Dr. Gardner Receives Highest Award From ACEP

​UT Southwestern Emergency Medicine Faculty Dr. Angela Gardner Receives Highest Award from American College of Emergency Physicians 

Dallas, TX - The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has bestowed its highest award to Angela Gardner, M.D., FACEP, Professor and Chief of Quality and Patient Safety in the UT Southwestern Department of Emergency Medicine. She was presented with the award at the organization’s national conference in Boston on Oct. 28.

The John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated significant leadership and achievement in the field of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Gardner served as the president of ACEP in 2009-2010 during the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and is credited for providing extraordinary guidance to the organization and advocacy for patients who seek emergency care during that national debate.

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Under her leadership, ACEP pushed and succeeded in getting the Prudent Layperson Standard added to the ACA legislation. That provision calls for insurers to cover emergency department visits even when patients who thought they were having a true emergency turned out to have a minor, non-emergent problem.

ACEP also pushed for funding in the ACA for trauma care and research, as well as the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Dr. Gardner’s service to ACEP began in in her home state of Texas. She served the state chapter in a variety of leadership positions, and became the Texas ACEP President in 2003. During her term, she led the chapter’s successful fight for professional liability reform in Texas. 

Dr. Gardner completed her medical degree and emergency medicine residency at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso. Dr. Gardner works clinically in the Parkland Hospital Emergency Department and has privileges at Clements University Hospital as part of her role as Chief of Operations, Quality and Safety in the UT Southwestern Emergency Department.
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"Dr. Gardner is a wonderful clinician, educator, and advocate for all who work in our field,” said Dr. Deborah Diercks, Chair of the UT Southwestern Emergency Medicine Department. “This award recognizes her lifetime commitment to the quality of care for those that we serve. We are very proud of her for receiving this well-deserved honor."