PRESIDENT’S REPORT Robert E. Suter, DO, MHA, FACOEP-D, FIFEM

PRESIDENT’S REPORT Robert E. Suter, DO, MHA, FACOEP-D, FIFEM

For most of us, the almost unexpected and sudden unmarking of COVID vaccinated Americans presented a mix of joy and relief combined initially with some apprehension over what might happen next. Given that unmasking is on the honor system, the continued drop in cases and deaths seemed almost miraculous. Perhaps the most inspiring thing was that the new recommendations triggered an increase in vaccinations among those who had previously refused them.

Of course, the change in CDC recommendations settled any debate about the ACOEP 2021 Scientific Assembly in Washington, DC (October 11-15). While Scientific Assembly will also be available virtually for those who remain concerned about travel and gathering in large groups, we contracted the 2021 meeting several years ago and with the end of COVID conference restrictions we are expected to do our best to honor the contracted in-person goals.

The 2021 Scientific Assembly will be ACOEP’s first visit to our nation’s capital that will leverage our surroundings to be a spectacular and memorable experience by any standard. The Awards Ceremony and FOEM Gala promise to be especially nice. Given the circumstance of being our first in-person ACOEP Family Reunion after surviving the COVID storm, it also promises to be an emotional release.

We will gather to share our loss and pain, as well as the victories and joys along the way, with the other members of our community — the emergency physicians that we grew up with, the ones that know our names. All the while enjoying world class ACCME and AOA certified CME.

For those willing to embrace the opportunity, our conference in DC will also allow our committees, the RSO and the FOEM to gather together in person. Free of the limitations of Zoom we will work together to advance our community, emergency medicine and our own practices. It’s not too late to volunteer to be a part of making our future – contact me, Dr. Bernie or our staff to express your interests. Whether your interests are in leveraging ACOEP to change the world or just our community, you can position yourself to benefit professionally and we as a community are enriched by your involvement. If you are not sure where your participation might be the best fit, contact me or any of our staff and we will help you find it.

SOMETIMES YOU WANNA GO WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME AND THEY’RE ALWAYS GLAD YOU CAME YOU WANNA BE WHERE YOU CAN SEE OUR TROUBLES ARE ALL THE SAME YOU WANNA BE WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME.”

I hope you will join us in DC to help make the end my term especially special and memorable, in the company of you my friends and our ACOEP community.

Working together as part of the overall healthcare system we have pushed back the pandemic and restored some sense of normalcy to our world. We now have the opportunity to re-apply our energies to defeat any unique challenges facing our community as we exit these tough times.

When we do this, we can be sure that our best days are ahead of us. –•–

Robert E. Suter, DO, MHA, FACOEP-D, FIFEM