Prior to filling the role, we confirmed again on Wednesday evening that John was not going to reconsider. Thursday morning, the Board decided to hold a special election as outlined in the bylaws for this specific circumstance. The election was conducted by the Council officers and ACEP’s general counsel.

Although the actions of the Board will need to be ratified by the Council at their annual meeting, the Board’s hope was to elect an individual who would not just serve for three months as President-Elect, but would also transition to be the President of the College, starting Sept. 30, as would have normally occurred with John’s position.

KK: Vidor, having previously run for president-elect, you are very familiar with the process and the requirements of the role.

VF: I ran last year, and I was runner-up to Dr. Rogers.

KK: So you had an opportunity to express your vision for the College to the Council, and as you stated, you were runner-up, so this was not an unusual result.

VF: That’s correct. Also, just so the everyone knows, it was not an uncontested election at the Board meeting. There were six Board members who stepped forward, and then one withdrew his nomination before the vote took place. This wasn’t a rubber-stamping of an individual. This was carefully considered and conducted according to the bylaws.

KK: What are your thoughts about the 50th anniversary that will lead us into and help us celebrate in San Diego?

VF: We’ve come a long way in 50 years. When you look back at the history of emergency medicine, while we’re still dealing with some of the issues that led to the creation of our specialty, I think we’ve become not just a valued member but a leader in the house of medicine. I think, as we look to the future, because of the nexus point that emergency medicine occupies within the health care system, we have an opportunity to facilitate much better care for our patients.

Transitions of care is one of many examples that calls for us to implement more widespread strategies to ensure high quality of care for our patients across the health care continuum. Emergency medicine must play a critical role in developing and deploying those strategies. As we move into the second 50 years, we have to move past pointing out the problems to creating solutions

KK: We’re looking forward to hearing more from you about your plans for your anticipated presidential year and looking forward to seeing you and others in San Diego for our 50th anniversary.