March 13, 2020
TCEP has been closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak in the United States to make an appropriate decision about our annual Connect conference. Our members are our most important resource and are the front line in treating patients who present with COVID-19. In an effort to do what’s best for our members, registrants, exhibitors, sponsors, staff, and the public, the TCEP Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel TCEP Connect 2020. Here is a statement from President Vankawala:

As the front line of US health care, Texas ER docs are particularly vulnerable to infection and transmission of the COVID-19 virus and TCEP wants to make sure that it does not play a role in accelerating the spread of this infection. TCEP’s mission is “to promote quality emergency care for all patients and to represent the professional interests of our members.” For these two reasons, the TCEP Board of Directors has decided to not hold TCEP Connect in Fort Worth on April 3-4. Refunds will be issued for all registrants of the conference as well as the pre-conference snake lecture, and future meeting plans will be announced once they are made. TCEP will continue to work with hospitals and political leadership to help deliver the most effective response and it’s our sincere hope that everyone stays safe and healthy. As always thank you for what you do, now more than ever.

This is a saddening decision, as bringing our members together for events like Connect is something our association takes great pride in. TCEP Staff, along with numerous member volunteers, have spent months planning for this conference. We truly appreciate everyone who has committed their time to these planning efforts, especially our two Conference Chairs – Dr. Sara Andrabi and Dr. Jessica Best. Thank you to all who had committed to speak at or attend our conference, and support TCEP.

Registration refunds: We will begin refunding everyone next week, to the original form of payment used.

Hotel reservations: The Worthington will begin cancelling all room reservations within our group block. If you do not receive a cancellation number by Friday, March 20th, please call the hotel at 1.800.468.3571 to cancel your room. Or, if you feel more comfortable cancelling your room immediately, feel free to do that.

We plan to Re-Connect! Since we’re unable to host Connect next month, we will be planning a different one-day conference for all members this summer which will include the annual business meeting. We are in the planning stages for this event, and will send out details in a few weeks. We hope that you will be able to Re-Connect this summer.

We are extremely grateful to all our members who are working around-the-clock in response to this pandemic, to help prevent the spread of this infectious disease.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact TCEP Staff at 512.306.0605 or:

       Beth Brooks, CAE                                            Annette Mitrosz
       Executive Director                                            Operations & Events Manager
       [email protected]                                            [email protected]