Honorary FAAP set model for national immunization program
Former first lady of Arkansas Betty Lou Flanagan Bumpers, of Little Rock, died Nov. 23 at age 93.
Mrs. Bumpers was an honorary Fellow of the AAP, credited for helping to establish national requirements to ensure all children receive immunizations before school entry.
Through advocacy and visits across her state, Mrs. Bumpers helped increase immunization rates in Arkansas to among the highest in the nation. Arkansas became a model for the national program. She campaigned with U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter to promote the need for all states to adopt such requirements. In 1976-’78, President Jimmy Carter launched the National Childhood Immunization Initiative.
After a measles outbreak in 1991, Mrs. Bumpers and Mrs. Carter created Every Child by Two. Now called Vaccinate Your Family, the organization provides education and advocacy on vaccine-preventable diseases.
Additional deaths
Alexander C. Allen, M.D., FAAP, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, died Oct. 25 at age 84.
Jess Diamond, M.D., FAAP, of Bakersfield, Calif., died Nov. 15 at age 100.
Walton L. Ector, M.D., FAAP, of Folly Beach, S.C., died Feb. 14 at age 91.
Douglas C. Heiner, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, who discovered Heiner syndrome (milk-induced chronic pulmonary disease in infants), of Alpine, Utah, died Sept. 19 at age 93.
Timothy R. Wall, M.D., FAAP, of Naperville, Ill., died Nov. 18 at age 66.
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