Archives

September 2021

• President's Message
• Nominations for 2022-23 Board of Directors
• Holiday Sharing Card
• Fall Conference Reimagined
• TMA Fund Supports Medical Families
• 2022 Billing Begins this Month
• A Farewell and a Welcome

 

President's Message

Cannon and I were invited to join his oldest sister and her family on a vacation on the tiny Caribbean Island of Anguilla in July. They had secured a private villa, and all we needed to do was buy the plane tickets and get there. The plan was for two days of scuba diving with our nephew and plenty of time relaxing on the beach and making meals in the private kitchen.

Anguilla (and much of the Caribbean territory) required COVID-19 testing prior to entering, as well as a full application for each visitor with proof of vaccination. Strict instructions directed that visitors be tested 72 hours prior to arrival. Cannon and I submitted to the testing at the same time at the drive-thru CVS testing site and anxiously awaited our results.

Cannon’s results came back the next day without a hitch, but mine were delayed. In fact, the CVS app continued to indicate my results were still pending as we left the airport in San Antonio and headed to San Juan, where we were to spend the night prior to boarding the small prop plane to Anguilla the next afternoon. I began to panic as the results had still not come through by that evening in San Juan. I refreshed my settings on the app, and still no news. The next morning, I started calling the corporate CVS lab helpline for support.

I finally got a call-back from the helpline at around noon, three hours before our flight to Anguilla. The lab had determined the vial holding my nasal swab specimen had broken in transit, so the results were unable to be read. Not a positive result, just no result. We decided to go ahead and get on the plane to Anguilla and explain our situation to the authorities when we arrived, of course agreeing to another test upon arrival.

However, the guidelines are so strict that the airline was restricted from allowing me to board the plane without documentation of a negative test within 72 hours. Airline personnel suggested I go find a testing site and reschedule the flight. But by the time I did that, and waited for the results, our time on the island would be almost expired. What a disappointment. We were so looking forward to diving together again.

But we gathered our thoughts and decided we could just book a plane straight back to San Antonio since we were already all packed and at the airport, or we could reimagine this scheduled time off. We had never really explored San Juan before. I found a cute boutique hotel that had one room left, and we stayed a couple of nights and explored Old San Juan. It wasn’t the trip we were expecting at all, but we made memories and learned about the culture and history of that part of our country.

Last month I was so excited about Fall Conference and our time together, but almost as soon as the August Monthly Memo was published, the board gathered virtually in an emergency meeting and made the difficult decision to move the conference to a virtual platform yet again. What a disappointment.

But that caused us to gather our thoughts and figure out another way to celebrate our community without being in person. I am pleased to announce that we will be joined by best-selling author and two-time TedX speaker Anne Grady. Anne has spent the last two decades working with Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, schools, and government agencies on developing resilience – a skill that we could all use a little more of during these trying times. After we celebrate our 2021 TMAA Awards winners, we will have the opportunity to hear Anne speak to the Alliance. Won’t you please invite your friends and join me?

Jennifer Lewis
TMA Alliance President 2021-22

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Nominations for 2022-23 Board of Directors

Interested in joining TMAA leadership, or know someone in your county with great ideas who would be interested in taking on another role? Submit a nomination for the 2022-23 TMAA Board of Directors. Fill out this short form to nominate yourself or someone else. TMAA’s Nominating Committee will meet next month to slate the incoming officers, so hurry and get those nominations in no later than Sept. 10, 2021.

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Holiday Sharing Card

It’s hard to believe we’re talking about the holidays as summer draws to a close and fall begins in a few weeks. The TMA Alliance is excited to again raise funds through its Holiday Sharing Card. Now in its 26th year, this appeal supports the TMA Foundation and the TMA and TMAA programs it funds. These include favorites such as Texas BookShare, Vaccines Defend What Matters, and Hard Hats for Little Heads. We hope your alliance and your members will participate with a tax-deductible donation.

