South Carolina Medical Association. Women's Auxiliary.

The Women's Auxiliary to the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) was founded in 1923 in response to a movement at the national level by the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA called for the formation of auxiliaries to act as supporting organizations to state and county medical associations. Membership in the Women's Auxiliary was open to wives of members of the SCMA, although membership was later extended to mothers and daughters of SCMA members. Catherine J. Cathcart was the organization's first president. Activities of the Women's Auxiliary of the SCMA included managing public relations, promoting public health, and creating a student loan fund. Over time, these activities expanded to include observance of Doctor's Day, the World War II- era "Bundles for Britain" aid program, creating biographies of deceased members of the SCMA, and promotion of health education. One of the Women's Auxiliary to the SCMA's notable early achievements was the effort to honor Dr. James Marion Sims with a memorial statue on the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol. In 1948, the Women's Auxiliary began publishing a quarterly newsletter, the Bulletin of the Women's Auxiliary to the South Carolina Medical Association. The name of the Women's Auxiliary to the SCMA was changed to the South Carolina Medical Association Alliance in 1994.