Emergency physicians from across the country gathered in Chicago October 5–8 for ACEP26, the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Annual Scientific Assembly. Over four days, attendees explored new ideas, practiced hands-on skills, celebrated innovation in the specialty, and reconnected with colleagues. For the geriatric emergency care community, the week included national recognition for both GEDA-accredited sites and one of the field’s leading educators.
Recognizing Excellence in Geriatric Emergency Care
The GEDC team attended ACEP26, including Better Care for Older Adults: Low-Tech Pearls and High-Tech Systems on October 5. The immersive education session focused on improving care for older adults who are boarding in the emergency department, with strategies ranging from low-tech, low-cost approaches to high-resource systems. The session also featured the presentation of the 2026 GEDA Awards.
Speakers included Maura Kennedy; Rani Snyder; Sam Shen, MD, of Stanford Medicine; Catrina Cropano of Mount Sinai; Collin Michaels of the VA in Madison, Wisconsin; Melissa Marion, a hospitalist at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Katren Tyler of UC Davis Health.
GEDA recognized accredited sites for system-wide excellence, innovation, patient experience, rural ED performance, and creative solutions in resource-limited Level 3 departments.
This year’s honorees, who are leading meaningful change in emergency care for older adults, include:
- Advocate Health
- Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital
- Aurora Medical Center – Bay Area
- Baptist Health South Miami Hospital
- California Pacific Medical Center, Mission Bernal Campus
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California
- Kaiser Permanente Richmond
- UCSF Parnassus Emergency Department
- University of Vermont Health
- West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
GEDC congratulates all of this year’s recipients. Their work shows what is possible when emergency departments commit to better care for older adults.
Dr. Christina Shenvi Honored for Contributions to Education
ACEP also presented the 2026 Judith E. Tintinalli Award for Outstanding Contribution in Education to Christina L. Shenvi, MD, PhD, MBA, FACEP. Dr. Shenvi is a geriatric emergency medicine fellowship-trained professor at UNC, the host of GEMCast, and a past member of the GEDA Board of Governors.
Learning, Innovation, and Connection
ACEP26 opened with a keynote from NASA astronaut and emergency physician Anil Menon, MD, who drew parallels between working in the ED and living aboard the International Space Station. Throughout the week, attendees took part in immersive learning experiences, including wilderness medicine scenarios, simulations, labs, and interactive technology demonstrations.
Physician innovation was also on display. David Crabb, MD, won the PitchER Competition with ROVI, an autonomous mobile robot designed to move stretchers, beds, and equipment through hospitals.
New ACEP Leadership
On the conference’s final day, ACEP’s Board of Directors elected its 2026–27 officers, with Ryan A. Stanton, MD, FACEP, as President and Heidi C. Knowles, MS, MD, FACEP, as President-Elect. Abhi Mehrotra, MD, MBA, FACEP, was elected Chair of the Board. Kate Jones, MD, MPH, also joined the Board as the new Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA) representative.