Washington, D.C. - The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) today issued a statement by its president Dr. Nicholas Jouriles congratulating President Obama on his historic inauguration and urging him to make emergency patients a top priority as he takes up health care reform.  The current economic crisis is driving more patients to the nation's emergency departments in their hour of need, which may be accelerated by job and insurance losses and household budget cuts.   The nation's emergency departments are a health care safety net for everyone, insured and uninsured alike, and their role in America's health care system has never been more critical.

"The nation's emergency physicians congratulate the new president and ask him to act swiftly and decisively to shore up our struggling emergency medical care system.  As the recession has deepened and financial pain has spread throughout the country, people are turning to emergency departments more and more.

"Wednesday's Los Angeles Times reported that mounting job losses have forced people to forego regular medical care, which has led to greater demands for emergency medical services. It also reports that in California one-third of hospitals are experiencing rises in the number of uninsured patients seeking care in emergency departments. These may be the first waves of medical crises directly related to the recession, but they will not be the last.

"ACEP's National Report Card on the State of Emergency Medicine gave the nation an overall grade of C- for its lack of support for emergency patients based on data from 2006, and without question the situation has deteriorated significantly since then.  As the Department of Health and Human Services implements the health care portion of the stimulus package, we urge them to consider the needs of emergency patients whose numbers are mounting and whose needs are great.

"President Obama said recently 'Reforming our health care system will be a top priority of my administration and key to putting our economy back on track.'  Emergency physicians look forward to working with him to follow through on the top recommendations of ACEP's Report Card, beginning with passage of the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act, which will be reintroduced in Congress next month.  Health care reform will not be complete until the severe problems in our emergency medical care system are solved, and passage of this legislation is a critical first step in the right direction." 

ACEP is a national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.

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