Relentless advocacy for Emergency Medicine

VACEP is an active voice year-round in Virginia politics. The Emergency Medicine Political Action Committee in Virginia (EMPAC-VA) supports VACEP advocacy with Virginia’s General Assembly. The PAC’s mission ensures our members gain one-on-one opportunities to share emergency medicine’s story, which is invaluable in our efforts to explain complex issues from an emergency physician’s perspective. 

Money doesn’t buy votes, but it does help us build relationships and open doors with lawmakers.

With your funds, we contribute to candidate campaigns and put leaders — regardless of political affiliation — in seats who have our interests, and those of our patients, in mind. Your contributions help us create conversations with lawmakers willing to listen. Sharing our story results in pro-EM advocacy and votes on legislation that impacts our specialty.

how can you give? you can:

1. Encourage your entire practice to give. That could be a donation ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 on behalf of all the emergency physicians in your group.

2. Make a one-time donation! The lowest giving level to attend a candidate fundraiser is $250. A donation of $250, $500, $750 or $1,000 will help immensely. 

3. Give monthly! Give $20 or $50 a month.

VACEP has secured significant wins in recent years:

• Passed a law requiring 24/7 physical physician presence in emergency departments. Effective July 1, 2025.

• Introduced and passed a first-of-its-kind law requiring off-duty police or security officers trained in de-escalation and restraint in every ED 24/7. Now a model for other states.

• Led creation of state law to protect patients and families by prohibiting balance billing for out-of-network emergency services

• Stood as the ONLY specialty group to oppose less-stringent NP independent practice reqs

• Advocated for patients with mental health needs and improvements to state behavioral health system processes

• Supported physician mental health (federal Lorna Breen Act), tackling boarding, combating workplace violence, and much moreOff-duty police or security officers trained in de-escalation and restraint are now required in every ED 24/7, thanks to a VACEP bill that passed with bipartisan support (the first of its kind in the U.S.!)

• Supported legislation allowing paramedics to administer medications in an ED within their scope of training.

Help us continue to achieve our goals. Give to the Emergency Medicine Political Action Committee in Virginia (EMPAC-VA) right now.

2025 EMPAC-VA Contributors

Find your legislator

• If you do not know who your legislators are, find out now! Don’t know your representatives? Find your legislator.

• Look and see which committees your legislators are assigned. VACEP will send alerts to emergency physicians for whom we have an email address, when your legislator is voting in committee on bills we are actively pursuing. Contact information for all House and Senate members is also found on the Virginia General Assembly website.