ACEP and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine lauded the announcement by the National Institutes of Health that Dr. Jeremy Brown, an emergency physician and ACEP member, has been appointed the first permanent director of the recently created Office of Emergency Care Research.

“Dr. Brown’s distinguished history as an emergency physician and educator makes him an ideal person to hold this position,” said ACEP President Dr. Andrew Sama.

“As the nation implements health care reform, emergency medical care and emergency departments have never been more important. A recent study by the RAND Corporation confirms the tremendous value of emergency departments and the growing role they play in our health care system,” Dr. Sama added.

Since the release of three reports on the future of emergency care by the Institutes of Medicine in 2006, members of the ACEP/SAEM Research Work Group have been collaborating with the NIH to advance emergency care research.

“The appointment of Dr. Brown as the OECR Director is the culmination of efforts to establish a strong presence for emergency care research at the NIH,” said ACEP member, Dr. Charles B. Cairns, professor and chair at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and co-chair of the ACEP/SAEM Research Work Group.

“Through the rigorous selection process, it is clear that Dr. Brown has the support of the leadership at NIH. The ACEP/SAEM Research Work Group looks forward to collaborating with Dr. Brown and the NIH to advance emergency medicine research.”

ACEP/SAEM Research Work Group members met with Dr. Brown and raised a number of issues, including the NIH research agenda and how emergency care responders can help the OECR fulfill its mission. The NIH is the largest federal agency dedicated to medical research.

The formation of the OECR in 2012 was heralded as a significant advance for emergency medicine investigators and emergency patients and the fulfillment of a longstanding goal of ACEP and SAEM.