NEWS AND VIEWS: Medical association membership continues to grow, nearing 500 (03/12/06)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Medical association membership continues to grow, nearing 500

by George Hrycelak

CHICAGO - The Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA) is experiencing continued growth in participants, reaching another milestone with 481 active members in 2005. This is the fourth consecutive year of rising membership, with excellent prospects for continuing expansion.

A broad range of new members is seeking representation by UMANA, the largest professional organization in the Ukrainian diaspora. Applicants in 2005 included five medical residents, two students, five members of affiliated health professions, and four associate physicians recently arrived from Ukraine. In addition to the influx of applicants, UMANA has witnessed a reactivation of many dormant members, many of whom have been inactive for years and in some cases, decades.

Increased visibility of UMANA activity in the U.S. and Canadian press, as well as a greater presence on the Internet, underscored the importance of publicity and networking in recruiting new members. To ease information exchange, UMANA's website, www.umana.org, will include, in the next few months, a simultaneously translated version in the Ukrainian language. One goal of the site will be to serve as a central repository of UMANA's publications, member directory and news sources, all available in real time.

The recent successful scientific convention in Edmonton has energized Canadian colleagues, with a resurgence of activity in the Toronto and Edmonton branches of UMANA. The Canadian component reinforces the concept envisioned by UMANA's early founders of encompassing health care practitioners of Ukrainian descent in the entirety of North America.

First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko's visit to Chicago in October of 2005 brought into focus the various possibilities inherent in a large, cohesive organization working with its counterparts in Ukraine to elevate and refine the level of health care on a global scale. Contacts of this type may give UMANA branches and members opportunities to cooperate on projects of medical scientific exchange with health care counterparts in Ukraine.

Administratively, UMANA continues to realize its goal of transparency and publicity in all organizational transactions. Regular board meetings continue to include branch presidents and representatives of all standing committees. Yearly budgets are painstakingly reviewed, approved and generally adhered to. The central office remains the main clearinghouse and database for inquiries from members and the public. A dedicated on-site executive director remains key to coordinating the innumerable daily telephone calls, faxes, e-mails and walk-in visitors arriving at the Chicago office.

UMANA President Andrew Iwach, M.D., said "We are definitely moving in the right direction. I am confident that there are many more health care professionals out there who would feel at home in the new UMANA."

For further information about UMANA, see www.umana.org or call (773) 278-6262.

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