ACEP Council meeting, NEMPAC collected $156,000 and received an additional pledge of $50,000 from CEP America’s physicians. Coupled with the $800,000 donated by ACEP members across the country prior to the meeting, NEMPAC is well on its way to reaching $1.1 million in 2013.

This year, ACEP physicians in seven emergency medicine group practices were recognized with the NEMPAC 2013 Leadership Award.

• CEP America physicians pledged $100,000 in 2013.
• Emergency Medicine Physicians (EMP) introduced a monthly payroll deduction option for NEMPAC donations from their ACEP Members, with a target of $150,000 for 2013. NEMPAC and EMP PAc sponsored a reception on Sunday evening for ACEP member Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.).The event was held to help Dr. Ruiz in his re-election bid for Congress. A similar event was planned for ACEP member Representative Joe Heck (R-Nev.) but was canceled because of the Congressional schedule.
• TeamHealth introduced a payroll deduction option for their ACEP members and has collected $100,000 in 2013.
• Eastside Emergency Physicians have 100% Give-a-Shift ($1,000) participation in NEMPAC from their ACEP physician members, with $27,000 donated in 2013.
• Florida Emergency Physicians (FEP) donated $42,000 from 42 “Give-a-Shift” donors.
• Medical Emergency Professionals (MEP) introduced a monthly payroll deduction option for NEMPAC donations, with more than $20,000 donated in 2013.
• Wake Emergency Physicians, Pa., pledged $10,000 through an installment giving program.

innovatED Makes Debut

ACEP13 attendees experienced the debut of innovatED in the Exhibit Hall. This interactive, hands-on, realistic view of an emergency department was broken into zones: Pre-Hospital, Patient Access, Patient Treatment, Innovation, and Communication. ACEP is already planning to make innovatED twice as big next year in Chicago, allowing even more chances to exchange ideas and see how technology will drive emergency department design, patient care, and flow. In addition to some of the latest products and design, innovatED featured ED Talks, where 10-minute talks from industry experts allowed for collabora-tion and updates on what’s next for health care and the emergency departments.

ACEP encourages feedback from members about how we can make this space even better in Chicago.

Happy About the Opening Session

This year’s Opening Session featured Shawn Achor, a world-renowned expert on how creating happiness in your mindset can lead to success at work and improve your own life as well as the lives of the people around you.

Mr. Achor told a packed room that the human brain is limited and can process only part of reality, and the portion of reality it chooses or is conditioned to fixate upon becomes a template for subsequent processing. If the brain becomes experienced at looking at or for those things that are wrong or bad, that will become the primary things that it selects from every new experience.

Opening Session attendees also watched a video highlighting the lifesaving efforts of emergency physicians who worked the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tex., and the tornado in Moore, Okla.

At the end of the video, all emergency physicians who worked a disaster or mass-casualty event in the past year were asked to stand and be recognized.

Save the Dates: Oct. 27-30, 2014

It’s not too early to think about next year’s annual conference, where you can explore our nation’s third-largest city, home to breathtaking views and hundreds of tourist attractions. ACEP is already working with member volunteers to make sure ACEP14 delivers the education, networking, and fun you expect.