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ACEP Now: Vol 42 – No 06 – June 2023

ACEP President-elect Aisha Terry, MD, FACEP, moderates a panel discussion about opportunities for EM physicians to govern with Miriam A. Bukhsh, MD, Brendan G. Carr, MD, MS, and Alister F. Martin, MD, MPP.

The keynote topic for the afternoon was a “Mental Health Update: What Policymakers Can Do Next.” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) shared her very clear understanding of the many challenges being faced by emergency physicians today. Sen. Hassan is a passionate advocate for improving the care of patients with mental illness and improving the mental health and wellness of the emergency physicians who provide that care. As she touched on the issues of crowding/boarding, ED violence, and workforce shortages, she acknowledged and validated how difficult it is to be a practicing emergency physician.

ACEP’s Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Practice Affairs Laura Wooster moderates a panel discussion about ED boarding advocacy efforts with Nathaniel Schlicher, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP, and Daniel Freess, MD, FACEP. (Click to enlarge.)

“I know this is a really tough time,” Sen. Hassan said. “But the more you all speak up about who you are and why you do what you do—and what a difference it makes in the lives of your patients and your communities—the faster we are going to be able to get our handle around the systemic challenges that we all need know we need to address. I can’t tell you how effective you are and how much I appreciate the fact that you take the time to advocate and do what you do.”

MY FIRST TIME AT LAC

by Danny Ayorinde, MD

ACEP’s 2023 Leadership and Advocacy Conference was amazing! The aggregation of like-minded, yet unique, individuals coming together as an organized collective power to advocate for our wonderful specialty in the heart of the nation—it was truly something wonderful to be a part of.

The landscape of emergency medicine is changing rapidly; the paradigm of exclusive practice within the walls of the hospital has all but shattered. As more data on health disparities and the interplay amongst social determinants of health and mortality outcomes are being brought to light, we as the safety net, witnessing firsthand their widespread effects on public health, need to be part of the conversation. Legislation directly and indirectly impacts our ability as clinicians to alleviate some of these inequities.