Newsletters

POSTED: March 15th, 2023
POSTED IN: 2023 Quarter 1, EM Pulse - The Official Newsletter of MOCEP,

To the MOCEP Family:

Hello! On Feb. 2^nd, the groundhog told us six more weeks of winter, which means we are so close to the end of another winter, holiday season, and triple-demic season in which we saw record rates of RSV/Flu admissions flooding our EDs. Now that the busy cold/flu season is winding down (yes, I acknowledge COVID-19 is still an unpredictable thing), it gives us time to reflect on the year ahead.

On February 28 we had another successful annual MOCEP Advocacy Day in Jefferson City, and for the second year in a row the weather was beautiful. This year, we joined forces with our Internal Medicine colleagues in having a joint Advocacy Day with the Missouri Chapter of the American College of Physicians. It was great to meet and talk as a group. Our legislative priorities were a great alignment of what we want our state government to do to make an environment that is best to practice medicine and provides the best possible care for all Missourians. Our top priorities were rural ED/hospital designation, opposing the APRN legislation as written, and the extension of postpartum Medicaid benefits from 2 to 12 months. Our legislators were very receptive to support these issues and we received critical feedback for all of our priorities. It is amazing what showing up in your white coat and meeting our elected officials where they work does for your credibility.

The most important thing to remember is that advocacy is not limited to a single day. Those that oppose our viewpoints or would limit our practice of medicine certainly do not take a break, nor should we. As usual, this is my recurrent appeal to all reading this: get involved. Email me, reach out through our MOCEP website, whatever means necessary, ask and we can find a way for you to help. As we continue to awake from the fog of the pandemic, continue to shoulder the burden of boarding, and start to make our wellness a priority for career longevity, personal happiness, and superior patient care, know MOCEP is here for you. Thanks, and we will hopefully see you at the end of this month in St. Charles, Missouri for our annual Missouri Emergency Medicine Symposium. I would love to greet each of you in person and we can learn together! See you in a few weeks.

Sincerely,

Brian Bausano, MD, MHA, FACEP

President, MOCEP