Board Meeting Minutes

American Academy of Emergency Medicine
Minutes of Board of Directors Conference Call
April 4, 2005

In Attendance: A. Antoine Kazzi, MD; Joseph Wood, MD, JD; Tom Scaletta, MD; William Durkin, Jr., MD; Robert McNamara, MD; Stephen Hayden, MD; James Li, MD; Ghazala Sharieff, MD; Larry Weiss, MD. Absent: Howard Blumstein, MD; Tracy Boykin, MD; Anthony DeMond, MD; Kevin Rodgers, MD; Richard Shih, MD; Joel Schofer, MD. Guest: Mark Reiter, MD. Staff: Kay Whalen, Janet Wilson.

Dr. Kazzi welcomed everyone to the call and turned the board's attention to the first agenda item.

Approval of February 16 and February 19, 2005 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Dr. Kazzi asked if there were any corrections to the draft minutes included in the agenda materials. There being none, Dr. Durkin moved and Dr. McNamara seconded that the February 16 and February 19, 2005 board of directors minutes be approved. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

President's Report

Dr. Kazzi thanked those board members who had spoken at EM residencies. He had also visited residency programs in Loma Linda and New York.

Dr. Kazzi then updated the board on the PhyAmerica bankruptcy situation. A hearing had been held on March 28th. Dr. McNamara had attended as AAEM's representative with several physicians who had participated in conference calls organized by AAEM. Attorney David Millstein had attended as well. No decision had been made at this hearing. Another hearing had been scheduled for mid-April.

Next, Dr. Kazzi provided an update on the board certification issue in Florida. The legal firm engaged in this matter has prepared an administrative review to present to the judge. It is possible that Florida ACEP will join AAEM in this cause. If they cannot make a decision by the end of June, AAEM will proceed on its own.

The state of Kentucky is also considering amendments that would enable BCEM to secure equivalence with ABEM or AOBEM. Dr. Dan Danzl will represent AAEM in this matter.

Dr. Kazzi asked Dr. McNamara to report on the Minnesota situation. Dr. McNamara reported that AAEM had received the invoice from the attorneys in Minnesota . AAEM will pay half of this bill and the physicians in Minnesota the other half. Physicians in Minnesota will be encouraged to join AAEM.

Dr. Kazzi reported that the program for the Mediterranean Congress was going well. However, he had concerns regarding the executive oversight of the Congress. Those on the call asked about the appropriate hotel for the headquarters hotel. Ms. Whalen will e-mail several hotel options to the board. The board meeting will be held on September 1st from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm .

At this point, Dr. Durkin left the call.

Treasurer's Report

Ms. Whalen directed the board's attention to the February 28, 2005 financial statements that had been included in the agenda materials. She noted that most of the expenses for the Scientific Assembly had been paid in March, so we will have a better idea of AAEM's financial situation after the March or April financial statements are completed.

Executive Director's Report

Ms. Whalen reported that Kate Filipiak had joined the AAEM staff at the end of March.

The AAEM full voting membership numbers are now on pace with the numbers from previous years.

In 2004, AAEM's website had 334,000 visits. The board then discussed the possibility of a redesign of the website. After discussion, it was determined that, rather than a redesign, what was needed was a web editor. Dr. Kazzi asked Ms. Whalen to poll the board for volunteers.

Ms. Whalen then drew the board's attention to the schedule of board meetings and conference calls for the next year.

Independent Resident Section Bylaws Revision

The board had previously discussed the advantages of an independent resident organization. A draft bylaws revision was included in the agenda materials. Since there were not enough board members on the call to make this bylaws change, a vote will be done via e-mail. Dr. Reiter assured the board that it was the intent of the separate resident section to keep AAEM as part of the name.

Joint AAEM/ACEP Task Force

Dr. Kazzi reported that he had approached ACEP's president, Dr. Robert Suter, to establish a joint task force that had been approved at AAEM's February meeting. AAEM representatives will be Drs. Blumstein, Scaletta and Wood. ACEP's board will be meeting in April and Dr. Suter will reply to Dr. Kazzi after that meeting.

AAEM Vendor Concerns

Two of AAEM's exhibitors had expressed concerns that AAEM offered templates and consulting services to our members. Dr. Kazzi had appointed a task force which Dr. Weiss had agreed to chair. Dr. Hayden volunteered to serve on this task force. Ms. Whalen will poll the board via e-mail to solicit another volunteer.

CEP Quotation Request

CEP requested a quote from Dr. Kazzi outlining the benefits of belonging to AAEM. The executive committee has already approved this idea.

AAEM Foundation

The executive committee has asked Ms. Whalen to research possible venues for a fund raiser in San Antonio.

Dr. David Lawhorn has agreed to serve as the chair of the AAEM Foundation fundraising committee.

International Congresses

AAEM had been approached to be involved in a Latin American Congress in 2006. Much of the Congress will be presented in Spanish. AAEM would provide CME for an English track that may be simultaneously translated. AAEM will have no financial risk for this meeting.

Screening and Redirection of Emergency Department Patients

Dr. McNamara then presented a draft position statement for the board's approval. After discussion, it was decided to request input from the ED overcrowding subcommittee and the EMTALA committee before a final decision was made. The committees will be asked to submit their recommendations by May 5th.

New Business

The board then discussed the need for participation in board meetings and conference calls by all board members. The bylaws allow a board member to be removed if he or she misses three consecutive meetings.

Dr. Sharieff noted that individuals must be physicians to join AAEM. She will prepare a proposal which would allow allied health membership.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Kay Whalen
Executive Director