Kumar Alagappan, MD, FACEP
Associate Chairman, Emergency Medicine Program Director, International Emergency Medicine Fellowship Medical Director, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY
Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Dr. Kumar Alagappan is involved with the development of emergency medicine, both domestically and internationally. He had been residency director for 15 years when a resident asked to do an international elective. Dr. Alagappan arranged for this elective in India almost a decade ago. Since that time, more than 150 U.S. emergency medicine residents and students have traveled to India for this popular elective.
Dr. Alagappan has been the academic co-chair of 10 international emergency medicine conferences. ACEP endorsed all of these meetings, and also co-sponsored a November 2006 meeting in New Delhi. The conferences in India helped initiate a global movement to improve emergency care in India. At the November 2007 conference, the president of the national boards of India stated that he would recommend the recognition of emergency medicine as a specialty. Dr. Alagappan is immediate past chair of ACEP’s International Section, and is also the ACEP-appointed ambassador to India (2005) and Singapore (2007).
Bernard Beckerman, MD, FACEP
Attending Physician
Department of Emergency Medicine
North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System, Great Neck, NY
Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine – New York University School of Medicine
New York, NY
Dr. Bernard Beckerman has been a leader in New York Emergency Medical Services for more than 30 years and is the immediate past chairman of the Nassau County (NY) Regional Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC), the body that is legislatively charged with the development of EMS protocols for the region.
Dr. Beckerman is known as an innovator and was instrumental in the introduction of pre-hospital intubation, a procedure that has helped save countless lives since its introduction. He has also been a friend, educator, mentor and the "go to" person for many of the residents he has taught. He has received numerous awards, including the "EMS Physician of Excellence" award from the Nassau County Regional EMS Council in 1999, the "EMS Physician of Excellence" award from the New York State Bureau of Emergency Medical Services in 2000 and the "EMS Leadership Award" from the Nassau County Regional EMS Council in 2004.
Anthony J. Billittier, IV, MD, FACEP
Emergency Physician, Erie County Medical Center
Commissioner of Health, Erie County Department of Health
Buffalo, NY
Dr. Anthony J. Billittier is a leader and role model who has utilized his emergency medicine training to promote significant changes in numerous areas. He has been a faculty member for the SUNY Buffalo emergency medicine training program, he has led the EMS Fellowship Program and he spearheaded changes to emergency preparedness in western New York, leading to the recognition of "Model Community" by the CDC. He has embraced public health, recognizing how it is inextricably linked to emergency medicine, pre-hospital care and emergency preparedness.
As commissioner of health, Dr. Billittier has integrated all aspects of EMS, emergency medicine, public health and disaster preparedness into an exceptionally well-functioning system. His kind and unassuming demeanor, intelligence and gracious personality have enabled him to draw all of the key players together, such that experts from all backgrounds can work effectively as partners.
Antonio Dajer, MD
Interim Medical Director, Emergency Department
New York Downtown Hospital
New York, NY
Dr. Antonio Dajer was the sole emergency physician on duty in the New York Downtown Hospital emergency department in lower Manhattan, four blocks from the World Trade Center, when the towers were hit on Sept. 11, 2001. In this small community emergency department, he oversaw the care of more than 350 patients in two hours. Dr. Dajer spoke at the 2001 national ACEP meeting in Chicago and received a standing ovation from nearly 2,000 emergency physicians.
In addition to his presentations at ACEP, Dr. Dajer has traveled across the country educating emergency physicians and others about the lessons learned from his 9/11 mass disaster experience. He is truly deserving of this recognition from ACEP.
E. John Gallagher, MD, FACEP
University Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Epidemiology and Population Health
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, NY
Dr. E. John Gallagher has cared for underserved patients in the Bronx for more than 35 years. During this time, he directed the first emergency medicine residency in New York; received nine teaching awards from residents, medical students and faculty; and published more than 250 peer-reviewed original contributions. He also served on the editorial boards of three of the four major emergency medicine journals.
