San Antonio (Jan. 12, 2004) – Rajam Ramamurthy, M.D., professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC), was installed Jan. 9 as the first woman president of the 4,000-member Bexar County Medical Society, one of Texas’ oldest and largest medical societies. She said the top priority for her yearlong presidency of the 151-year-old society will be bringing organizations together to examine the issue of health care access, especially for children.
“Naturally my focus will be on children, guaranteeing access so that every child has a ‘medical home,’” Dr. Ramamurthy said. “We need to increase public awareness about the facilities and resources that are available and not fully utilized. We can do this by addressing the lack of understanding of what these resources are and simplifying access to them.”
Dr. Ramamurthy, a neonatologist who joined the UTHSC faculty in 1977, is well known in the San Antonio community for her work with the PREMIEre program for very low birth weight infants and for her involvement in the Indian community including Indian arts.
“For three decades, Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy’s pioneering work has improved the outcome of high-risk premature infants,” said Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president of the Health Science Center. “For the past two years she has directed the PREMIEre Clinic, which is one of the nation’s foremost programs of care and follow-up of very low birth weight infants. Her work has helped the Health Science Center continue to be a national leader in studying the health and well-being of these precious babies. Dr. Ramamurthy has provided valuable education and training to physicians and medical students, including through the Annual Neonatal Resuscitation Course that she directs. She is conducting important evaluation of neonatal resuscitation training in the South Texas region.”