Department Blog - January 2014

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD, is the lead author of "America's Emergency Care Environment: A State-by-State Report Card," published in the February issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Hirshon chairs ACEP's Report Card Task Force, which rated five aspects of the nation's emergency care environment: access to care, quality and patient safety, medical liability, public health and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness. This year's report card gives the environment in which the emergency care system operates an overall grade of D+.

Ben Lawner, DO, is featured in a video produced by the Baltimore City Fire Department, which explains the life-saving capability of bystander CPR. The video is based on an incident involving a 12-year-old boy who experienced sudden cardiac arrest. The scenario is described by the paramedics who responded to the scene, and Dr. Lawner provides the medical perspective. The purpose of the video is public education as well as promotion of the CPR classes sponsored by the BCFD. You can watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gdYmpGXcOU&feature=youtu.be.

Rob Rogers and Emilie Calvello have been appointed Extraordinary Associate Professor and Extraordinary Senior Lecturer, respectively, in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. These appointments recognize the contributions that Dr. Rogers and Dr. Calvello have made, and will continue to make, toward the education of emergency physicians in South Africa and the development of the specialty in that country.

Dr. Amal Mattu presented three lectures at the 14th Annual Multispecialty Conference on Medical Negligence and Risk Management, held in Los Cabos, Mexico, in early January. The topics of his talks were “Dysrhythmias in the Emergency Department: Myths and Pitfalls,” “Emergency Department Care of Avoidable Disasters,” and “Cooling the Fire! Modern Management of Cardiac Arrest.”

Congratulations to Dr. Larry Weiss, recipient of the 2014 David Wagner Award from the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. The award, the most prestigious among AAEM's honors, recognizes national leadership in emergency medicine. Dr. Weiss served as president of AAEM from 2008 to 2010.