The Arkansas Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical Association (AMDPA) will have a busy calendar in late April when the local healthcare professional and advocacy group hosts its 130th anniversary celebration. At the same time, the state’s foremost Black-led healthcare related professional trade associations will sponsor a regional conference that will bring many of the nation’s top doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and other medical and healthcare professionals to Little Rock.

The black-tie anniversary gala, called “AMDPA Forever,” will be held Saturday, April 22, at the Clinton Presidential Library. Tickets can be purchased online at the following link:https://www.amdpa.org/gala. A day earlier, AMDPA will kick off its “Health Equity and Scientific Conference” in conjunction with the National Medical Association’s Region V meeting. The two-day event on April 21 and 22 will be held at the Little Rock Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock.

According to AMDPA Executive Derek Lewis II, the event is being held as the local professional trade association is celebrating its 130th anniversary as one of the state’s longest-serving nonprofits. The organization was incorporated in 1893 as a professional association for practicing African American doctors, dentists, and pharmacists excluded from membership in other professional trade groups. AMDPA’s health conference, which includes a virtual component, will bring healthcare professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and other healthcare stakeholders from across the country for two days of education, inspiration, networking, and celebration.

This year’s theme is “Comprehensive Approach to Advancing Health Equity Through Practice and Policy.” “April is going to be a busy but very exciting month for AMPDA and its members,” Lewis said. In June 2022, Dr. Rhonda Mattox of Little Rock was elected as the first psychiatrist to lead the organization during its 130-year history. In her inauguration address a year ago, she said the nonprofit association is devoted to conquering the medical challenges and health disparities at their scientific sessions while exploring ways to help improve the health of underserved communities.

“Following the past two unprecedented years of virtual meetings, this is our first in-person conference in nearly three years. Our delivery of healthcare has undergone immense change and has entered a new era of medicine,” said Dr. Mattox. “These scientific sessions are politically relevant, selecting topics around health justice and equity that are making headlines every day.”

Based in Washington, D.C., the National Medical Association (NMA) promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. Founded two years after AMDPA, the national trade organization represents the interests of more than 30,000 African American physicians and their patients with nearly 129 affiliated societies across the U.S. and its territories. The physician-backed trade group is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for those in medical and healthcare professions.

NMA’s Region V states consist of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The national association will sponsor the NMA National Colloquium on African American Health on March 24-27 in Washington, DC. Lewis said registration, program details, and participants will be released within weeks for the upcoming joint health conference in Little Rock.

Those interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor can find more info at https://www.amdpa.org/