Dr. Gallagher has also served on ACEP’s Clinical Policies Committee and as deputy editor of the Annals of Emergency Medicine. He is past-president of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine and has received the Leadership Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in 2002 and currently chairs the Emergency Medicine section of the IOM. He continues to see emergency department patients four days a week.
Joel Gernsheimer, MD, FACEP
Attending Physician and Visiting Associate Professor
SUNY Downstate Medical Center/Kings County Hospital Center
Brooklyn, NY
Dr. Joel Gernsheimer began the Lincoln Medical Center residency program in 1981 and served as residency director through March 2007. The program was his passion, and he educated countless residents and medical students — many of whom are now leaders in the field of emergency medicine and actively involved in ACEP.
Dr. Gernsheimer has received numerous awards for his teaching and his contributions to the practice of emergency medicine, including "Teacher of the Year" and "Physician of the Year" awards from Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, NY, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award. The great amount of training he has done in the specialty of emergency medicine and his dedication to the residency program for 26 years make him a true hero of emergency medicine.
Lorraine M. Giordano, MD, FACEP
Residency Director
Metropolitan Hospital Center
New York, NY
Dr. Lorraine M. Giordano has been an active emergency physician for more than 30 years. Board-certified in both emergency and disaster medicine, she has practiced and taught in suburban, military, rural and academic environments. Dr. Giordano has had a longstanding presence in the emergency medicine and EMS communities in New York City. She has been an enthusiastic and active EMS advisory committee member at the regional and state levels for more than 20 years.
Dr. Giordano served as chairperson of the emergency department at Jamaica Hospital, Queens, NY, and then became medical director of New York City EMS in 1989. She saw the department through three administrations and many of its most challenging and rapidly changing times. Dr. Giordano was the first woman recipient of the AMA’s Medal of Valor, and she is a hero because of her tireless advocacy for quality pre-hospital patient care.
Lewis Goldfrank, MD, FACEP
Chairman and Professor of Emergency Medicine, New York University/Bellevue Department of Emergency Medicine
Medical Director, New York City Health Department Poison Center
New York, NY
Dr. Lewis Goldfrank is the founding chairman of NYU’s department of emergency medicine and the chief of emergency medicine at world-famous Bellevue Hospital. For years, he has advocated for the field of emergency medicine and various public health needs, and is widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern emergency medicine.
As editor of Goldfrank’s Toxicological Emergencies, he was also a pioneer in the sub-specialty of toxicology. He is still an active clinician and researcher and can be found in Bellevue’s emergency department regularly. His involvement and advocacy for disaster preparedness is helping to bring these issues to the forefront of the national psyche. He is a true hero of emergency medicine.
Andy S. Jagoda, MD, FACEP
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Medical Director, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
Medical Director, Brain Trauma Foundation
Editor-in-Chief, Emergency Medicine Practice
Dr. Andy S. Jagoda has played an instrumental role in clinical policy development, working with ACEP’s Clinical Policies Committee from 1994 to 2007. Working with the committee, he facilitated the evolution from a consensus-based process to an evidence-based process. He promoted ACEP’s practice guideline methodology both nationally and internationally, earning ACEP significant recognition and resulting in a number of collaborative initiatives with other societies, including the Dutch, Italian and Chilean.
Dr. Jagoda co-organized the first Joint ACEP/Italian Congress on Emergency Medicine, held in November 2006 in Torino, Italy. He has published extensively on seizure management and traumatic brain injury. He represents ACEP at the Brain Attack Coalition at the NINDS, and currently chairs a CDC-funded task force charged with writing guidelines on the diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injury. He also serves as treasurer of the Foundation for Education and Research in Neurologic Emergencies.
Robert Labinson, MD, FACEP
Previous Department Chair, Emergency Medicine
St. Vincent’s Midtown Hospital
New York, NY
Dr. Robert Labinson was the department chair at St. Vincent’s Midtown Hospital in New York, NY, for many years until it closed its doors in August 2007. He worked tirelessly for the hospital, always striving to deliver the best care to the Hell’s Kitchen community. His patients were often different generations of the same families. Most of the staff lived in the neighborhood, and they all knew Dr. Labinson. St. Vincent’s truly was a community hospital in the middle of a big city, thanks in large part to the care he provided.
