Greetings from Tampa and the USF emergency medicine residency! (usfemergencymedicine.org)

We are excited for the new year and have many announcements. Simulation Director Dr. Ryan McKenna established a Simulation Fellowship, and we are pleased to announce our inaugural fellow, Dr. Nicole Abdo. Sim Fellows will train at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), an unparalleled state-of-the-art simulation center in Downtown Tampa. Dr. John Elkes matched into our EMS Program and Dr. Judith Oriental-Pierre, from UConn, will join us as our Ultrasound Fellow. We are also proud to partner with USF to offer a multi-disciplinary Global Health Fellowship next year. Dr. Jasmine Patterson, Director of our Pediatric Emergency Department, has joined our core faculty.

Our newest major initiative will be the launch of the Syringe Services Program operated in partnership with the USF Tampa Bay Street Medicine program. That initiative will ramp up harm reduction efforts while also focusing on decreasing HIV and HCV transmission in our community.

Like all programs, COVID has forced our department to adjust in many ways. We are proud of the efforts we have made at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) to protect our patients, residents and staff. In October, our hospital launched the Global Emerging Disease Institute (GEDI) to further facilitate interdisciplinary COVID care. Our ED serves as the hub of pivoting patients with COVID-19 to the right care at the right time, whether that be a monoclonal Ab infusion, a research study investigating new treatments, or other supportive care options within or outside the ED. We were thrilled to be one of the five sites chosen to receive vaccines in the first wave!

2020 has been a year like no other, but we are excited and look forward to what 2021 brings. We are grateful to be part of the USF family and wish all of the EM community a happy and healthy New Year! ■