VACEP elections

Lauren (Wingfield) Webb, MD (Board of Directors and ACEP Council)

Statement, Board: I am deeply committed to the future of emergency medicine, fueled by both passion and a strong belief in our mission to deliver exceptional care to all patients, regardless of their complaint, whenever and wherever they need it.

Through my advocacy work at both the state and federal levels, I’ve witnessed firsthand the crucial role VACEP plays in safeguarding our specialty from growing threats, such as scope creep and declining reimbursement. I’ve also had the privilege of participating in significant victories that have created tangible improvements in our daily work at the bedside.

As a board member, I will continue to advocate for policies that uphold the integrity of our specialty. I am dedicated to addressing the challenges we face and ensuring VACEP remains a leading voice for emergency medicine in Virginia.

My involvement with VACEP has afforded me the opportunity to serve in a variety of impactful roles, including as a resident representative to the board, Leadership and Advocacy Fellow, ACEP Councillor, and an opportunity to offer testimony to the Virginia General Assembly. I also represent VACEP on the Virginia Trauma and Governance Committee. Additionally, I have actively participated in multiple state-level meetings and Advocacy Days on behalf of VACEP. These experiences have strengthened my commitment to professional service and equipped me with the skills and insight needed to effectively serve on the VACEP board.

Statement, Councillor: I am interested in representing VACEP as a Councillor because I fully support the mission of ACEP and believe that we are stronger when we work together. Over the past two years, I have attended the ACEP Council as a Leadership and Advocacy Fellow and substitute Councillor, which has given me valuable insight into the issues impacting emergency medicine nationwide. I value the opportunity for idea exchange and will bring best practices back to Virginia. I deeply enjoy participating in the democratic process and representing VACEP to ensure that ACEP continues to work in a direction that supports and serves us in Virginia.

Brian Rubenstein, MD (Board of Directors)

Statement: I have always been interested in the political side of emergency medicine since it can affect medicine at such a large and sweeping scale. In addition, I have practiced emergency medicine in Virginia anywhere from Level I trauma centers to free standing emergency departments to critical access hospitals. I am specifically interested in this position so that I can not only advocate for all levels of emergency departments, but especially for critical access and rural facilities and their needs and concerns.

I have always had a keen interest in political advocacy for emergency medicine, to educate legislators and hopefully Virginia citizens (in essence, our patients), and hopefully translate that into effective changes in emergency medicine policy that will benefit our patients and emergency physicians. I have had the honor to have served on VaACEP in the past, but had to step down due to a family crisis at the time that precluded me from continuing on the VaACEP board. I am exciting to be a point in my persona life and career where I can dedicate time to VaACEP, and hopefully bring the perspective of current rural and critical access emergency medicine to the board (along with prior experience from Level I trauma centers to free standing ER's)

Josh Easter, MD, FACEP (ACEP Council)

Statement: I participated as a Councillor for the first time this year and found it a quite revealing experience. I was impressed at the level of consideration of important topics by the Council. The work was impactful and interests me.

One of ACEP's recent struggles has been to attract younger members and academic physicians. As a residency program director at UVA, I interface with residents and young physicians regularly. I can communicate their interests, concerns, and goals to the Council. I also serve on the VACEP Board, which gives me a better understanding of needs around the Commonwealth. Having worked in EM in multiple other states, I also am able to act as liaison for the Virginia delegation to other states' delegations.

Mary McCarthy, MD (Board of Directors)

Statement: In the past 13 years I have practiced emergency medicine, I’ve seen firsthand how patient care improves when dedicated physicians have a seat at the table to impact policy and legislation. I would like to play a more active role at the state level to continue consolidated movements against dysfunctional behaviors and environments that threaten our specialty, our practices and our patients.

I believe collaboration is the key to positive forward movement in our specialty. As a VACEP board member, I hope to bring insight from the standpoint of an independent group owner and relay pertinent advocacy and legislative updates to my colleagues locally. Awareness is essential, and I think we owe it to our patients and partners to stay educated on relevant issues impacting our profession. I have served as a member of the governing board of my democratic group, along with physician recruitment and peer support committees and would like the opportunity to advocate in the interest of hard-working emergency physicians.

