This note serves as my swan song as our NetWork Chair for the second time. It’s time to pass on the reins to Dr. Ryan Maves, who will aptly lead this group for the coming 2 years.
I have had the privilege of serving as Chair twice, once from 2007-2009 and again these past 2 years. In that time, not only has ACCP rebranded itself as CHEST and become a global leader in chest medicine, but our NetWork expanded. We moved from a sideline group occasionally speaking on chemical agents, wildfires, and earthquakes (on the last day of the conference) to leading CHEST’s COVID-19 Task Force under Dr. Maves. Our team played a key role in jump-starting CHEST’s COVID-19 response effort, engaging all of you and garnering interest from members across the globe. We truly have become more than a group of “disaster junkies” speaking only among ourselves.
Where do we go next? Dr. Maves will reach out in the coming months with his vision of our next steps. I can assure you that your interests and expertise will be called upon to not only enhance the NetWork’s activities and visibility, but more importantly, help CHEST’s members mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from whatever challenge comes on the heels of COVID-19. We owe that to them, and the patients and families we all serve.
Thanks for the ride, stay safe!
James Geiling, MD, MPH, FCCP Chair, Disaster Response and Global Health NetWork
As a NetWork member, you're welcome to join your NetWork Steering Committee calls. If interested in joining an upcoming call, please contact Katlyn Froslan at kfroslan@chestnet.org, and she will be happy to share access information.
Explore the COVID-19 Resource Center to find curated content to help you during the pandemic. Browse through clinical resources, access key research related to the management of patients with COVID-19, view recorded webinars, and more.
Sharpen your COVID-19 knowledge with the new CHEST Player Hub game, Defeat COVID-19, developed by the CHEST COVID-19 Task Force. Answer questions about COVID-19 symptoms, diagnosis, and management to score power-ups on the game board and advance your score.
Stay up-to-date on the evolving COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines from the National Institutes of Health as determined by a panel of representatives, including CHEST members Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP; Mitchell M. Levy, MD; and Gregory S. Martin, MD, MSc, FCCP.
It is both exciting and humbling to prepare to assume the chair of this NetWork from Dr. Geiling. I’m a critical care and infectious disease physician and a professor of medicine and anesthesiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine and have been part of the NetWork since 2013. I came to CHEST through a circuitous pathway. Like Dr. Geiling, I’m a retired military officer (in my case, 22 years in the US Navy). I served most of my Navy career in San Diego, plus time in Florida as the flight surgeon for a carrier air wing and 3 years in Peru doing vaccine research. I spent 6 years as an attending ID physician before re-entering training for a critical care fellowship, and have divided my time between ID and the ICU since then.
My interest in our NetWork’s area comes from, as the cliché goes, a series of unfortunate events: finding myself in the middle of an 8.0 earthquake in Peru and then participating in recovery efforts; various infectious disease outbreak responses in the military; and serving at the NATO combat hospital in Kandahar during 2012. And now, of course, we have the pandemic. I’ve had the honor of chairing the CHEST COVID-19 Task Force this past year. Like everything in the pandemic, though, this experience has reminded me about the importance of teams and systems. Despite our ongoing challenges in the pandemic, the success we’ve had in providing current, unbiased, scientifically rigorous guidance to our colleagues at the bedside is the result of the hard work of this entire team.
I suspect we’re all near the end of our ropes with COVID-19. The frustration that many of us feel is normal. If I’ve learned anything this past year, it’s that being part of this group, with this mission (to provide the best care for our patients and the best education for our colleagues), can help keep us centered and focused. There are better days ahead, and when they arrive, it will be because of the work that all of you have done to care for the sickest patients under the direst of circumstances. I am proud to be part of this NetWork, and thank you again for this opportunity.
Also of interest
Purchase the new, on-demand Thoracic Radiology: Imaging for Clinicians course to learn the basics of thoracic imaging and airway diseases by reviewing unique cases with expert faculty. This course is designed to help you take your thoracic imaging skills to the next level, so you excel in complex ICU situations.
In-person simulation courses are back, and seats are filling fast. The all-new course format for 2021 ensures your safety while offering you valuable hands-on, interactive training with experts. Explore the full course schedule to find more courses like these ones:
The journal CHEST® is accepting applications for Early Career Editorial Board Members. This is a 12-month mentorship with the journal CHEST Editorial Board. Accelerate your professional career with this opportunity to learn about the scholarly publishing landscape, review manuscripts, make recommendations for final decisions on manuscripts, and more. Apply before the deadline, Friday, October 1.
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It is both exciting and humbling to prepare to assume the chair of this NetWork from Dr. Geiling. I’m a critical care and infectious disease physician and a professor of medicine and anesthesiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine and have been part of the NetWork since 2013. I came to CHEST through a circuitous pathway. Like Dr. Geiling, I’m a retired military officer (in my case, 22 years in the US Navy). I served most of my Navy career in San Diego, plus time in Florida as the flight surgeon for a carrier air wing and 3 years in Peru doing vaccine research. I spent 6 years as an attending ID physician before re-entering training for a critical care fellowship, and have divided my time between ID and the ICU since then. 
