Letter from the Chair

Pete Tilney DO, FACEP, FAAEM, EMT-P
ACEP Air Medical Transport Section Chair

Dear Team,

I hope this message finds you well. As the section chair, my goal moving forward is to provide regular updates at least once per week to maintain momentum and engagement.

At our September meeting, we had a rich and important discussion about how we can continue to support and grow our community of physicians interested in air medical transport. Specifically, we focused on how to engage members who want to remain active within our section and how best to align with the broader ecosystem of organizations in this space.

In 2025, many of our members will continue to be involved in a range of key organizations, from those focused on direct patient rescue (e.g., SAR, 911 systems) to interfacility transport (e.g., ACCT, AMPA), and international operations (e.g., EURAMI). We also touched on groups that set standards and certifications for global patient movement, such as CAMTS and EURAMI.

Education was another central theme — particularly the need to train the next generation of leaders, medical directors, residents, and fellows in this highly specialized area of emergency medicine.

Despite the critical nature of our work — whether in wilderness rescues, HEMS operations, or international air medical transport — our group remains relatively small. Given that patient transport is inherently a physician-prescribed intervention, I had expected broader engagement from the emergency medicine community. It’s clear that our challenge is not only to grow, but to define and communicate the unique value we bring.

To begin our reorganization, we need to clarify our goals:

• What do we want to accomplish as a section?
• How will we achieve these goals?
• With whom can we partner to amplify our impact — for both providers and patients?

From our brainstorming session in Utah, several key areas of focus emerged:

1. Strategic partnerships with other organizations
2. Education and training for providers
3. Research opportunities
4. Engagement with U.S. Government agencies
5. Collaboration with certification bodies (both personnel and program-level)
6. Education of allied health professionals under our oversight

These are just a few of the priorities identified. My proposal is to focus on one of these topics each month. However, I cannot do this alone. I'm seeking volunteers to help facilitate these discussions and drive our efforts forward.

Amber Hartman serves as the section’s ACEP staff liaison and will be instrumental in supporting the outlined priorities. We will leverage the Engage platform to reach our members, foster dialogue via email, and ideally meet monthly via Zoom or Teams to connect in real time.

If this direction resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. In the coming days, I will circulate a draft overview of air medical transport organizations in North America with whom we might collaborate.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of our section — I look forward to working with you all to make it happen.

Cheers

Pete