| ||
| Vol. 25, No. 3 |
| February 15, 2003 |
|
Celebrating a Century By JENNIFER SNYDER Harris County Medical Society Guests were taken back 100 years, when Houston was a thriving city of 65,000 people and medicine was practiced from horseback, at the Harris County Medical Society/Houston Academy of Medicine’s installation of officers, held Jan. 24 in conjunction with the Harris County Medical Society’s Centennial Celebration, titled “100 Years of Caring.” The Harris County Medical Society is the professional society for Harris County physicians. It is the largest county medical society in the nation, with a mission to promote the highest standards of ethical medical practice for the benefit of the community and to serve as an advocate for member physicians and their patients in achieving this end. The Houston Academy of Medicine is the scientific and charitable organization of the Harris County Medical Society physicians. Approximately 400 attendees were present at the black-tie celebration, funded solely by donations, highlighting the medical society’s past and continued dedication to physician and patient advocacy and medicine’s colorful history. Historic photographs were shown on two screens during the reception. Master of ceremonies and historian Ron Stone kept the evening lively as he introduced the 2003 officers. Gavels were passed from 2002 Harris County Medical Society President William H. Fleming III, M.D., to 2003 President Kenneth L. Mattox, M.D., chief of staff and chief of surgery at Ben Taub General Hospital and vice chairman of the department of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, and from 2002 Houston Academy of Medicine President Robert C. Vanzant, M.D., to 2003 President Phillip G. Sutton, M.D., a general surgeon who practices in northwest Houston. In lieu of a keynote speaker, Stone presented a film documenting the medical society’s humble beginnings in 1903, with a membership of 65 physicians, to present day, with more than 9,000 physicians and medical students. Also on view was the centennial exhibit highlighting medicine’s past and future, now on display at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science through March 31. Each guest received a replica of the exhibit as a party favor. The celebration continued with 1999 medical society President Carlos R. Hamilton Jr., M.D., presenting world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon Denton A. Cooley, M.D., with the John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award from the Houston Academy of Medicine. Additionally, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee presented proclamations to the Harris County Medical Society in recognition of its centennial, as well as to Vanzant and Fleming for their past year of service. Among the glittery silver and blue decorations and candlelit tables sat some of Houston’s most prominent and respected physicians, including 21 medical society past presidents, the newly installed Harris County Medical Society executive board, and Houston Academy of Medicine board of trustees. The 2003 Harris County Medical Society and Houston Academy of Medicine board members include Mattox, HCMS president; Donald R. Butts, HCMS president-elect; Walter P. Moore, HCMS vice president; Alan P. Glombicki, HCMS secretary/treasurer; Sutton, HAM president; Diana L. Fite, HAM vice president; A. Tomas Garcia III, HAM treasurer; Lewis E. Foxhall, HAM secretary; Grant C. Fowler, ethics board chair; Guru N. Reddy, medical legislation board chair; Donald P. Griffith, socioeconomics board chair; Jerry N. Street, hospital chiefs of staff council chair; Carl V. Vartian, specialty societies council chair; Karl W. King, international medical societies council chair; Kevin R. Smith, Central City Branch president; Hubert N. Williston, East Branch president; Pulin K. Pandya, North Branch president; Arnold Ravdel, Southeast Branch president; Amrit N. Achari, Southwest Branch president; Donald M. Gibson, Western Branch president; and Bobby R. Alford and L. Maximilian Buja, ex-officio members. Those who supported and sponsored the Harris County Medical Society’s Centennial Celebration “100 Years of Caring” include John P. McGovern, M.D.; Memorial Hermann Healthcare System; The Methodist Hospitals; Texas Medical Liability Trust; Baylor College of Medicine; Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center; HCA Hospitals; Harris County Hospital District; Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library; Houston Northwest Medical Center; the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science; St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital; TIRR Systems; Texas Children’s Hospital; Texas Medical Association Trust; The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/02_15_03/page_01.html |