Overview

This unique center was formally established in April 2003 to coordinate emergency medicine research projects that can help guide health care policy. It is the only one of its kind in an academic Department of Emergency Medicine. It features six full-time faculty members with diverse backgrounds in medicine, public health, epidemiology, economics and statistics. This new center exists within the Department of Emergency Medicine and is one of the centers forming the Oregon Health Policy Institute.

Creation of the CPR-EM recognizes the Department of Emergency Medicine faculty members' policy and research contributions. Indeed, OHSU Emergency Medicine Chairs have served as presidents of the two largest emergency medicine professional organizations in the United States. Currently OHSU faculty members serve on the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Research, and other roles within the Oregon Department of Human Services, Health Services Division. The influence of OHSU Emergency Medicine faculty extends outside of the field of emergency medicine, with faculty members serving in the Institute of Medicine and the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

OHSU faculty members currently serve as officers or board members of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, the National Association of EMS Physicians, the American Board of Emergency Medicine, the AMA Section Council on Emergency Medicine, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Subcommittee on Bioterrorism Preparedness, the American College of Medical Toxicology Section on Chemical Preparedness, the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and the Oregon Medical Association. Faculty members serve the State of Oregon through leadership of the State EMS Committee and the State EMS for Children Committee, participation in the State Trauma Advisory Board, and other roles within the Oregon Department of Human Services, Health Services Division. The influence of OHSU Emergency Medicine faculty extends outside of the field of emergency medicine, with faculty members serving in the Institute of Medicine and the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The policy-relevant research of Emergency Medicine faculty members includes publications and grants in the fields of medical ethics, emergency medical services/out-of-hospital care, and emergency care. Areas of special interest include evaluation of rural trauma systems, rapid pre-hospital recognition and treatment of cardiac illness by trained laypeople, access to medical care for vulnerable populations, patient safety, early detection of bioterrorism, special-needs children, emergency department overcrowding, poison centers as a community resource, informatics tools to facilitate public health reporting, innovative strategies in medical education, interpersonal violence, recruitment of minorities for medical training, treatment of critically ill children, emergency department observation unit outcomes, injury prevention, and medical decision rules.

In order to accomplish its goals, the department of emergency medicine's CPR-EM participates as a center within the Oregon Health Policy Institute (OHPI). OHPI is an umbrella organization containing four centers: the Substance Abuse Policy Center; the Center for Health and Disability Policy; the Center for Environmental Health Policy; and the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine. OHPI includes faculty and staff at OHSU, PSU, and OSU. The OHPI's research productivity is highlighted by receipt of more than $22 million in grants and contracts during the last five years.

The CPR-EM offers a two-year fellowship in Emergency Medicine Health Services Research. Information about the fellowship is available on our Research Fellowship site.