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Osteopathic Emergency Medicine Quarterly VOLUME XXX NO. 2
JULY 2005
ACOEP's 30th Anniversary Editorial
Drew Koch, D.O., FACOEP, Editor Imagine spending five days on an Indian reservation in the Sonora desert in Phoenix, Arizona where ACOEP held its 2005 Spring Seminar and membership meeting. One would conjecture an image of destitution and despair. The Wild Horse Pass Resort located on The Gila River Indian Reservation, where ACOEP’s Spring Conference was held, dispelled any melancholic images of an Indian Reservation. The Pima and Maricopa Indian tribes jointly occupy the 372,000-acre Gila River Community and opened the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort in 2002. The 500-room resort is a testament to the tribes past and future. The tribe’s history is depicted by murals in the hotel lobby and is modeled after a traditional native roundhouse. Like traditional Indian homes the entrance to the hotel faces east. As the resort’s name implies, there is a herd of 1500 wild horses that roam the reservation. The viability of the Pima and Maricopa tribes rests in endeavors like the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort. This resort not only is family friendly, but offers three outdoor swimming pools, a luxurious spa, two 18-hole golf courses, an equestrian center, on site gambling and is capable of hosting ACOEP’s conference.
The mundane origin of ACOEP began in the kitchen of Dr. Bruce Horton’s home in Toledo, Ohio. The notoriety of Toledo, prior to this meeting, was the home of Corporal Max Klinger of the television show M*A*S*H and of the Toledo Mud Hens, a minor league baseball team. The founding fathers that met on October 5, 1975 were Drs. Bruce Horton, Richard Ballinger, Donald Cucchi, Anthony Gerbasi, Robert J. George, Robert L. Hambrick, Scott Swope, James Budzak and James Grate. They created the basis for the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Medicine. They formulated a letter of intent to form a specialty college of emergency medicine and forwarded this letter to the AOA to seek affiliation within the AOA. At the 1975 AOA Convention this fledgling specialty met and elected its first officers. Those elected were: Bruce Horton, DO-President; Anthony Gerbasi, DO-Vice President; Richard Ballinger, DO-Secretary; and Robert Hambrick, DO-Treasurer. It was not until July 1978 that the AOA recognized and chartered the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians. The original 16 charter members were: Robert Aranosian, DO; Fred Bailor, Jr., DO; John Becher, Jr., DO; Robert Breckenfeld, DO; David Brown, DO; James Budzak, DO; Robert Erwin, Jr., DO; Joseph Imbesi, DO; Patrick Karson, DO; Anthony Mosca, DO; Thomas Mucci, DO; Steven Parrillo, DO; Larry Stalsonburg, DO; and
The PULSE JULY 2005
Louis Steininger, DO. Current membership in ACOEP is approximately 2,100 with 1,600 active members and 500 resident and intern members. There are currently 3500 osteopathic physicians practicing Emergency Medicine of which, 2/3 of these Emergency Physicians belong to ACOEP. In 1979 there were four AOA approved Emergency Medicine Residency Programs which were: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine; Detroit Osteopathic Hospital; Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital; and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Now, there are 37 Emergency Medicine Residency Programs. In 1984 the first fellowship ceremony included the following 10 members: Robert Aranosian, DO; Richard Ballinger, DO; John Becher, Jr., DO; James Budzak, DO; Donald Cucchi, DO; Anthony Gerbasi, DO; James Grate, DO; Robert Hambrick, DO; Bruce Horton, DO; and Edward Samara, DO. This year’s fellowship ceremony will have 35 new Fellows. As the membership of the College grew, the needs of the members expanded as well. The College moved from Ohio to Chicago and has a full-time Executive Director and support staff. The College has a Student Chapter and Resident’s Chapter. There are Active Members, Charter Members, Honorary Members, Life Members and Resident and Student Members. To accommodate the growing need of CME among the members, ACOEP not Continued on page 4