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Midland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2015, the population was 161,077. The county seat is Midland. The county is so named as the county is halfway (midway) between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway.
Benefits:
TMA Member Benefits Guide
Midland CMS Viola M. Coleman, MD Memorial Scholarship applications being accepted.
Midland County Medical Society Cross-Staff Scholarship applications being accepted.
The annual Midland County Medical Society Viola M. Coleman, MD Memorial Scholarship Awards Dinner was held Thursday, June 18 at the Petroleum Club of Midland. For over 50 years the medical society, whose membership comprises approximately 150 physicians in Midland, has awarded scholarships as part of its mission to prepare the next generation of physicians who will provide care to Midland and surrounding rural areas. In 2006, after the passing of Dr. Viola M. Coleman in October of 2005, the membership voted to award their annual scholarships in her memory. Dr. Coleman was a champion for those who had no one else to help care for them. She dedicated her life in service to those less fortunate by providing medical care for untold numbers of Midland citizens over the course of her medical career, which spanned 55 years. She was also a mentor to many new physicians who chose to practice in Midland, helping them navigate the ins and outs of establishing their medical practices. The medical society was instrumental in working with the hospital to commission a bronze bust of Dr. Coleman. The bust was sculpted by Chuck Warden of Hunt, Texas. The pedestal was crafted by Clay Yaws of Stonecraft, and the sculpture is exactly Dr. Coleman’s height. The statue was unveiled at Midland Memorial Hospital in November 2008. The statue is exactly her height and was dedicated in her honor to commemorate her legacy as a pioneering civil rights leader and the city’s first African American female physician, who helped desegregate the hospital and its facilities.
Each year, the merit-based memorial scholarships are awarded to students with ties to the Midland area, who are enrolled in Texas medical schools. A matching grant was received from the Texas Medical Association Foundation Medical Student Scholarship Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M Bayardo, in memory of Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo. The medical society gratefully acknowledges this matching grant of $5,000.00, allowing the awarding of two $5,000 scholarships this year to the two deserving students selected.
Michael Boulis was a five-year Midland resident before entering Texas A&M University Vashisht College of Medicine. Working as a sleep technician in Midland, and later as an instructor at the Permian Basin Adult Literacy Center, he met people whose barriers to health care were not only logistical, but personal; not only about availability, but also about whether care felt approachable. As he instructed his students, they showed him that when barriers ae removed, people are fully capable of taking charge of their lives. He created the “Student-Refugee Mentor Initiative,” a virtual English literacy program. Partnering with several non-profits, he came to understand and ponder ways to break those other barriers to health care, including financial. During medical school, his focus has been about making learning accessible. He started and/or co-founded various initiatives in several medical fields, realizing from his experiences that knowledge is power, and making that power accessible for people to take charge of their health or education is the kind of work he wants to continue. His varied experiences have shown him the kind of physician he hopes to become. He created “Code Blue Mentorship” in 2022, to connect students with medical student mentors, strengthening their self-confidence moving forward on their career path. He hopes to one day return to Midland to incorporate his many experiences into his own medical practice.
Lizabelle Russell Martin’s grandparents moved to Midland years before her mother was born. Both she and her mother were born at Midland Memorial Hospital. When she left home at age 18 to attend Texas A&M, she did not envision moving back to Midland. She now realizes that her hometown has shown her a lot of love and grace over the years. Her understanding of the need Midland has for physicians, especially pediatricians, is drawing her back to Midland. Having just completed her third year of medical school, she and her husband, Joshua, are now living in Midland because her home campus is Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center- Permian Basin. She realizes here she can put down roots and partner with families to care for their children and empower the next generation of Midlanders. During medical school, her activities and accomplishments have primarily been in the areas of community service with a focus on education and dedication to children and academic achievement. Having been a volunteer in numerous programs affecting newborns to teens, she has also served in a leadership position in the pediatrics interest group. Here she spent many volunteer hours in other service and community events. Her academic involvement included participation in the Care of the Underserved Distinction Program and the Dr. Tom McGovern Medical Humanities Certificate Program, each of which required her involvement spanning all four years of medical school. At the conclusion of her preclinical years, she received the DOME (Demonstrating Outstanding Mastery in Medical Education) Award in recognition of her academic achievements. Although her third year was very challenging, she was able to earn clerkship honors in Ob/Gyn, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, and Internal Medicine. She was honored with selection for the Gold Humanism Honor Society this spring. She feels extremely blessed to return to her hometown that feels so familiar with so many people supporting her as she continues to strive for excellence in her medical career.
