Formation of the AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division

A new AAEM Regional Chapter for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Dear Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. AAEM Members, 

We hope that you and your family and colleagues have all been keeping safe during this overwhelming and challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

At this important and challenging time, AAEM is announcing the formation of the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division. We would like to invite you and all AAEM members in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to join this new regional chapter division when it officially begins this fall.  

We are looking for both community and academic physicians, as well as interested residents and medical students in this endeavor.

Further, we are looking for individuals who might be interested in leading the AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division for the positions of:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary/Treasurer
• At-Large Director (2) 

Like you, we are all overwhelmed and occupied with our clinical and administrative responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and the devastating effect it is having on ED patients, staff, our colleagues, and on our families and on ourselves.  

Despite our busy and overwhelmed responsibilities during this crisis, there is an urgent and pressing need for an AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division that would focus on state and national EM-related clinical, educational, economic and health policy issues, including EM and ED-related issues affected by the COVID-19 crisis.  

AAEM and the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division will continue their roles as the “Champion of the Emergency Physician” by representing and advocating for all emergency physicians now and throughout this crisis for safe practice environments, for fair and equitable practice rights, and for the all other important issues affected by the COVID-19 crisis, including sick leave, paid time off and family leave, loan and income issues, and fair compensation and contracting.  

For these reasons, we are proposing that the AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division consider devoting itself in particular to local and national health policy and EM health legislative issues, in addition to traditional regional chapter division functions such as education, CME, local and state advocacy and other issues vital to emergency physicians.

To lessen any extra volunteer efforts from our busy members during this crisis, AAEM has established an AAEM Capital Regional Chapter Division Task Force to initiate and complete the necessary administrative tasks to establishing the chapter division including the bylaws and other paperwork, and we hope to have the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division established and running by late summer early fall 2020.

We ask you to consider joining the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division when you renew your 2021 AAEM membership this fall. Please also let us know if you or any of your colleagues are interested in volunteering or nominating others for any positions of leaderships within the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division.

On behalf of the AAEM Board of Directors, and the AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division Task Force, thank you very much for your tireless dedication and sacrifices during this global pandemic for our patients, for our EM and ED colleagues, and for our families and our communities.  

 

Why form an AAEM Capital Region Chapter?

Like you, we share AAEM’s commitment to promoting access to high-quality emergency medical care for all patients and to enhance the welfare of emergency physicians.  

You may ask what value does a state chapter impart on your career and practice? We believe that there are many areas in which we can make an important and lasting impact in the Capital Region: local and national political advocacy, workplace quality and fairness, education, and research, and of course, our continued and increasing advocacy and representation of EM and emergency physicians during the COVID-19 crisis.  

Our initial plan includes: 

1. We are looking for individuals interested in joining the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division, and in volunteering for positions of leadership within the Chapter Division.
2. After establishing the Chapter Division, we would like to gauge what interests and needs an AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division would fulfill for our state members. A couple ideas are as follows:
   • Education — local web-based conferences and CME events with educational lectures on topics of interest.
     • NOTE: We are proposing that the AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division consider devoting itself to local and national health policy, in addition to traditional regional chapter division functions such as education, CME, local and State advocacy, and other issues vital to emergency physicians
   • Political Advocacy — reaching out to our state and national legislators and health policy leaders regarding COVID-19 related issues, and on AAEM’s traditional devotion to fair and equitable practice environments, “surprise billing”, tort reform, mental health care, Affordable Care Act reimbursements, and any/all other state and national EM health policies that directly affect emergency medicine. We would love other ideas or areas of interest you may have so we could best serve you the members.

Third, we are looking for energetic interested members in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. who are interested in helping lead the chapter division formation and assisting in meeting the goals of the chapter.

We ask you to consider joining the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division, and please let us know if you or any of your colleagues are interested in volunteering or nominating others for any positions of leaderships within the new AAEM Capital Region Chapter Division.

Sincerely,

Terrence M. Mulligan, DO MPH FAAEM

L.E. Gomez, MD MBA FAAEM

William T. Durkin, Jr., MD MBA MAAEM FAAEM