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David C. Seaberg, MD, Dean for the College of Medicine, Chattanooga, at

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center,

Named President-Elect for American College of Emergency Physicians

 

 

Memphis, Tenn. (October 5, 2010) – David C. Seaberg, MD, CPE, FACEP, dean for the College of Medicine, Chattanooga, at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has been elected president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).  Dr. Seaberg, an emergency physician who has led the UT College of Medicine, Chattanooga, since summer 2007, was elected to the position during the ACEP annual meeting in Las Vegas.  He will serve a one-year term on the ACEP’s Council and assume the presidency at the group’s 2011 meeting in San Francisco.

Founded in 1968 by a small group of physicians who shared a commitment to improving the quality of emergency care, today ACEP represents more than 27,000 emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents, and medical students. ACEP promotes the highest quality of emergency care and is the leading advocate for emergency physicians, their patients and the public.   

Dr. Seaberg was first elected to the ACEP Board in 2005 and has previously served as chair of the ACEP Foundation.  He has been a member of ACEP for 22 years and currently serves on ACEP’s board of directors.   

In addition to his position as dean of the UT College of Medicine, Chattanooga, Dr. Seaberg also serves as a UT professor, sharing his knowledge and experience with upcoming generations of medical residents and students.  When he joined UT, Dr. Seaberg brought with him 13 years of experience on the faculty of the University of Florida.  During those years, he was a leader on medical and hospital aspects of domestic security, founding the University Alliance for Weapons of Mass Destruction Education, and serving as co-chair of the Health/Medical/Hospital/EMS Committee of the State Work Group for Domestic Security.  Dr. Seaberg has also given testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security on fighting pandemic flu.

“The crisis in emergency medicine is not going to be solved by health care reform alone,” said Dr. Seaberg.  “Emergency departments continue to close while emergency visits continue to rise.  Medical emergencies are a fact of life that will not go away.”  He observed, “Emergency physicians have a key role to play in health care reform as we touch all parts of society and all parts of the health care system.  Policymakers should be working with us to develop solutions to both individual and systemic problems.”

Dr. Seaberg attended medical school at the University of Minnesota and did his emergency medicine residency training at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the Certifying Commission in Medical Management.  He has written more than 130 publications, book chapters and abstracts and has received numerous teaching and research awards.

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.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  UTHSC has additional colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy plus an Allied Health Sciences unit in Knoxville, as well as a College of Medicine campus in Chattanooga.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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