New York emergency physician Dr. Andrew E. Sama, FACEP, was chosen at Scientific Assembly by the ACEP Council to be the College’s president-elect.

Dr. Sama, who has been on the ACEP Board of Directors since 2007 and served as vice president last year, said he plans to draw on his experience of team building as external forces attempt to influence the emergency medicine practice structure.

“The nature of our specialty demands collaboration and alignment with hospitals in the vast majority of our business efforts,” Dr. Sama wrote in his campaign literature. “Maintaining autonomy, fairness in negotiations and payment, and the leadership role in the structure of emergency medical care delivery systems is essential.”

Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital at Manhasset, Dr. Sama is also senior vice president of the emergency medicine service line of the North Shore–LIJ Health System and Chair of the North Shore–LIJ Health System Medical Group.

Dr. Sama completed his internal medicine residency at North Shore University Hospital in 1984. He is a diplomate of both the American Board of Emergency Medicine and ABEM’s Pediatric Emergency Medicine. He is a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the Nassau County Medical Society, the Medical Society of the State of New York, the Nassau Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical Association.

After serving a year as president-elect, Dr. Sama will become ACEP’s President at the 2013 Scientific Assembly.

Also at this year’s meeting, the ACEP Council elected three new members to the Board of Directors and reelected one incumbent. Dr. Hans R. House from Iowa, Dr. Mark L. Mackey from Illinois, and Dr. John J. Rogers from Georgia will join incumbent Dr. Michael J. Gerardi from New Jersey on the Board. Board members serve 3-year terms.

Dr. Marco Coppola became Council Speaker and Dr. Kevin Klauer was elected Vice Speaker. These Council leaders serve 2-year terms.

The Council is a deliberative body that meets once a year for 2 days in conjunction with ACEP’s Scientific Assembly to ensure grassroots involvement in the democratic decision making process.

The Council votes on resolutions, which may be introduced by two members, a section, or a chapter.