Mound City Medical Forum mentors and advocates for the community
By Sandra Jordan Of the St. Louis American
The Mound City Medical Forum is doing its part behind the scenes to increase the numbers of physicians of color in the community.
During a fall banquet of the 88-year-old African-American physicians’ group, Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson, the newly-elected president of Mound City Medical Forum, set out an agenda for the organization, all geared to support medical students and to strengthen the medical community.
“We do a great job of attracting intelligent students, residents and fellows to come here to train,” Hooks Anderson said.
“What I found is, they get this wonderful training, then they leave. We need to be a community where they want to train and they want to stay.”
She said it is a goal of Mound City and the medical schools at Washington University and Saint Louis University to have a system in place to encourage physicians to stay.
“In a city as big as St. Louis, we have only two African-American dermatologists. We have only one neurologist,” Hooks-Anderson said.
Hooks-Anderson outlined five areas Mound City would concentrate on for 2008: reinstituting a mentoring program; strengthening ties to local medical institutions; increasing the amount of money for scholarships; becoming a recognizable medical voice; and collaboration with other medical/health societies.
“Student National Medical Association chapters from SLU and Washington University are invited to Mound City meetings and they are invited to give a report on what they are doing and what their needs are,” Hooks-Anderson said.
This effort allowed doctors to fill a need for African-American medical students.
“Some of them need physicians to shadow. Some of our members act as preceptors,” Hooks-Anderson said.
Mound City member Dr. Mary Tillman will be the speaker at the SLU Student National Medical Association tribute to Homer G. Phillips in March.
Mound City doctors also are increasing scholarship support from $5,000 to $10,000 annually for ethnic minorities. Also, a new scholarship honors a long-time St. Louis African American doctor.
“One $2,500 scholarship goes to Wash. U. – $2,500 goes to SLU. Both are need-based,” Hooks-Anderson said.
“The remainder $5,000 is the Dr. James Whittico, Jr. Leadership Scholarship. It’s to be given to either a SLU or Wash. U. student demonstrating great leadership skills within their community.”
Another goal Hooks-Anderson is working on for Mound City Medical Forum is being a recognized voice for the black medical community in Missouri.
“We are in the process of applying for state society status within our national organization (the National Medical Association) that will allow us to be the recognizable voice for the entire state of Missouri,” Hooks-Anderson said.
“When we go to Jeff City to speak to our legislators that means we not only speak for our 200 members in St. Louis; we speak for physicians in Cape Girardeau or physicians in Kansas City and Jefferson City.”
Last year, the Forum made available a listing of some of the physicians who are Mound City members. The list is available by emailing moundcitymedicalforum@yahoo.com.
Hooks-Anderson would also like to strengthen the connection of young doctors with physicians who are nearing their golden years.
“A lot of our physicians are nearing retirement age,” Hooks-Anderson said.
“I would like to see some type of bridging system where they could invite younger doctors in to see their practices and possibly take them over.”