ECPS Chair Update: Spring, Strength, and Standing Together

Laurel Barr, MD, FACEP

Spring has finally arrived at my doorstep. The weather is getting warmer, the grass is green, there are buds on the trees, and the flowers are starting to grow. Spring is a time for renewal. A fresh start or a new opportunity to tackle old challenges. And to clean, but I’m not very good at that.

Spring is also a time for advocacy. Every year around this time, Emergency Physicians gather in DC on Capitol Hill for ACEP's Leadership & Advocacy Conference (LAC). If you have never been, I encourage you to try it for one year. This year it’s April 26 – 28. It’s a time when we all get together with a strong voice and talk to lawmakers about the things we all agree on and care about. 

The EMRA/ECPS Health Policy Primer on the 26th teaches you the basics of health policy and advocacy, the politics of policy, and how to advocate effectively. Then the LAC conference provides deep dives into the issues and prepares you to meet with lawmakers. ACEP staff does an amazing job providing information, statistics, and other references so that all you have to do is discuss the issues you care most about and share your personal stories about how these issues affect your profession and your patients. 

This year, we are supporting bills to address ED boarding, safeguard the workforce, and protect and preserve Medicare’s promise to seniors. We have multiple bills up for consideration:

• Addressing Boarding and Crowding in the Emergency Department (ABC-ED) Act (H.R. 2936/S. 1974

• Banning non-compete clauses in employment contracts by supporting the Workforce Mobility Act (S. 2031)

• Ensuring due process protections for emergency physicians by supporting the Physician and Patient Safety Act (H.R. 3413/S. 1767)

• Save Healthcare Workers Act (H.R. 3178/S. 1600)

• Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6160)

• Provider Reimbursement Stability Act (H.R. 8163)

If you feel strongly about any of these issues but can’t make it to the conference, I understand. Your colleagues at ACEP have your back and are fighting for you while you continue to work hard to make a difference in your patients' lives. If you can join us, make sure you connect with ECPS leadership. More information on the experience and ECPS gatherings can be found here.

I cannot mention advocacy without bringing attention to the plight of Dr. Rubilez Bolivar. Dr. Bolivar, an ACEP member and emergency medicine resident at the South Texas Health System in McAllen, TX, holds a valid work permit and has lived in the United States for a decade. She was detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while traveling with her five-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to a previously scheduled asylum interview. 

ACEP, TACEP, and EMRA have been working to coordinate a response across multiple specialty societies. You can read the joint ACEP/EMRA statement here and the letter ACEP and 23 other specialty societies sent to Marco Rubio and Markwayne Mullin asking for her release here. 

My heart goes out to her and her family.  If you feel strongly, I encourage you to contact your congressmen and women to ask for her release so she can continue to serve her patients. You can use this link to find out who your Senator and Representative are and send them a letter, a template for which you can find in my recent Engaged post or write your own.

I hope that through our collective action, we can fight this and other injustices. We are stronger together.