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BCMS ALLIANCE

Founded in 1917, the Bexar County Medical Society Alliance has been serving the medical com-
munity of San Antonio for over 100 years! BCMSA began as a group of physician spouses sewing
surgical gowns, rolling bandages & knitting mufflers for WWI soldiers. We sure have grown as an
organization since then! Our members now are physician spouses with various skills and passions,
who are also dedicated to their families and supportive of the physician’s rigorous schedule and fre-
quent absenteeism from the household. The organization has evolved from spouses being home
taking care of the family 100% of the time to being business owners and professionals, putting equal
amounts of work into their careers, a balancing act that is often challenging.
When I first joined this organization around 4 years ago, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was
newly married to my husband Dr. Maxim Eckmann, and I had no idea what it was like to live the
medical life. I was adapting to that and to our new blended family of 6 boys! I had moved to San
Antonio about a year before we were married and I didn’t have many friends. I was looking for a sup-
portive group with like-minded individuals who could give me pointers on juggling this life and who
Better understood the complexities of being married to medicine. I was at a birthday party one day and the
wife of one of my husband’s co-workers, Dr. Lori Boies, asked me if I knew about the Bexar County
Medical Society Alliance. I said no I did not, but I was interested in hearing more about it. She did
Together a great job of explaining what the Alliance was all about, and when I left that birthday party, I told
my husband I was really going to think more about joining, because I felt it was important for me to
meet new people. A few weeks later I joined the organization, and I was welcomed with open arms.
I quickly made friends that I still have today, and I had an instant support system.
By Nichole Eckmann, So why do I spend my time sitting on boards like the BCMSA with my often-crazy schedule of mak-
2021 BCMS Alliance President ing breakfast for 6 kids every morning, taking time for exercise, managing a real estate business, keeping
up with school functions and trying to make dinner every night? The answer is simple: camaraderie
and a way to give back to the community. The medical life is one of a kind, one that you don’t under-
stand unless you are living it. When I attend a board meeting or an event, I always connect with a
member that “just gets it.” As President this year, that is, in a nutshell, what I’m hoping to achieve with
my amazing Board in 2021. I want us to continue to make connections with other physician spouses
and welcome them with open arms into this supportive group the way I was welcomed four years
ago. Although times are challenging and have been a bit uncertain, we as an organization can be there
for one another and continue to work together to give back to the community.
Danielle did a fantastic job in 2020 keeping the organization moving forward despite the fact we
have not been able to have in-person events or meetings since March. We, as an organization, real-
ized that the best way to deal with the uncertainty and worry was to continue to do what we do best
— reach out to the community and give back. We continued to meet and create ideas for reaching
out to our members and the community while setting an example of masking and social distancing.
One example of this has been working with The Mitchell Chang Foundation to provide masks to
low-income families and health care workers, specifically families in zip codes with the highest
COVID-19 rates and economic need.
For decades we’ve provided scholarships for students pursuing healthcare careers. Our Scholar-
ship Committee met virtually this past Spring, awarding 5 allied health scholarships and we estab-
lished two new medical student scholarships. In March, BCMSA created a “we come to you” PPE
Drive with volunteers spanning the county to pick up donations in their area of town. Nearly 2,000
items of personal protective equipment were collected and donated to the University of Texas
Health Science Center at San Antonio whose physicians and other medical team members staff our
county hospital.
The goal is to continue creating ideas in 2021 that will allow us to stay connected with each other
as members and with our community as well. If anything, the truth is we ARE better together!
Thanks so much to my presidential advisors and friends Dr. Lori Boies, Jenny Shepherd, Jennifer
Lewis and past President Danielle Henkes for your continued support, and to my husband Dr.
Maxim Eckmann for always bringing out the best in me and encouraging me to continue to fulfill
my goals in life even if they sometimes seem out of reach. If anything, 2020 has shown us that if
we stay connected, even if it is virtually, we can get through this! So, here is to 2021 and adapting
to the unexpected!

10 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • February 2021