Founded 1927
The Mission of the Indiana State Medical Association Alliance (ISMA-A) is:
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To work in partnership with the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA)
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To serve the needs of our medical families through fellowship, friendship, and membership
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To support medical education
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To protect the future of medicine through legislative advocacy.
The Vision of the ISMA-Alliance is:
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To Unite and Support Physician Families
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To Improve and Preserve the Integrity of Medicine in Indiana.
The Objectives of the ISMA Alliance shall be educational and charitable.
They are to assist the ISMA in its program for the advancement of medicine and public health; to support county alliances;
to encourage participation of volunteers in health-related activities; and to support health-related programs.
ISMA-A Officers/Board, 2020-21
President- Dawn Davis
Immediate Past-President- Jaime Dinn
Secretary- Jennifer Bojrab
Treasurer- Betty Canavati
Finance Secretary- Marty Vibul
Legislation- Cami Pond
Membership- Tonya Hughes
Northern Area VP- Liz Hathaway
Central Area VP- OPEN
Southern Area VP- Cindy Behrens
Dear State Members,
My husband is an OB/GYN in Fort Wayne and I work in a pediatric intensive care unit. We have four children: the two oldest are in medical school, a son is at Columbia College in Chicago, and the youngest just started at Purdue. My husband and I have officially joined the empty nest club. We had a very busy summer with our oldest getting married and a wonderful family trip to Ireland. We also spent the summer planning a new state initiative that I hope our members will embrace.
In 2017, 602 Indiana babies died before their first birthday. I was shocked to learn that a Fort Wayne zip code has the third highest infant mortality rate in the state.
Our 2019-20 campaign will be entitled: Infant Mortality: Safe Sleep Initiative “I Sleep Belly Up”. Safe sleep is so important for infants. The safest place for babies to sleep is on their back, in a crib and by themselves. Our goal is to make a small dent in the fight against Infant Mortality.
We propose to partner with the local Alliances, IU School of Medicine and Marion University to have four statewide baby showers (Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Evansville) during the next year to raise awareness, educate and prevent infant mortalities.
Fort Wayne Mayor, Tom Henry, proclaimed October 23, 2019 Infant Mortality Awareness Day. Our first baby shower will be held on that day at the IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne. Dr. Deborah McMahon, Health Commissioner, and Ms. Holly Wood, Indiana Dept. of Health-Safe Sleep Coordinator will speak about infant mortality. In addition to the shower participants’ donations, ISMA-A will be donating cribs, safe sleep materials from the “Cribs for Kids’ organization, sleep sacks, onesies, and a safe sleep book to a local organization.
If you are interested or need more information on our “I Sleep Belly Up” Initiative, please contact me at dawndavis04@aol.com . Look for updates on our progress in the coming months.
I am honored to become the 2019-2021 ISMA-Alliance President. I hope that you can join me at one of the baby showers as I look forward to meeting you as I travel around Indiana.
Dawn Davis, RN
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