100 Years of History
Travis County Medical Alliance
Established 1924
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Travis County Medical Alliance and the Travis County Medical Alliance Foundation is to assist the Travis County community with health related needs and to foster social networks for the families of medicine. The TCMA/ TCMAF works in conjunction with the Travis County Medical Society and is an affiliate of the Texas Medical Association Alliance.
The Earliest Years
1924-30 Members worked to ensure a pure milk supply, birth registration and smallpox vaccination.
1935-40 TCMSA had an aim to provide adequate hospitalization of TB patients and for the construction of a city-county colony for indigent cases near the city.
1941-45 War work was the main Auxiliary activity for these years. The Surgical Dressing Unit of the Travis County Red Cross was organized under the sponsorship of TCMSA, as well as nurse recruiting and nurses aid work.
1946-52 “Health is our Best Defense” was the theme as TCMSA stressed the importance of regular physical examinations and voluntary prepaid medical care. Their legislative concern was in the area of cancer control.
Establishing Community Connections
1953 Community service included the State Eleemosynary Institution (to benefit the School for the Deaf), Heart Drive and Civil Defense. This was the year the Auxiliary began assisting the Blood Bank.
1956 Sponsorship of the District Science Fair began this year and has continued through to the present, making the TCMA the longest continuous sponsor of the Science Fair - Over 65 YEARS!
1959 The Nursing Scholarship Fund was established. In the yearbook, members were advised to “Write Your Congressman and Pay Your Poll Tax.”
1964 The Medicine and Religion Committee was established to promote the philosophy of treating “the whole man.”
1967-68 The Vision Screening Project which screened school children for vision problems was initiated and continued for over 20 years with active participation by TCMA members as volunteers.
Continuing the Legacy
1975-76 The first Garage Sale was held to raise funds for our philanthropies.
1981-82 The Car Seat Loaner Program (Kids ‘N’ Cars), Shape Up for Life, and the Drug Abuse program were begun.
1982-83 The first Healthfest was held to promote healthy lifestyles, combining the efforts of both the Society and the Auxiliary to benefit Travis County. It would continue until 1995 as the biggest event of the organizations year.
1983-88 Programs for child abuse and teen pregnancy were established.
1986-87 TCMA raised more than $20,000 for the new Children’s Hospital of Austin (Brackenridge). The Fashion-Show Gala, Dinner Dance Benefit, became the major source of philanthropic fund-raising for the Auxiliary.
Philanthropies Evolve
1990-91 The Auxiliary gave a $25,000 Presidential Endowed Scholarship to the University of Texas School of Nursing. The Auxiliary gave Austin Community College a $10,000 endowed scholarship for their School of Nursing. This was the first endowed scholarship Austin Community College had ever received. Monies were also designated for AIDS awareness and breast cancer education.
1991-92 County membership voted to change their name to Travis County Medical Alliance one month after State and National changed their names to Alliance.
1993-94 TCMA adopted its new star logo to strengthen its unity and identity with the TMAA. The Alliance initiated two new community service projects addressing the public health issues of breast cancer awareness and low immunization rates in children.
1995-96 Healthfest and Healthfest Run were held for the fourteenth and final time.
1997-98 A new Community Service project was initiated, "Baby Think It Over", addressing Teen Pregnancy/Parenting. Dolls were loaned to Jr. High Schools. The Joint Installation of the Presidents of the TCMS and TCMA was held for the first time in 32 years. The first annual Past-Presidents lunch was organized.
1998-99 The Alliance took steps to become a more professional organization: the fiscal year was changed to mirror the TMAA and TCMS, the bylaws were updated, two brochures and a web site were developed.
The New Millenium
Hard Hats for Little Heads Event. L-R; Patti Hernandez, Edie Finch, Jenny Stern, Christi Dammert, Christina Fenrich, and Olguita Santiago. Feb 2019
2002-04 The 78th Legislature met and many members participated in “First Tuesdays” lobbying efforts which were instrumental in passing the prompt pay bill, as well as Proposition 12 - medical malpractice and tort reform. The TCMA continued the tradition of philanthropy to the community with Community Service grants totaling over $50,000.
2004-05 The biennial Legislative Reception was held for the first time this year and provided Society and Alliance members an opportunity to meet members of the Travis County legislative delegation. This effort won an award from the state while the gala won the national AMAA HAP award for originality of theme.
2005-06 Alliance members assisted the TCMS and the City of Austin in preventing spread of infection at the convention center which was being used to house over 4000 victims fleeing Hurricane Katrina.
2006-09 Volunteer efforts were focused on increasing childhood immunization rates, Hard Hats for Little Heads. Galas were held each year to raise money for numerous healthcare related philanthropies.
2010-13 During these years, the TCMA was recognized by the state for legislative, membership and dedication to the mission efforts. The AMAA awarded Travis County a Legislative award known as the LEAP Award.
Building On A Strong Heritage
2018/2019 The TCMA held a legistlative reception at the home of Rush and Pradeep Kumar's for the 86th legistlative session. TCMA members also attended first Tuesdays at the capitol to help support the Travis County Medical Society. We were awarded the Mary Ann Homer Legistlative and Political Action Award for our efforts! We collected 136 books in addition to monetary donations at our annual holiday luncheon. We partnered with Steel Magnolias, a southern boutique in Lakeway, to raise funds for the TCMA. They chose us to be their charity of the month and we received 10% of all proceeds. We decided to have a more intimate party to honor our sponsors that year verse the traditional gala event. The party took place at Christi and Kevin Bozics house. All sponsors and TCMA members were invited. TCMA raised over $53,000 to give away to our grant recipients that year. Grant recipients attended our last meeting of the year at the historic Caswell house. At this meeting we recognized all of our honorary members and named Patty Loose an honorary member for all of her dedication to the Travis County Medical Alliance and the Texas Medical Association Alliance.
2019/2020 We held a lucrative fund drive, we donated helmets to support Hard Hats for Little Heads, we gave out scholarships to two deserving Hispanic UT Nursing School students, we collaborated with the TCMS to hold a fun membership building event at the Trail of Lights, and we planned what would have been a fun and philanthropic Party with a Purpose, however, in March 2020, less than a month away from our PWAP, the Covid 19 pandemic shut the world down and we had to cancel our party and the rest of the events we had planned for the year. It will forever stand out as the beginning of the Covid era.
2020-21 - Volunteer efforts of the Alliance during the COVID-19 pandemic year began by assisting the Medical Society with delivering PPE to medical offices throughout the central Texas area. Later, members provided countless volunteer hours as greeters and scribes during COVID-19 vaccination clinics for healthcare workers and teachers. Community grant fundraising exceeded expectations, and TCMAF was awarded the 'Dedicated to the Mission Award' by the State Alliance.
2022-2023 was a year of welcoming back our membership to regular in-person meetings and events. We had a record-breaking Annual Fund Drive as well as a fun Iconic-Austin-themed Party with a Purpose downtown at the Austin Central Library which allowed us to award grants totaling $46,000 to eight local organizations. We continued our hands on support of St. Louise house with meal preparation and Volunteer Healthcare Clinic with Backpacks, holiday family sponsors and envelope stuffing.
Members at the Capitol for First Tuesdays, March 2023 . L-R Patty Loose, Shannon McNeil, Julie Cowan, Christi Dammert, Beth O'Farrell, Karin Foster and Karen Kim.
