iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The newly appointed President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, has vowed to make the organization a premium healthcare leader.
She wants to focus on improving the current healthcare system and help towards making a better healthcare model for the patients.
Importantly she wants to create awareness on major chronic diseases burdening our health care system through Lifestyle modifications, and for that, establish a strong support system to members going through racial discrimination in the US.
Overall, she has vowed to support AAPI legislative efforts to make healthcare better and affordable to all and promote charitable activities globally.
As a Healthcare Leader, Dr. Gotimukula recognizes that “AAPI has power. We have legitimate respect and trust of our communities in every corner of America. AAPI will leverage that power of our purpose and networks to help address specific challenges related to affordable healthcare delivery.
In addition to Dr. Gotimukula, many other members were included in the team The new executive committee, consisting of Dr. Ravi Kolli, President-Elect; Dr. Anjana Samadder, Vice President; Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Secretary; Dr. Krishan Kumar, Treasurer; Dr. Kusum Punjabi, Chair, Board of Trustees; Dr. Soumya Neravetla- President, Young Physicians Section; and, Dr. Ayesha Singh, President, Medical Student/Residents & Fellows Section.
Dr. Ravi Kolli, President-Elect is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with additional qualifications in Addiction, Geriatric and Forensic Psychiatry, and serves as Psychiatric Medical Director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services.
During his speech Dr. Kolli said, “In my role as the President-Elect of AAPI, I will be working closely with the entire AAPI leadership to make AAPI a more dynamic and vibrant organization playing a meaningful and relevant part in advocating health policies and practices that best serve the interests of all patients and promoting the physician’s role as the leaders of the team-based health care delivery,” Dr. Kolli says.
He added, “I want to focus on battling the stigma of mental illness and access to quality mental health care broadly. We will also actively promote physician wellness and self-care to address the challenges of physician burnout and suicide.”
Dr. Kusum Punjabi, was named as the Chair of Board of Trustees of AAPI on July 4th. She will be the youngest to date to be holding this position in AAPI’s 40 years long history and the first person to go to medical school in the USA.
Dr. Punjabi completed her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in Biology and Economics and graduated with high honors as a Henry Rutgers Scholar. She, then completed MD/MBA program from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers Business School.
Dr. Punjabi says, “My goal as Chair of the Board is to develop long-lasting programs within AAPI that promote professionalism, unity, mentorship and inclusivity. I want patients to know the value of the care they receive from our ethnic group and our mission of promoting the safest and best healthcare practices for our patients.
Dr. Anjana Samadder, Vice President of AAPI, said, “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. My ordeal with Covid -19 was hard, but it also made me strong, resilient and tenacious. 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.”
Dr. Samadder has shown 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.
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. Satheesh Kathula, Secretary of AAPI said, “I want to assure that I will sincerely work for the betterment of our beloved organization, AAPI.” A board-certified hematologist and oncologist from Dayton, Ohio, practicing Medicine for nearly two decades, Dr. Kathula is a clinical professor of medicine at Wright State University- Boonshoft school of medicine, Dayton, Ohio.
A recipient of several Community Service/Awards, Dr. Kathula wants to “Make AAPI a mainstream organization and work on issues affecting physicians including physician shortage, burnout, and credentialing, while leveraging the strength of 100,000 doctors at the legislative level.”
Another area, he wants to work is to “Encourage and engage next generation/young physicians in AAPI activities. While working closely with other physician organizations such as AMA.”
Dr. Krishan Kumar, Treasurer of AAPI said, “I am honored to be elected as the Treasurer of national AAPI. As an organization, AAPI is committed to increasing young physicians’ knowledge base, enhancing their careers, and empowering them to play a key role in healthcare advocacy and community service.”
He is a pediatric emergency medicine physician in East Meadow, New York and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area. A recipient of the prestigious Parvasi Bharatiya Diwas Award, Dr. Kumar, served as the Chair and Program Director, Department of Pediatrics, Nassau University Medical Center, from January, 2017-April 2019.
The growing influence of physicians of Indian heritage is evident, as increasingly physicians of Indian origin hold critical positions in the healthcare, academic, research and administrative positions across the nation.
We the physicians of Indian origin are proud of our great achievements and contributions to our motherland, India, our adopted land, the US and in a very significant way to the transformation of the Indo-US relations.
