I am very honored to serve as President of the North College of Emergency Physicians (NCCEP). Having completed residency at UNC Chapel Hill in 2001, I have been extremely fortunate to work my entire career as an Emergency Physician in North Carolina. I can think of no better way to give back to my adopted state and the specialty I love than serving in this role for the next year.

The 4th Annual Coastal Emergency Medicine Conference was a great success and we are actively planning for the Fall Conference at The Grove Park Inn November 8-11, 2016. In addition, the NCCEP Board is planning to provide a daylong conference in early 2017 for Medical Directors and other EM leaders from around the state. Stay tuned for more information and please join us at one of our upcoming conferences!

Emergency Medicine continues to take center-stage on many issues affecting health care in our state. We anticipate a busy legislative year after the fall elections. We are currently engaged in discussions regarding the Certificate of Needs (CON) process and anticipate the need to advocate strongly on this issue next year. NCCEP also continues to push for Medicaid expansion to help some of our most needy patients and vulnerable hospital systems in the state. We are engaged in collaborative efforts around mental heath and the opioid drug crisis and are actively watching issues regarding balance billing that have been unfolding around the country.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to get involved with NCCEP this year. Our success relies on a strong, active membership from all parts of the state including academic centers, hospital employed physicians, private staffing groups and national staffing companies. While each model may function differently, we all have the same goal: to provide outstanding emergency medical care to each and every patient. Being able to provide this outstanding care requires strong advocacy for our patients, support of our academic centers, demand for fair reimbursement and collaboration with key stakeholders. Please consider attending a Board meeting and an upcoming conference, volunteering to spend time advocating in Raleigh or running for a Board position. We need your time and talent to do the best possible job for our colleagues and our patients.