Aesclepius Medical Society, Inc

AESCLEPIUS MEDICAL SOCIETY.During the year 1984, while completing his third year of medical school, Dr. Herold Simon decided to materialize his vision for organizing a medical study group. His basic goal was to create a stimulating forum for continuing education. In July 1983, he discussed the idea with Jean D’Augustine, MD, who was enthusiastic about it. The two of them began to contact their colleagues and a group of medical students met for the first time on the second Saturday of December 1984, in the lobby of DownstateMedicalCenter (now StateUniversityHealthScienceCenter at Brooklyn). All those students are now practicing physicians. As the organization grew in numbers and excelled in achieving its goals, the members decided that it was time to elect a cabinet. We held our first election in November 1985 and our very first officers were Jean D'Augustine, MD (Chairperson) and Mona Pervil, MD (Vice Chairperson). Since that time, the collective medical and scientific expertise with each other and with those who are just beginning their post graduate medical training. Our ranks continue to grow and we are now incorporated under New YorkState, with a governing Board of Directors. Our office/ educational center is located in Flatbush section of Brooklyn. In 1997, we received our non-profit status as a 501 (c) (3) organization recognized by the IRS. While one of our major goals is medical education, we view this as a means toward an en. From the very beginning, Aesclepius members have been committed toward the goal of helping to improve the health status of our community— specially, the Haitian and African-American communities of New York City which are severely underserved and have very poor health educators. We continue to reach out to the community through volunteer efforts which improve their awareness of the major health problems which affect their daily lives, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality for manageable and preventable diseases. We participate in community health fairs with Caribbean Women’s Health Association in Brooklyn, and many other organizations, helping to screen, counsel and refer patients for a wide range of medical problems. On December 4-5, 2002, AMS organized a public health conference entitled: HIV Prevention among Caribbean Immigrants: Strategies for Success, Lessons Learned. It was sponsored by Center for Disease Control and Prevention and co-sponsored by other organizations. The conference was unique in that it provided an avenue for different organizations to share their experiences and learned new modalities pertaining to HIV education and prevention. More then two hundred and fifty participants gathered to listen and communicate with speakers who belong to various organizations.The event was successful and certainly a quantum leap for the society. The vision of a handful of young ambitious students has now become the reality for educating future generations and serving our community with high quality, caring physicians.