IAMA-IL Semi-Annual Meeting & IAMACF Annual Charity Fundraising Gala
Chicago IL: On Saturday, April 16, 2016, the Indian American Medical Association of Illinois and the Indian American Medication Association Charitable Foundation (IAMACF) held its Semi-Annual Meeting and Annual Charity Fundraising Gala at the Waterford Banquet Hall in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Attended by over 300 donors and supporters, this year's IAMACF Charity Gala helped raise funds for its free community health clinic, located at 2645 W. Peterson Avenue in Chicago. For over 20 years, the IAMACF health clinic has been providing free primary care, lab testing and limited pharmaceutical services to about 3000 patients per year. This year's gala was emceed by Mr. Ravi Baichwal, Television Anchor for ABC Chanel 7 News and keynoted by Dr. Jay Bhatt. Dr. Bhatt, Chief Health Officer at Illinois Health and Hospital Association.
The "people we treat at the clinic, are low income individuals, who represent a host of immigrant and refugee communities residing in the area, who have no health insurance or are under-insured with no other healthcare facility nearby that they can turn to for free, walk-in health care. We're it I'm afraid," said Dr. Rambha Radhakrishnan, IAMACF's volunteer Medical Director. "The IAMACF clinic is often the only place where many of the area's South Asian immigrant residents turn to because of language access and culturally cognizant services, which they receive at the IAMACF clinic. So, this fundraiser is immensely important in that the funds raised help the clinic keep its doors open and serving some of the area's most underserved populations.
This year, we were very fortunate to have gala sponsors like Wealth Management Network, Seasons Hospice and Medstar Laboratory. We were also very fortunate to have received a $250K commitment last year, by Dr. Ashok Ray" added Dr. Annita John, IAMACF's Board Chair. However, she added "it's never too late for people to donate or give of their time, especially if they are a physician looking for meaningful opportunities to volunteer and donate their medical skills to help those less fortunate." The IAMACF clinic accepts donations year round, through its website at www.iamacf.org and receives volunteer inquiries via its email address at iamacf@hotmail.com. Currently, the clinic is in need of volunteer physicians for some of its Sunday clinic sessions in 2016, which are typically from 10am to 2pm, said Medical Director Dr. Radhakrishnan. This year's IAMACF Community Service Award was given to Dr. Ashley Spielburg, Associate Professor of Optometry at the Illinois Eye Institute, who has been performing free eye exams on diabetic patients one Saturday every month for the last 4 years at the IAMACF Clinic.
For information on the IAMACF free community clinic, please visit www.iamacf.org