Dr. Michael Gerardi Assumes Presidency of ACEP
CHICAGO — Michael Gerardi, MD, FACEP, FAAP, an emergency physician and faculty member at Morristown Memorial Medical Center in New Jersey, has assumed the presidency of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) during its annual meeting in Chicago. In addition to serving on the faculty for emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine, he serves as director of pediatric medicine at the Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, N.J.
“Emergency medicine is essential to America and to the nation’s readiness for disasters and infectious disease outbreaks, as demonstrated when an Ebola patient sought medical care in an emergency department in Dallas,” said Dr. Gerardi. “Society’s best interests are served when policymakers protect emergency patients by making sure that emergency departments have the resources they need and ensure fair payment by health plans.”
Dr. Gerardi said that with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the expansion of Medicaid, one of the organization’s most pressing issues is to make sure that emergency patients are treated fairly.
“Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act protects the ’prudent layperson’ standard, which requires health insurance plans to base coverage of emergency care on a patient’s symptoms and not final diagnosis,” said Dr. Gerardi. “This was not always the standard for patient protection, and we must not let it be compromised by health plans denying payment of legitimate charges.”
Dr. Gerardi is nationally recognized as a leader in emergency medicine. He is an emergency physician and faculty member in the department of emergency medicine at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He also is senior vice president for Emergency Medical Associates, an emergency physician practice management group. In addition, Dr. Gerardi has served for nearly 20 years as director of pediatric emergency medicine at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, N.J. Dr. Gerardi is also a long-standing member of the New Jersey Chapter of ACEP, having served as treasurer, secretary and president.
Dr. Gerardi was elected to ACEP’s Board of Directors in 2008 and re-elected in 2011. For the past year he’s served as president-elect. He earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, completed residencies at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., and is board certified in emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine and internal medicine.
ACEP is the national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.
