Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62113
white coats by Mark Vruno Among incoming M1s donning white coats is Christina Warner, who's reunited with the doctor who brought her into the world WELCO F 16 | WINT ER 2 011 PHOTO: DIANE SMUTNEY OR THREE DAYS THIS SUMMER, just before classes began in mid-August, Christina Warner and 195 of her incoming first-year College of Medicine classmates were reminded of what they were getting themselves into: namely, the academic rigors of medical school. Warner looked different—and her 12- and 9-year-old siblings, Taneika and Aleena, noticed. They look up to their big sister, after all, and on this day Christina looked, well, like a real doctor, with a white coat and everything. "I was nervous for her," Taneika says of her role model, who was embarking on her journey at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A role model for Christina Warner was present at the medical rite of passage known as UIC's White Coat Ceremony: Javette Orgain '72, MD '81, MPH '05, the woman who literally brought Christina into the world as a newborn infant some 24 years ago. Today, the family physician practices in the South Shore community satellite office of Mile Square Health Center, a federally qualified facility affiliated with University of Illinois Medical Center. Mile Square provides medical, dental, mental health and social services to everyone—regardless of their ability to pay. Orgain, a board-certified associate professor of clinical family medi- cine at the College of Medicine since 1991, reflected on her own decision to become a medical professional in the late 1970s, when she was nominated as a Local Legend, a National Institutes of Health program that honors female doctors. "When I was in college, I worked for a community organization, helping with their food co-op and writing health articles for the newslet- ter. But I saw that the people needed more than food; that's what spurred me on," Orgain said at the time. "I was absolutely interested in health and healing—and being an advocate for universal health care." Orgain remains a passionate advocate for better family health, whether in her native Chicago or while doing pro bono public health work in Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and South Africa. In 1993, for example, she spearheaded the Water for Children Africa Project, which assists poor, rural communities to obtain clean water to help prevent waterborne illnesses and diseases. In addition to teaching at the College of Medicine, Orgain also chairs the African American Health Care Council in Chicago, serves as chair of the Illinois State Board of Health and is chair of the board of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians. Orgain also manages to find time to communicate with and mentor Warner, who has found her own path since graduating from Johns Hopkins