An October 2025 New York Times article told the story of a family’s devastating loss and shined a light on resource and staffing constraints, capacity challenges, and other systemic factors that complicate emergency care.
In a letter to the editor, ACEP President L. Anthony Cirillo offers an expanded perspective from the frontlines and calls for critical policy fixes:
“Emergency physicians personally share the profound sorrow of a family who loses a loved one after seeking care in their departments. Every unexpected loss of life is tragic and warrants a pause to examine factors that may have led to that loss.
The article rightly identifies several difficult realities of emergency care; health care professionals are human and imperfect. And despite our best efforts, there are still times when our clinical exam and available testing do not give us a diagnosis. But the biggest barrier to optimal care is that emergency medicine is overstretched and under-resourced.
As outlined in a 2025 RAND report, our current system is not sustainable. We must care for more patients with fewer staff members and available beds. Dangerous systemic bottlenecks, known as boarding, create avoidable risks as admitted patients sometimes remain in the emergency department for days, waiting for inpatient beds.
Patients can trust that emergency physicians will care for every patient. But we desperately need policy changes to ensure the viability of the emergency care safety net.”
L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP
Saunderstown, R.I.
The writer is the president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
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