Leon L. Haley, Jr., MD, MHSA, CPE, FACEP, was an inspiring member of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) family, serving as a volunteer for many years and then as a member of the Board of Directors before his accidental death in 2021. The loss of Dr. Haley has been profoundly felt by his family, his colleagues, and the medical community at-large.

Leon L. Haley, Jr., MD, MHSA

Dr. Haley was a dedicated volunteer in both community and medical organizations. He completed medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, Emergency Medicine (EM) residency training at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan.

After leaving Michigan, Dr. Haley joined Emory University, where he served as Associate Dean of the Emory School of Medicine, Deputy Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, and Chief of Emergency Medicine Affairs at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Subsequently, Dr. Haley’s career trajectory continued upward as he moved to Florida to serve as the first African American Dean at the University of Florida-Jacksonville College of Medicine and the Chief Executive Officer of the University of Florida (UF) Health Jacksonville.

Dr. Haley’s many achievements have created a lasting impact, especially his work promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He led the charge at UF Health Jacksonville to join TIME’S UP Healthcare, a national initiative dedicated to ensuring safe, fair, and dignified work for women in the healthcare industry. Dr. Haley implemented COVID-19 testing for underserved populations and was the first person in Florida to receive a vaccine. He also led the UF health system to score perfectly on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2019 Healthcare Equality Index Report as an LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader. To show its tremendous gratitude and to commemorate Dr. Haley’s unparalleled contributions to the university as well as the Jacksonville community, the Florida Governor announced secured funding for the

Leon Haley, Jr., MD Trauma Center at UF-Jacksonville and that the center will be renamed to honor Dr. Haley.

To honor Dr. Haley’s legacy and continue his DEI work, ABEM created the

Dr. Leon L. Haley, Jr., Bridge to the Future of Emergency Medicine Academy. In June 2022, ABEM hosted ten rising second-year medical students in East Lansing, Michigan for a two-week intensive educational and hands-on experience. This inaugural ABEM program received 45 applications from medical students across the country, and the 10 students selected (photo) identified as being from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine (URiM).

The students stayed in East Lansing, Michigan so they could be immersed in educational and hands-on experiences in critical topics related to disparities in health care, leadership, physician wellness, public health issues, applying for residency, and more (Table 1). Students also participated in site visits to Emergency Medicine residency programs at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan and Central Michigan University College of Medicine in Saginaw, Michigan. During the two-week experience, each student was mentored in a Capstone Project that they presented to ABEM staff and Directors at the conclusion of the Academy (Table 2).

The students provided positive feedback about their experience in the Academy. Several students indicated that this experience was their first exposure to EM and topics of importance in the practice of EM. As a group, the students reported a significant increase in baseline knowledge around issues in public health, health disparities, and the how topics in DEI impact emergency medicine. The Dr. Leon L. Haley, Jr., Bridge to the Future of Emergency Medicine Academy was an opportunity to bring URiM medical students together to create a learning experience unlike any other in the emergency medicine. Not only did this provide unique, hands-on educational experiences for the students, but it also fostered a community of inclusion and helped to expand their peer and mentorship networks.

Engaging medical students early on to support upstream DEI education is a unique and innovative opportunity to inspire enthusiasm for Emergency Medicine. ABEM is the only Member Board, to date, among 24 specialties within the American Board of Medical Specialties to foster this type of DEI initiative. Building a network of URiM students that are passionate about EM and its role in serving diverse communities across the nation, will elevate EM as the specialty leader in DEI and culturally competent care for generations to come. It is critical to the specialty’s advancement that URiM students see a place for themselves in EM and the Haley Academy provides that opportunity.

Table 1: Selected Topics from the Haley Academy

• History of EM and ABEM
• Engaging Public Health Issues in the ED
• Disparities in Healthcare
• Gender Bias in EM
• Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Are We Accountable
• Leadership Trajectories for the EM Physician
• Careers Outside of Academia: Where EM Can Take You
• Social Determinants of Health
• How Research Informs Advocacy
• EMS/Disaster Medicine
• Interviewing for Residency
• Introduction to Simulation
• Achieving through Participation in Organized Medicine

Table 2: Student Capstone Projects

• The Association of Social Factors and Delay in Care for the Hispanic Community During COVID-19
• Buprenorphine: Barriers Affecting Access to Treatment
• The Association Between Higher Asthma Rates and Air Pollution in the Black Population
• Lower Quality Health Insurance Leads to Depression in Hispanic Populations in the Bronx
• Race and Ethnicity’s Impact on Rates of Diagnostic Imaging in Emergency Departments
• Implicit Bias and Chronic Pain Management: What Can We Do?
• Higher Pre-term Birth Rates Among African American Women
• Gun Violence in Youth and Pediatric Interventions
• Childhood Obesity in Hispanic Communities
• The Impact of COVID-19 on the Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence