Ask VACEP: Pharmacists Prescribing Paxlovid

Can pharmacists prescribe Paxlovid for adults and children at risk for severe COVID-19? Yes, with limitations. Learn more about the FDA’s emergency order and the history of Virginia pharmacists prescribing medication and other products to patients.

New Report on Kids and Mental Health in Virginia

In a new report from the Virginia Department of Health, Self-Harm and Suicide Among Virginia Youth Aged 9-18 Years, 2015-2021, researchers examined self-harm and suicide among youth aged 9-18 years in Virginia using data from 2016-2021 for emergency department (ED) visits, 2016-2020 for nonfatal inpatient hospitalizations, and 2015-2021 for deaths by suicide.

A team effort successfully amended a bill that Nurse Practitioners are backing to decrease the number of years of clinical experience required, from five years to two, for their independent practice. Those NPs who received a license during the pandemic (when the requirement was lowered to two years to address emergency needs) are allowed to keep their status under this new substitute bill.

Optimistic ACEP President Schmitz addresses Virginia emergency docs, covers four “challenges and opportunities” in EM

“I’m asking you to come at this with a sense of optimism that we’re going to be okay,” ACEP President Gillian Schmitz told members of the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians. “I know people are stressed right now, I know there's a high level of anxiety about multiple different factors impacting our practice, but it's going to be okay, and we’re making some significant headway.”

White Coats Recap and Photos

Emergency Physicians from across Virginia came to Richmond on Wednesday, January 26 to advocate for emergency medicine. After a briefing on issues from VACEP lobbyist Aimee Perron Seibert, a team of more than a dozen emergency physicians went to the Pocahontas Building, where members have their offices as the new General Assembly building is constructed. They met with legislators and aides, usually for about 5 or 10 minutes, and discussed key issues that impact EM.

Virginia Emergency Physicians call on Governor to declare State of Emergency and public health officials to open more testing sites

As the Omicron variant spreads and COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, Virginia’s emergency departments have been overwhelmed with patients seeking care. The Virginia College of Emergency Physicians is calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to once again declare a State of Emergency, a designation that can provide relief to emergency departments statewide, and for public health officials to open more testing sites.