The medical society was pleased to facilitate the awarding of the Cross-Staff Scholarship, a scholarship for medical students, created by Cindy and David DeShan, M.D. This scholarship is for students from West Texas, attending a Texas Medical School, and spending part of their medical education back in West Texas, with the hopes they will consider returning to West Texas to establish their medical practice. Since Dr DeShan was unable to attend, Michael Dragun, M.D. addressed the members and guests during the event and explained how this scholarship came to be established and the personal reasons pf Dr. DeShan for the name of the scholarship. Two Cross-Staff Scholarships were awarded this year to deserving students.
Michael Xavier Herrera is a third-year medical student at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. He was born and raised in Midland, graduated from Midland High and Midland College, and completed undergrad at UTPB in Odessa. He worked at Midland Memorial Hospital for six years before his acceptance into Texas Tech Medical School and is now back in Midland completing his third-year clinical rotations. Inspired by the physicians he worked with at MMH, he decided to try to emulate them. He became interested in rural and community-based medicine. Together with his friends at Tech, they founded a service organization, a first for their school dedicated to traveling to the underserved communities of West Texas, “Fronteras De Salud TTUHSC.” They applied and received $20,000 in grants to provide care for West Texas rural communities. In their second year, they have provided pop-up style clinics in several towns where they can address musculoskeletal issues, perform routine health checks, provide immunizations, provide prenatal care with ultrasound check, and even mental health screenings at no cost to their patients. Midland is his home and where he wants to be; he created a research study modeled through a focus group and contacted Casa de Amigos to provide a dementia workshop at the three senior community centers, with intent to provide more workshops on general health and nutrition throughout the next two years. Due to the success of these workshops, the students were invited to participate in the Hands of Hope Clinic, targeted to provide care for Midland’s homeless and under-resourced inhabitants. Care was provided for almost 100 individuals at no cost to them. Michael’s dream is to establish a practice in Midland one day, whether in OB/GYN, surgical, or primary care to continue on his path of service.
Enrique Mangan became a Midland resident in 2013. He graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 2020 from Early College High School at Midland College. During his senior year, he was given the chance to join the Primary Care Pathway Program which allows students to earn early acceptance at the University of North Texas, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM). The purpose of this program is to bring back qualified physicians into the Permian Basin area. The program gave him and his fellow students various opportunities for health experiences such as hospital shadowing but also emphasized the importance of non-health community volunteering such as Keep Midland Beautiful trash pick-ups and Midland College Chemistry Club demonstrations. He completed his first two years of medical school at TCOM in Ft. Worth, and then his third-year clinical rotations in Midland, where he was able to reconnect with past mentors and friends. He greatly enjoyed his core rotations and ultimately chose to complete both of his third-year rotations in Midland as well. The physicians in the community provided exceptional mentorship, and he was honored to receive three of his residency letters of recommendation from Midland physicians. During an ICU elective at Midland Memorial Hospital, he became interested in pulmonary and critical care medicine. This experience strongly influenced his decision to rank University of Texas Medical Branch as his top residency choice because of its strong in-house pulmonary and critical care fellowship program. Although residency training has taken him to Glaveston, his long-term goal is to return to Midland and establish a practice as a pulmonary and critical care physician.
Contact Us:
Executive Secretary: Beverly Dyer
PO Box 4121
Midland, TX 79704
Phone: (432) 697-7154