Ben Fickenscher, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAEM (Board of Directors)

Statement: Our specialty is facing headwinds that make advocacy for emergency medicine and the expert care provided by emergency physicians more important than ever. Covid highlighted a long-established truth; when the going gets tough, patients turn to their ED for care and emergency physicians rise to the challenge. We were briefly celebrated for our efforts, but our reality across the Nation and in Virginia has quickly reverted to a crisis of boarding, violence, scope-creep, and diminishing returns. All the while, EPs across Virginia continue to provide on-demand, all-access, insurance-blind care that is unmatched in scope and quality 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As managing partner of Chesapeake Emergency Physicians, I advocate for our physicians and, by extension, our profession, daily. Speaking up for adequate resource allocation and efficient throughput processes from our hospital partner, fighting for fair treatment from our mix of payers, and reaching out to local and state political leaders is an ongoing part of the role of the emergency physician that wears both clinical and administrative hats. This is especially true for EPs that belong to democratic emergency medicine partnerships such as Chesapeake Emergency Physicians.

A position on the VACEP Board would allow me to widen the scope of my advocacy efforts. It would afford me the opportunity to network with other emergency medicine leaders in our great state to combine and focus our ideas and energies for the advancement of emergency physicians across Virginia. I would use a seat on the Board of Directors to elevate the importance of the emergency physician in the eyes of the public and of our political leaders, while also hoping to demonstrate the value and necessity of advocacy to other Virginia emergency physicians.

I have the experience to bring value to the Board. I have been the physician advisor for revenue cycle management for Chesapeake Regional Healthcare since 2014. I have served as the chair of the Medical Staff Quality, Physician Excellence, and Mortality Review Committees for Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. I was president of the medical staff at Chesapeake Regional and continue to serve as a member of multiple staff committees.

I have an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and have been managing partner of Chesapeake Emergency Physicians for the last five years. Beyond my credentials, I have experience in working with other emergency physicians and VACEP over the course of my career as a positive voice in support of our physicians and our specialty.

Joshua Lesko, MD (ACEP Council)

Statement: Being involved in health advocacy has been a passion of mine since I was thrust into chapter leadership as a first year medical student. Since then, I have served in numerous roles in the Medical Society of Virginia, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Medical Association. This includes being a voting member of their legislative bodies, on the Board of Directors for the MSV, multiple national Governing Councils within the AMA, and for the past two years as an Alternate Councillor for our Government Services Section.

A constant theme throughout my involvement has been that people outside of government services often have no idea how proposed policy affects our section. There have been numerous times where either something is proposed for “our benefit” that would actually be detrimental, and just as many where no consideration was given to the effects on our membership. I have fought against these at the national level within ACEP and the AMA, and want to continue to do so at our Council.

I have crafted legislation, built support from other sections, led a delegation, and represented my sections for multiple years at multiple levels. For the past two years I have filled Councillor vacancies in the Government Services delegation (U.S. Navy) to the ACEP Council, and I want to continue my service, now to Virginia.

For the past three years I have been a part of the Government Services Delegation, but as I transition to civilian life, I want to bring my passion back to my home, Virginia. VACEP has done incredible work, especially with leading the country in passing legislation requiring emergency departments to be staffed by physicians, and I want to bring my experiences to the fight.

I have worked in health advocacy for the past 13 years (as long as I have been in medicine) on state, specialty, and national medical issues, and know this will continue to be a major part of my career.

Professionally I primarily work at an academic, Level 2 trauma center, but also moonlight in rural, underserved departments, giving me a broad exposure to the spectrum of emergency medicine practices. In addition, I currently serve on AI working groups for ACEP and the AMA, and serve as my hospital’s Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer, and want to make sure that VACEP is a part of the conversation about developing technologies.

When I am a member of an organization I dive in to help make it the strongest version of itself. Virginia is my geographic home, and emergency medicine is my professional home. I want to bring my training, specialization, and experience, to keep VACEP at the forefront, and it would be an honor to represent you as a Councillor.