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Sickle Cell Awareness Month is coming to a close, but there’s still more to learn and share. Did you know pain crisis (severe pain) is the #1 reason for emergency department (ED) visits among people with sickle cell disease (SCD)? Pain crises and other SCD-related health problems can happen at any time. People with SCD can prepare for ED visits by reading our Tips to receive better care in the ED and share with friends and family.

If you’re an emergency provider, learn how you can provide better care for patients with SCD.

For more sharable info on SCD, check out our suite of materials available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/materials/index.html .

For information on SCD resources available in your state, visit the Sickle Cell Disease National Resource Directory

Concerned about safety in your emergency department? Take a look at ACEP’s collection of educational resources that are available for free. The page will be updated frequently as new resources become available.

Congratulations to Aaron J. Cronin, DSc PA-C and Michael Perreault, MD for being awarded a 2017-2018 EMF/SEMPA Team Grant for $20,000. Cronin and Perreault will be working on their project titled, “Accuracy of Physician Assistants in Diagnosing Lower Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis after Focused Ultrasound Training” at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash. Cronin and Perreault expertly ran the 2017 WA-ACEP Summit to Sound Ultrasound lab during the April meeting in Seattle.

When asked how they hope their grant will change the practice of emergency medicine, they stated, “Emergency Medicine and student PAs are increasingly training and utilizing bedside ultrasound to expedite ED workflow, improve patient care, elevate provider satisfaction, and raise hospital revenues. Barriers still remain, specifically with PAs obtaining requisite hospital credentials and overall administrative acceptance of this rapidly growing PA skillset. Just as ED physicians had to prove their diagnostic accuracy with bedside ultrasound applications in order to justify charging patients for bedside scans, medico-legal mitigation, and intra-specialty confidence (especially from radiology colleagues), the EM PA profession should investigate research-based outcomes proving their diagnostic accuracy with this skillset.”

“Historic” Legislative Session

The 2017 Legislative Session was historic in many significant ways, most publicized is the length of time legislators spent in Olympia.  Rather than leaving on April 23 as scheduled, legislators did not depart until July 20, after three Special Sessions and 193 days of being at the State Capitol.  The 2017 “session” was the longest in history.  Significant work was accomplished, but a number of key issues were just left on the table. Learn more.

Foley, DNP, RN, ACCNS-AG, CEN, President of the WA-Emergency Nurses Association, accepted the 2017 Guardian of Emergency Medicine Award on behalf of her chapter. The award recognizes individuals and organizations who have gone above and beyond the norm to protect the safety net of emergency medicine, improve the quality of patient care delivery, and work to support the efforts of WA-ACEP.

WA-ACEP values the WA-ENA’s partnership as we explore solutions to emergency care delivery. In these times of ever growing challenges of boarding and crowding, dangerous understaffing, and sicker patients, their dedication and support to the emergency care safety net is making the difference.

Past Recipients

2015: Carol Ostrom, The Seattle Times; and Sean Robinson, Tacoma News Tribune
2013: Tim Layton, JD, MPA and Susie Tracy
2012: The Honorable Eileen Cody; Stephen Anderson, MD; and Nathan Schlicher, MD, MBA, JD

 Kathleen A. Jobe, MD, FACEP, received the 2017 Nancy Auer Meritorious Achievement Award April 28 during the Summit to Sound meeting. The award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond the norm in emergency medicine to improve the quality of patient care and support the efforts of the chapter. As a long-time member of the Washington State EMS and Trauma Council and a driving force behind the creation of the Cardiac and Stroke Trauma Action Committee, Dr. Jobe helped crystallized a statewide approach to the rapid identification and appropriate triage of cases. Her leadership impacted the state, our practice, and our patients.

Dr. Jobe is an attending physician in the University of Washington Medical Center’s Emergency Department (UWMC ED) and an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Emergency Medicine. She served as medical director of the UWMC ED from 2003-2011. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder and her M.D. from the University of Colorado, Denver. She completed residency in internal medicine at University of Washington. She then worked as an attending physician in the Harborview ED. from 1989-1994, then moved to UW. She is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and is a past-president of the Washington ACEP chapter.

She served as the chair of the Emergency Cardiac and Stroke TAC for the state of Washington from 2007-2014. She is the chief medical officer for WA1-DMAT and Deputy Regional CMO for Region X (WA, AK, ID, MT) for the National Disaster Medical System within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Previous winners of the Nancy Auer Award are Drs. Jim Narnia, MD, FACEP (2016); Marv Wayne, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, FAHA (2015); Ted Walkley, MD, FAAP, FACEP (2013); and Cindy Markus, MD, FACEP (2012).