EMCON 2001

Soon after the formation of AAEMI, SEMI (The Society of Emergency Medicine in India) with the help of Dr. Sagar Galwankar, invited the members of AAEMI to participate in EMCON 2001. This was the 3rd annual conference held by SEMI, and supported by national faculty from all over India.

EMCON 2001 was held in Coimbatore in May. It was sponsored by K.G. Hospital, under the auspices of the president of SEMI, Dr. G. B. Bhaktavatsalam. Six members of our group, along with three Paramedics went to India to give lectures, and teach in the workshops that were being offered. Among those who participated were: Drs. Prakash Phulwani, Rani Kumar, Kumar Alagappan, George Abraham, Indrani Sheridan, Mihir Meghani, and George Buck PhD. EMCON 2001 was attended by nearly 350 delegates.

As a sign of our continued support and appreciation for the work being done in India, Dr George Buck presented an American Flag to K. G. Hospital, courtesy of the White House, during the inaugural ceremony.

On this same trip to India, members of AAEMI met with officials of the Apollo Hospitals Group in Hyderabad, and founded the AAEMI library at that hospital, starting with donations of a few medical textbooks and journals. SEMI expressed a hope that AAEMI would continue to participate in future conferences, and plans were made to formalize the relationship between AAEMI and SEMI. Based on the success of this conference that the idea of INTEM 2002 – India’s First International Emergency Medicine and Disaster Preparedness Conference - was born.