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| Vol. 23, No. 10 |
| June 1, 2001 |
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FROM THE PRESIDENT Recently, the Harris County Medical Society announced that it has become the nation's largest medical society. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the society on this achievement and share some of this professional organization's history. Made up of Harris County physicians and medical students, the 8,650-member organization promotes the highest ethical medical standards and serves as an advocate for physicians and their patients. Established in 1903, the society has truly lived up to its mission. More than 75 percent of all Houston-area physicians belong to this top-quality society. There are six HCMS branches (Central, East, North, Southeast, Southwest, and West). These branches provide geographic representation, educational programs and opportunities for involvement in the society's activities, as well as the opportunity to meet other area colleagues. Expansion and cultivation of all avenues of communication are among the society's top priorities. In fulfilling this goal, the HCMSpublishes the bimonthly Harris County Physician Newsletter, provides online access with HCMS Online, located at http://www.hcms.org, and produces the yearly HCMS Pictorial Roster with member biographies, disease reports and childhood immunization schedules, among other valuable information. To promote quality health education, the HCMS conceived and actualized the Museum of Health & Medical Science, where visitors can explore such exhibits as the Amazing Body Pavilion, a larger-than-life walking tour through the human body. The group also sponsors Interprofessional Drug Education Alliance, or IDEA, a semiannual program with the Houston Bar Association in which a physician and an attorney team explain the medical and legal consequences of drug abuse. The Harris County Medical Society has also founded several nonprofit organizations, including the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in 1974. The Blood Center recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and is responsible for providing blood and blood components to more than 200 Houston health care institutions. The HCMS incorporated the Houston Academy of Medicine in 1915 to establish a medical library. In 1949, HCMS combined the HAM library collection with the Baylor College of Medicine Library to form the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. The HAM-TMC library is one of the leading biomedical libraries in the nation and serves as one of eight regional medical libraries. In 1970, the HCMS drafted the ordinance that established the Houston Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services division. Today, the Medical Society still serves with the fire chief and the Houston Health Department director as an advisor to the EMS division. It's clear that the Harris County Medical Society touches all lives in the county in one way or another. Again, I would like to congratulate the HCMS on its achievement, and to thank HCMS for protecting the best inerests of patients and physicians.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/06_01_01/page_21.html |