Archives

June 2022

• President's Message
• Membership Incentive Program
• Marketing Support
• Outreach Programs
• Fall Conference
• Working Past 65?
• Physicians Benevolent Fund

I have mentioned this before, but I don’t want you to miss out: Don’t forget to apply for the TMAA Membership Incentive. Each county chapter can receive up to $1,000 for membership recruitment and retention events.

If you haven’t started planning your events for the year, check out what the other alliance chapters are doing. They’re holding some amazing events around the state. Don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel. Swim parties, star-gazing parties, back-to-school events like ice cream socials and picnics are always a great way to get your alliance chapter running again after the summer break.

If you are fortunate enough to have a medical school in your area, plan something that allows you to include students as they start their new academic year. Let them know about your chapter and what you are doing in your community. Medical students make wonderful volunteers for outreach events tied to immunizations and Hard Hats for Little Heads.

Also, be sure to invite the TMA Alliance president and president-elect to your upcoming events. We want to celebrate your work and share your successes.

We know it isn’t easy being married to a physician and we want to create a medical family environment to help you. I always tell my son that to get a friend you must be a friend. Try to create the most welcoming group possible for new physician families. You never know when that simple act of kindness will be paid forward.

I hope all of you have a fun, safe, and relaxing summer!

Libby White

 

DON’T MISS OUT: Membership Incentive program

Each county can apply for up to $1,000 per year from TMA Alliance to help underwrite their membership recruitment and retention events. Request your funds here. Fill out the simple form for your next activity and TMAA will send you funding.

 

WE’RE HERE TO HELP: Marketing Support

TMA Alliance staff is standing by to help design and print event materials, posters, post cards, invites, etc. Our staff recently worked on the event invitation below for the Potter-Randall County Medical Society Alliance.

 

TMA OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Hard Hats for Little Heads
In October, we want to give away 2,500 bicycle helmets. Please help us reach this goal by planning a Hard Hats for Little Heads event today. The program requires little work and has a great payoff when you see the joy a new bicycle helmet brings a child. For more information, go here or contact Jose Melendez at his email or at 512-370-1390.

Walk With a Doc
Walk With a Doc is a non-profit organization that encourages healthy physical activity in people of all ages. It seeks to reverse the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle and improve the health and well-being of the country. TMA is now part of this national grassroots movement, and Walk With a Doc Texas has a proven track record of helping people commit to monthly, physician-led walks in different places around Texas.

Turn It Off Today
Electronic devices are addictive. Turn It Off Today (TIOT) calls attention to the direct correlation between excessive screen time and poor emotional and physical well-being. The program aims to reduce the amount of time people – especially children and adolescents – spend staring at their screens and to replace those habits with healthy activities like physical activity, social interaction, reading, and “green time” outdoors. For TIOT pledge cards and program toolkits email Jose.

Here are two stories about the TIOT program that ran in Texas Medicine Today:
Take a Break from Electronic Devices During Holidays, Physicians Suggest
“Turn It Off” to Help Mental Health, Physicians Suggest

Texas BookShare
Since 2018, the Texas BookShare program has provided over 1,500 free books to children in underserved communities. Working with The Leaders Readers Network nonprofit group and with generous support from the TMA Foundation, Texas BookShare allows TMA Alliance chapters and local medical clinics to help physicians "prescribe" health-related books to young patients. This helps educate them about the importance of nutrition, physical activity, and healthy living. Simply fill out an application if you'd like to start your own Texas BookShare program. Each TMA Alliance chapter launching a program gets $2,000 worth of books. Chapters that renew their program receive $1,000 worth of books with a $500 contribution to Texas BookShare.

 

COMING SOON: TMA Alliance Fall Conference

Join TMAA at our 2022 Fall Conference Sept. 15-17 in Bastrop. This is a great opportunity to network with colleagues and attend TMAA business meetings. While you’re there, join us for a TMAA-hosted happy hour and campfire event. Reserve your hotel now.

Working Past 65? Watch Out for These Three Costly Mistakes

Just because you are over 65 doesn’t mean you are ready to leave the profession you love. However, there are some common and costly mistakes those working past age 65 need to avoid. TMA Insurance Trust is here to help. Learn More

 

A Conversation with Vickie Blumhagen about The Physicians Benevolent Fund

TMA’s Physicians Benevolent Fund (PBF) provides financial support to physicians and their families during times of personal hardship. This might include a wife left with debt following the death of her physician husband or an elderly couple struggling to make ends meet after a dementia diagnosis. For more than six decades – thanks to the generosity of Texas physicians – PBF has helped families pay for their homes, mounting medical bills, and other necessities.

TMA recently asked members of the PBF Committee – TMA physicians and TMA Alliance representatives – to answer a few questions about what inspires them to serve and what they’d like other TMA family members to know about PBF. Committee members review the applications to determine if physicians or physician families qualify for funding.

Vickie Blumhagen of Austin, a former member of the TMA Alliance Board of Directors, has served on the PBF Committee since 2015. Here’s what she had to say.

TMA: What interested you in joining the PBF Committee and what keeps you involved?

Vickie: I first heard about PBF during a TMAA finance meeting and immediately knew I wanted to be part of the committee. It especially interested me given my background in social work and years of experience with the board of the Travis County Medical Alliance and the TMA Alliance. The letters from recipients telling us how the fund has helped them keeps me involved.

TMA: What are you most proud of about the work of this committee?

Vickie: I am most proud of how the committee treats each applicant with the upmost respect and dignity. The committee takes confidentiality very seriously.

TMA: Sometimes people are hesitant to ask for help. If someone becomes aware of a physician family in need, how can they connect the family to PBF?

Vickie: They can contact TMA and ask for Chris Johnson, PBF director, at 512-370-1602 (or email). TMA staff will contact the family in need, keeping the referral confidential.

TMA: What is the most important thing you want your TMA family to know about PBF?

Vickie: The PBF stands ready to help anyone in need who meets the qualifications. Our committee members represent only a few areas of Texas, so we need your help to identify people who may be struggling. TMA staff do an amazing job of working with applicants to assess their needs – not just their immediate needs, but long-term ones as well.