Congratulations to Camille Marie “Cami” Pond of Fort Wayne, who was installed June 12 as president of the American Medical Association Alliance (Alliance)! 

An affiliate of the AMA established in 1922, the Alliance is the largest organization representing the physician family. As president of the national organization, Pond will meet with state, regional and national affiliates around the country to advance policy initiatives that benefit physician families.

In her inaugural address at the Hyatt Centric Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Pond stressed the power of partnerships between the AMA and physician families to address physician burnout and the opioid epidemic plaguing the U.S. The Alliance also announced the dedication of Aug. 25 as a Physician Family Day, a new effort to address work-life balance for physicians and honor them for the value they bring to their communities.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, and 2017-2018 AMA President David O. Barbe, MD, MHA, attended Pond’s installation and addressed the Alliance. Both emphasized the importance of collaborations to promote education, drug take-back programs, safe narcotics disposal and addiction prevention and treatment.

 Pond also recognized the many beneficial Alliance programs around the country that support physicians, medical students, health care education and legislative advocacy. “We are not here simply to dream; we are here to make things happen!” she said. “To leave a legacy as those before us did: to be exceptional, to make a difference, to take on projects that have real value. To mentor and inspire others.”

Pond, a past president of the ISMA Alliance, is married to Col. William W. Pond, MD, president of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health Executive Board. Her work was pivotal in persuading the Indiana General Assembly, the ISMA Alliance and the AMA Alliance to adopt policy statements calling attention to traumatic brain injury, PTSD and other medical issues affecting military families.

Pond, a retired cardiovascular surgical nurse, also volunteers with Dr. Pond in medical missions, notably Operation Smile, which provides restorative craniofacial surgery to children around the world. 

Cami Pond celebrated the night before her installation at an Indy 500-themed party, Rev It Up!, with her husband, Col. William Pond, MD; ISMA officers, staff and AMA delegation members; and fellow ISMAA members. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH spoke at the ceremony, and, before her installation, she paused for a photo with AMA President David O. Barbe, MD, MHA; 2017-2018 AMAA President Kimberly Moser; and ISMA President-Elect Stacie Wenk, DO (second row of photos, left)