I've been involved in Emergency Medicine since my 9-1-1 dispatcher days at Texas A&M. After residency I moved to Beaumont to work and helped start an independent ER physicians group in 2007. As a small group owner in Beaumont, I am always looking for growth avenues, but hospital options are somewhat limited.

My business partner, Dr. Victor Ho and I were approached by Kevin Herrington at Altus Health to consult in the development of Altus Emergency Centers. We helped develop a new model for the freestanding emergency center (FEC). Clinically, we staff the FEC, but Altus Health allows investment opportunity within the company, thus creating an empowerment of ownership that enhances our services.

The most rewarding aspect of FEC management is the ability to be involved in all aspects of strategy and operations. A hospital-based emergency department has to fight for resources, negotiate politically with other specialties, and establish its place in the hospital. The FEC delivery model allows for the alignment of clinical and administrative medicine and empowers physicians to participate in and lead growth.

Working with Altus in the development of a model FEC has rescued me from the burnout that plagues many emergency medical physicians. I have rediscovered the passion that I had when I first chose medicine as a career.

Currently, the biggest challenge our industry faces is educating patients on what an FEC is and what it isn't. That is the primary issue that affects care delivery and patient satisfaction.

In the future, another challenge for the industry will be the integration of FECs into the changing delivery of care models. With ACOs and the patient-centered medical home, FECs must work together to collect data and show improved outcomes, decreased admission and re-admission rates, and meet CMS hospital-based quality and outcome measures even though not required. We have a responsibility to our growing specialty model to build a solid foundation for nationwide expansion, and that is where TAFEC is a critical resource for the industry.

TAFEC brings together the greatest minds and leaders in freestanding emergency medicine. Our future is dependent on unity, defining our specialty, developing political allies, and being a player at the highest level. TAFEC provides this opportunity.