Page 10 - Layout 1

BCMS ALLIANCE

“All You Need To Do Is RSVP”

TMA Alliance leader Jenny Shepherd’s open invitation

to medical advocacy is an award-winning approach

By Alisa Pierce

Jenny Shepherd has a story to tell.
“I care about what’s happening in my community, and I want to im-
prove it,” the Texas Medical Association Alliance (TMAA) president-
elect said. “Saying that you don’t care about politics, especially
concerning medicine, is the same as saying that you don’t care about
your quality of life and the way medicine is practiced in Texas.”
The tireless medical advocate has shared that message through her
various roles working with legislators, community members and physi-
cians to strengthen healthcare, raise funds for bodies within organized
medicine, and better her community. Her efforts have bolstered med-
icine’s visibility in the political sphere and, her favorite part, brought
people together.
They also earned her this year’s June Bratcher Award for Political Ac-
tion, making her the first person to win the Texas Medical Association
Political Action Committee (TEXPAC) accolade twice.
Named for its first recipient, TMAA leader and political trailblazer
June Bratcher of San Antonio, the award honors a member of the TMA
Alliance – the association’s advocacy and community service volunteer
force – who has shown significant involvement in a political campaign
to aid organized medicine.
That’s a typical day for Ms. Shepherd. Photo by Phil Kline
Like Ms. Bratcher, who launched grassroots campaigns in the mid-
1970s to encourage physicians and other health professionals in San
Antonio to vote for medically minded candidates, Ms. Shepherd suc-
cessfully campaigned and raised funds for local lawmakers who had ex-
pressed support for Texas medicine.
“June Bratcher was told that ‘nice wives’ don’t get involved in politics. “The statistics may get the issue noticed, but
But even though she was told that politics was not for her, she kept
the real-life stories we share get the vote.”
going and changed the landscape of how women and physician spouses
are involved in the political medical environment,” Ms. Shepherd said.
“I knew to make real change, I had to channel my ‘inner June’ to get Medicine’s Cheerleader
these candidates (state Rep. Leo Pacheco and state Sen. Jose Menendez, Initially, Ms. Shepherd believed she wasn’t “qualified” to be an advo-
both Democrats from San Antonio) elected. I had to speak one-on- cate for medicine and was hesitant to showcase her passion for health-
one to voters and share the real impact of our cause.” care and its most staunch defenders – physicians and their families.
By sharing personal anecdotes on the importance of electing medicine’s As the spouse of pediatric anesthesiologist John Shepherd, MD,
supporters and connecting with voters on an emotional level, Ms. Shep- however, she understood the demands placed upon physicians and
herd built support for both candidates. Her storytelling approach played what it would take politically to keep their community healthy.
a vital role in their eventual elections. “This is what I love to do. I’m a “I’m not an attorney, I’m not a legislator, and I’m not a physician,"
cheerleader. I’m an inviter. I’m an advocate,” she told Texas Medicine. she said. “But I realized that I already had all the skills I needed. Advo-

10 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • August 2023