Medical Society Announces Bowen Award Winner
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Medical Society has named Marguerite Shepard the recipient of this year's Otis R. Bowen Award for Community Service. She has served as an emeritus faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and still works in the medical center's OB/GYN department.
September 9, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — The Indianapolis Medical Society (IMS) is pleased to announce that this year’s Otis R. Bowen Award for Community Service is Marguerite Shepard, MD. The Otis R. Bowen Award recognizes a physician member of the IMS whose dedication to the community reflects that of Otis R. Bowen, MD, who served as governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1985 to 1989.
In being nominated for this award, Marguerite Shepard, MD, an OBGYN from Indianapolis and an emeritus faculty member for the last 11 years at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has reached out to her community in ways reflective of the work of Dr. Bowen. She was a fulltime tenured faculty member from 1982-2002 and is still working at the medical center in the Ob-Gyn department. Over the years, her dedication to patients is fabulous, and she has used her knowledge of medicine and women’s health to improve the health of Indiana women. She sought out opportunities to work with organizations very early in her career when the protection of reproductive choice was not always a popular thing. She recognized early, that the health of Hoosier women was intimately tied to their reproductive choices, or lack thereof and willingly worked to improve the options available.
Understanding the importance of choice and the need for all women to have the opportunity to conceive, she founded the In Vitro Fertilization Center of the Indiana University Medical Center and served as its medical director for more than 10 years. Her dedication has resulted in the creation of families in and around the state and her techniques are currently in use around the country.
Recognizing that women's health expands beyond reproduction, Dr. Shepard joined the Indiana State Department of Women’s Health Task Force and served as the Chair of the Osteoporosis/Menopause Committee. Drafting materials to educate women and providers about prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and the management of menopause, Dr. Shepard helped to put the concerns of older women in the limelight and her programs have continued.
Empowering youth to achieve their dreams by providing goal-setting programs that promote literacy, fitness and mentoring became Dr. Shepard's next goal as she readily became an active member on the Catch the Stars Foundation board. The Catch the Stars Foundation empowers youth to achieve their dreams by providing goal setting programs that promote fitness, literacy and youth development. The programs are targeted to youth throughout Indianapolis, with a specific emphasis on supporting and assisting under-served and low to moderate income communities throughout the city. Dr. Shepard understands this need and has been an avid volunteer supporter both in time, mentoring, and monetary support.
The Indianapolis Medical Society and the IU School of Medicine Women Faculty are proud of her service both within the IMS and academia and outside the university, but also recognize that Dr. Shepard has continued to support all physicians. Though retired, she is an active participant in many programs and goes out of her way to mentor faculty. She gives easily of her time and talents and many of the successes of her colleagues, both personally and professionally, as well as her community, can be directly traced back to her interventions. Dr. Shepard, like Dr. Bowen, is a physician that recognizes that health care is more than what occurs in an exam room. Health is determined by the state of our community, the policies of our state, the opportunities that are available, and the knowledge and accessibility of providers to care for us.
The Indianapolis Medical Society was founded in 1848 as a professional membership organization for Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathy. The mission of the Indianapolis Medical Society is to promote professional growth, advocacy for all physicians, and quality health care for the community.
source: Indianapolis Medical Society