The Holiday Sharing Card provides an opportunity for county alliances and members across the state to ensure these initiatives and others are brought to life in 2022.

You can make a secure, online gift or call Marilyn Anderson, TMAF data manager, at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1466, to make a gift over the phone. To learn more about the TMA Foundation and the programs it funds, please visit www.tmaf.org.

Thank you in advance for your support this holiday season!

Fall Conference Reimagined

As you may have heard, TMA and the TMA Alliance made the decision to cancel this year’s Fall Conference due to safety concerns over rising COVID-19 rates and the spread of the delta variant. If you reserved a room in the TMA room block with the hotel, you do not need to do anything; all rooms in the TMA block have been canceled.

While this isn’t quite the reunion we had imagined, the TMA Alliance still wants to celebrate with you! Join us on Sept. 17 for our TMAA Awards Celebration. In addition to announcing the winners of our 2021 awards, we will welcome renowned speaker and best-selling author Anne Grady. She is dynamic, personal, and engaging, and we cannot wait for you to hear her speak. Make sure to register below and save your spot!

Friday, Sept. 17
10-11:30 am
Register

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TMA Fund Supports Medical Families

Sometimes physicians are the ones who need care. For 60 years, TMA has provided temporary financial assistance to physicians and their families to help them get back on their feet or walk through a tough time. The Physicians Benevolent Fund (PBF) has a variety of funds to assist qualified physicians who fall on desperate financial times or who are seeking treatment, perhaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or other circumstances.

PBF is here for physicians and their immediate families who become unable to meet their day-to-day needs. Recipients receive monthly help to pay for personal necessities – rent or mortgage, utilities, health insurance, medical bills, clothing, and food.

The PBF Wellness Fund provides financial assistance for physicians who cannot afford treatment for mental- or substance-use disorders, or other impairments that affect their ability to practice medicine safely. Financial assistance also is available for short-term living expenses for families while the physician receives treatment.

TMA family members can support PBF in two ways: share this valuable resource with friends or colleagues who may need assistance or contribute to the fund.

If you know a physician or a physician’s family who could benefit, please direct them to the PBF webpage for qualification details and the confidential questionnaire. Or contact Chris.Johnson@texmed.org, PBF senior program manager. TMA staff strive to protect the anonymity of fund recipients.

If you’d like to help sustain the funds, as well as the PBF Disaster Relief Fund (activates during federally declared natural disasters), contribute via a secure, online donation; text CARING to 56512; or send a check to PBF, Attn: TMA Finance Department, 401 W. 15th St., Austin, TX 78701-1680. Contributions are tax-deductible, and may be in the form of honoraria or memorials.

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2022 Billing Begins this Month

It’s that time of year again! The TMA Alliance will begin sending 2022 membership statements later this month. The full billing schedule is below, so please be on the lookout in your inbox and mailbox for these reminders.

A few things to take note of:

• If you have opted in to auto-renewal in a previous year, you will not receive a billing statement from us. The auto-renewal charge will go through on Oct. 2. If it fails to go through (for example, if the card on file has expired), it will attempt to go through again on Nov. 2.
• Physician members will not receive an alliance statement until January.
• Dues for both resident and medical student members are now free! If you know of a medical student or resident who is trying to join and is being charged, please have him or her reach out to tmaa@texmed.org, and we will make sure any charges are corrected.

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A Farewell and a Welcome

After two and a half years as our program manager, Sasha Khalifeh will be departing from TMA. While we will miss having her on the team, she is excited to start a new chapter of her life after moving across the country to New York City. Her last day with TMAA will be Sept. 30. We wish her all the best in her journey!

Following Sasha’s departure, Debra Heater will take over as senior manager of the TMA Alliance and outreach. Debra is a 14-year veteran of TMA and an essential part of the communications team. She also leads TMA’s outreach program Walk With a Doc. She is excited to work more closely with alliance members and help us grow our membership, expand our programs, and continue improving our communications. She can be reached at debra.heater@texmed.org.

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