America's Emergency Care Environment Report Card: How Did We Do?

The annual report card on the Nation's Emergency Care System was just released. How did your State do?
Have you ever been to an ER? Chances are that you will at some point in your lifetime... at least once.

The new comprehensive report card by The American College of Emergency Physicians looks at the current state of America’s emergency care environment and the support it is getting from state and national policies.

ACEP puts this regular report card out every few years. Categories graded include:
  • Access to care
  • Quality and patient safety
  • Medical liability environment
  • Public health and injury prevention
  • Disaster preparedness
Budget cuts, a rise in hospital closings (meaning longer wait times, subsequently causing a strain on other hospitals), fewer and fewer psychiatric facilities to help our Nation's mentally ill all led to the Nation's overall grade this year... a D+.

Special guest, Dr. Angela Gardner, joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the results, as well as what this means for the future of emergency room care.

To view the results and see where your state rates, as well as what you can do, go to www.emreportcard.org.

Additional Info

  • Segment Number: 1
  • Audio File: ER_101/1403er5a.mp3
  • Featured Speaker: Angela Gardner, MD
  • Guest Bio: Dr. Angela Gardner is a former president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is an emergency physician at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. In 2006, Dr. Gardner served as Chair for ACEP’s Report Card on the State of Emergency Medicine. She earned her medical degree at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas and completed her residency in emergency medicine at the Texas Tech Regional Academic Health Center in El Paso.
  • Length (mins): 10
  • Waiver Received: Yes
  • Host: Dr. Leigh Vinocur, MD