iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The new president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) took charge along with other office bearers during a convention in Philadelphia. She promised to foster improved access to healthcare.
“I am committed to your well-being and dedicated to advancing AAPI’s mission for a brighter future,” Dr. Samadder declared during her presidential inaugural address on July 8 in Philadelphia.
Dr. Samadder is a Gastroenterology specialist in Columbus, Ohio. She is affiliated with Mount Carmel West and Mount Carmel East and is a winner of the Gastrointestinal Surgery Excellence Award. Her husband, Dr. Gautam Samadder is a past President of AAPI.
Along with her, Dr. Satheesh Kathula was administered the oath of office as the President-Elect; Dr. Amit Chakrabarthy as the Vice President; Dr. Sumul Raval as the Secretary; Dr. Sreeni Gangasani as the Treasurer; and Dr. Lokesh Edara as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Samadder brings a wealth of experience, a visionary perspective, and a deep commitment to serving the community. “The opportunity to make a significant impact and contribute to positive change on a larger scale is what motivates me to embrace a leadership role within AAPI,” she said.
Sharing her vision for AAPI, she added, “It is to foster improved access to healthcare, promote diversity and inclusion, and amplify the collective voice of our community. Members will always find me by their side. We will collectively always be available to our members’ needs and wellbeing.”
Describing herself as “a dedicated, resilient, passionate, and determined person, who strives to make a positive impact,” Dr. Sammader said, “Growing up as a child, I always stood up against any injustice, wrongdoing and bullying. My father, a barrister from the London School of Economics and Political Science always taught us to stand up for ourselves and brought us up with the teaching that women were stronger and better multitaskers, and they are capable of achieving greater heights.”
“My journey with AAPI in the past 20 years taught me lots of lessons, skills and molded me to take more responsibility in the organization. I will bring to the organization the level of commitment, hard work, experience and skill set needed to accomplish the various goals for AAPI and its members,” she said. Her vision for AAPI is “to help build an ethically strong, morally straight and fiscally responsible organization. It is also vitally important to bring much-needed diversity to keep AAPI thriving.”
Dr. Samadder was admitted with Covid for 65 days in the hospital. The coronavirus nearly killed her, but she now has a message to share. “They said you were not supposed to live,” she said. But she does live. And she wants others to know they can too. “If you have a will, I’m telling you, you can make it. There’s always hope. Never give up. It’s just an ‘I will’ do it kind of a thing,” she said.
“My ordeal with covid -19 was hard, but it also made me strong, resilient and tenacious. My ‘never give up’ attitude kept me going, and now I am ready to hit the ground and work my heart out for our AAPI organization.”
Recalling her fight with the deadly Covid, Dr. Samadder said, “One of my proudest achievements is surviving my near-death experience. Life does not give anyone a second chance, but I did get one after contracting Covid-19 and Cardiac Arrest. This has given me a lot of strength to stand up against all odds.”
Talking about her challenges and divisions in AAPI, Dr. Sammader said that she is determined to “unify and keep AAPI united through effective communication, fostering collaboration, and actively engaging with our members at all levels. I will strongly stand up against any act that will fragment our organization.”
The new president of AAPI promised, “I want to address health care practice issues facing our members both in private practice and in academia. We are working out several other academic, social, and community programs which will help our organization grow. I want to get AAPI represented in US National Health Care Committee by organizing strong lobbying efforts. I will also address physician burnout and establish networking platform for young physicians. I will be open to suggestions from members in order to make our organization one of the strongest ethnic organizations in USA.”
The Columbus AAPI Convention team echoed her sentiments, It said, “We have personally known and worked closely with Dr. Samadder. She has great leadership qualities which she proved during her tenure as local chapter President (Central Ohio), Regional Director (Ohio and Michigan) and as AAPI National Treasurer. She has also served diligently in different capacities within AAPI including being National Coordinator for AAPI Annual Convention, 2018 in Columbus.”
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States, representing over 100,000 physicians of Indian Origin in the United States.