Jonathan Markson, MD, FACEP
Assistant Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine
Attending Physician, Emergency Department
Strong Memorial Hospital
Rochester, NY
Dr. Jonathan Markson is an example of someone who exceeds expectations. Nearly 20 years ago, as he was completing his residency, Dr. Markson developed acute liver failure and required a liver transplant. While most people would be satisfied just to survive this complex and life-threatening surgery, Dr. Markson pursued his career in emergency medicine, despite the daily routine of immunosuppressants and the occasional, frightening infection.
Few of Dr. Markson’s coworkers actually know about his illness. He works nights, weekends and holidays just like other emergency physicians. The only difference is he rarely complains about the schedule. He never avoids the obviously infected patients, even though he probably should. Working with Dr. Markson is a joy. He has a dry humor that he uses liberally. You never know where his humor will strike next. With the environment in which emergency physicians work, it is heroic to have Dr. Markson around to keep everyone laughing.
Nina Mazur, MD
1940-1996
Dr. Nina Mazur is being honored posthumously by ACEP as a hero of emergency medicine. Dr. Mazur was a ballerina in her first career and around the age of 30, as a single parent, she decided to finish college and go to medical school. Dr. Mazur was instrumental in founding Women in Emergency Medicine (WEM), which later became the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians (AAWEP). She also began the emergency medicine residency program at Brooklyn Hospital in New York. Dr. Mazur was an outstanding teacher, friend and colleague. But her greatest gift was being able to find the good in each person and bring out the best that person had to offer.
Lynne D. Richardson, MD, FACEP
Vice Chair for Academic, Research and Community Programs; Director, Division of Research; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Dr. Lynne D. Richardson is founding program director of the emergency medicine residency at Mount Sinai and now directs its research division, where she mentors residents, fellows and junior faculty to successful academic careers. A nationally recognized expert in health services research, she has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on research ethics, emergency department crowding, the health care safety net, public access defibrillation and health care disparities.
Dr. Richardson was principal investigator of the Emergency Medicine Patients’ Access to Healthcare (EMPATH) study and the New York City site principal investigator for the PAD Trial. Her current study, "Community VOICES," is an NHLBI-funded project examining community perspectives on conducting research without consent in emergency situations. Dr. Richardson has served on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Research Training study section, as well as other review panels, and she is the first emergency physician to serve on the New York City Board of Health.
Sandra Schneider, MD, FACEP
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Strong Memorial Hospital
Rochester, NY
Dr. Sandra Schneider is one of the truly down-to-earth and humble people in the emergency medicine profession. She has had many staggering accomplishments in her career. She began a new department of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital, and recruited faculty to turn it into one of the top 10 research emergency medicine departments in the country. She also worked for 14 years to develop an excellent residency program.
Dr. Schneider has long advocated for the profession through board membership in ACEP, and she is also helpful to residents with whom she works. She is very highly respected within the field of emergency medicine, and is a hero to many.
Robert W. Strauss, MD, FACEP
Associate Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine; Vice President, Medical Staff; Chair, Credentials Committee; Vice Chair, Hospital Foundation
St. Francis Hospital, Poughkeepsie, NYIn addition to his current emergency medicine practice at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY, Dr. Robert W. Strauss is director of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM); past chairman of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Emergency Medicine; and director of ACEP’s Emergency Department Directors’ Academy, a four-phase emergency department directors’ training and certification program. He has directed more than 30 national emergency medicine educational conferences, is a regular lecturer for ACEP’s national conferences and has been honored with ACEP’s "Outstanding Contribution to Education in Emergency Medicine Award."
Dr. Strauss’ areas of focus include developing emergency physician leadership education and mentoring programs; implementing customer service, teambuilding and service recovery programs; performing comprehensive emergency department operational assessments; creating risk mitigation programs in collaboration with physicians and legal experts; and leading project management teams. Dr. Strauss is chief editor and contributor to Elsevier’s Emergency Department Management: Principles and Applications, and ACEP’s Contracts: A Practical Guide for the Emergency Physician.
