FLAAEM News - March 2009
Past Presidents Message 2009
It has been a Pleasure serving the Florida Chapter of the American
Academy of Emergency Medicine. Congratulations to the new officers and
Board Members. I am confident with our new leadership, we will continue
to grow and be a productive organization for the AAEM members here in
Florida.
FLAAEM is now the second largest state organization in AAEM. During my
term of office the executive committee and the Board of Directors was
very productive in serving the needs of our members. I wish to thank
them for their efforts.
We added the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine as a benefit to our
members with no additional dues cost for the electronic version and the
paper journal will only cost FLAAEM members $15/yr. This is a very high
quality publication that is produced by our brethren in CAL AAEM. We
encourage our members to submit any letters, abstracts, or papers which
you feel may benefit the EM community. This is a journal which we can be
proud to display in our medical libraries, staff lounges, and ED call
rooms.
The Web site continues to be expanded and has been maintained well by
Ken Scheppke MD. We have plans for a local job bank section within the
website, and have the addition of quarterly updates by the Board. During
the legislative session in Tallahassee we will have legislative updates
on issues which pertain to the membership. Also, we encourage any
submissions from our members on any pertinent topics.
FLAAEM has developed a liaison relationship with the Florida Osteopathic
Medical Association. The Board of Directors of FLAAEM and the Board of
Trustees of FOMA approved the liaison relationship at the end of 2008.
The purpose is multi factorial. The ACOEP has no state organizations
therefore there is no emergency medical affiliate for FOMA. There is no
specialty society to turn to when topics in emergency care come up. We
have no relationship with a state organization with which to advocate
for patients or monitor the activities of Tallahassee and the State
Boards. FLAAEM is a dual organization with both allopathic and
osteopathic members. The relationship will benefit both organizations.
We will have joint efforts in lobbying on topics which affect both
organizations, such as sovereign immunity. There will be joint efforts
on topics which affect the citizens of the state such as Taser safety.
Advocacy for our patients will be enhanced for both groups.
We continue our efforts to obtain the required number of FMA members to
enable us to obtain representation in the FMA, and strongly encourage
our members to join the FMA.
The FLAAEM Board sent letters of support to the Collier County
Commissioners on behalf of their EMS Medical Director Dr. Tober. It is
the opinion of FLAAEM that the Medical Director of the County EMS is the
most qualified person to decide who can practice ACLS and BLS under
his/her license, and make decisions on the best course of treatment for
pre-hospital patients in need of BLS and ACLS treatment. The FLAAEM
Board advocates that the Medical Director alone has the necessary
training, expertise, and qualifications to make such decisions for Fire
and EMS systems. Please review the complete letter posted on the web
site and we welcome any comments from the membership regarding this
issue.
FLAAEM will now have a resident representative sit on the FLAAEM Board.
We have established a resident membership category which residents can
join for free. We strongly encourage resident participation and will
this year seek a resident representative to spear head coordinate
activities with the Res. AAEM organization. It is my goals to have all
EM residents in the state of Florida join Res AAEM and FLAAEM through
sponsorship by the membership. A task force has been established to look
at the best route to establish this sponsorship program.
I wish to personally thank Rep. Ron ”Doc” Renuart for his efforts in
supporting the Sovereign Immunity Bill in the Florida House. I would
like to ask our membership to support Bob McCann D.O. in his run for a
seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Please go to
Bob@bobmccann.org
for more information. He has been given the endorsement of Rep. Ed Homan
MD and Rep. Ron Renuart D.O., and deserves our support. The more
physicians we have in Tallahassee the better for our patients. Please go
to the web site and give.
I would also like to recognize the efforts of David Soria MD from
Wellington, Fl in his legal action against Team health. Dr. Soria’s
stand against a cooperate entity the size of Team Health in the legal
arena is to be commended. The proceedings of this case should be
followed by the House of Medicine, as it has far reaching implications
for us all, especially for emergency medicine physicians.
I encourage all the members of FLAAEM to participate in the operations
of our organization. We have annual meetings during the Scientific
Assembly of the AAEM, and welcome any AAEM from Florida to attend.
Sincerely,
Mark Foppe D.O. FAAEM FACOEP
Immediate Past President FLAAEM
