The first meeting served as an information-gathering session to gain a comprehensive understanding of the emergency care system as it existed in 2004, the year that the project began. In a panel format, presenters gave an introduction of the current emergency care system. The workshop provided a forum to study, analyze, and discuss common issues that plague the system such as emergency department overcrowding, workforce shortages, and professional education deficiencies. This meeting also spotlighted prehospital care, pediatric care, and emergency medicine research.