Fall has kicked off differently this year in Ocala due to the global pandemic: we resumed in-person conferences at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Ocala. While gathered in the very room where disaster planning and response meetings take place, we discussed the history, organization and role emergency medical services (EMS) plays in our community. Although our residency conference looked different with facemasks and social distancing, we were all thrilled to gather together again.

Despite physical distancing, our collaborations in research have not slowed down. We have initiated a program to help our emergency department patients with substance use disorder bridge the gap to community resources. The program, started by Captain Jesse Blaire of Ocala Fire Rescue, brings together local mental health facilities, rehabilitation services, and community programs to provide medical treatment and social support for patients with substance use disorder. Through our core faculty member and Ocala Fire Rescue EMS director, Dr. Frank Fraunfelter, our residents have worked with Capt. Blaire to provide research support for the program.

In our busy emergency department, we are fortunate to treat a wide variety of patient conditions that have led to several case report publications. Our residents have recently published reports on consumptive coagulopathy following Eastern diamondback rattlesnake bites, aortic dissection presenting as leg pain, and managing intermediate risk pulmonary emboli in patients on Pradaxa. ■