US Based Doctor Couple Pledge US$200 Million to University for Education
Service to people is service to God, the goal is not to live forever, the goal is to create that will, says America based Indian cardiologist, philanthropist Dr Kiran Patel. He Changed the hearts of many not through his speech but through medical skills, He has donated his life savings for the cause of humanity. India born NRI Dr Kiran C. Patel and his gynecologist wife Dr Pallavi Patel have pledged $ 200 million to a Tampa based Medical University-Nova Southeastern University to serve thousands of youth striving to get into medical profession. This is the first time in the history of NSU that such large sums of donations have been made to it.
Its also the first time in the history that any university has been named after an Indian in the United States. It’s a proud moment for India that any NRI has donated such a large sum of money for a Nobel cause. The campus will now be named as Dr Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. The new campus will increase the NSU’s graduating physicians from 230 to 380 per year. Another section of NSU will be named as Dr Pallavi Patel College of Health Sciences which will include endowed scholarship funds for students.
Being doctors themselves, the Patel couple knows the importance of life and health care so they decided to focus on investing in producing more doctors. In a gift donation ceremony held in the Campus auditorium last month in Tampa, Patel announced a donation of $ 200 million.” The best way to serve the humanity and young enterprising youth is to provide them education and education alone. Once you educate a person, you transform his life, family life, the society, the community and then the entire Nation benefits. To make medical education affordable and reachable we have set up a family trust which will provide scholarships to the young ambitious youth, Dr Patel said, as the health and well-being is the most important thing in life.
As Confucius said, “A man of humanity is one who desiring attainment himself helps others to attain.” This is true to Dr. Patel and his wife Dr. Pallavi who dedicated their lives to this Nobel profession, saving millions of lives. A doctor has to have a holistic approach. This profession should not be taken up for money, but for service of humanity, says Pallavi Patel who is a successful gynecologist helping millions of babies come into this world. It’s the life which is most precious and we try our best to preserve it. It’s a saying that a doctor is next to God. When a life is slipping out of hands a Doctor is the savior. What more can be of more importance than to educate youngsters to get into this profession.
The donation is made to encourage more students to join medical profession. There are many students who want to join the profession but with rising cost of education in US and elsewhere it is becoming difficult for them to venture in the medical field. The donation will be used to develop a new 27-acre campus and expand NSU’s programs in Osteopathic medicine and health care sciences. During the opening ceremony last month in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Patel announced a series of reforms and scholarships which will be provided to the students. Many prominent personalities including a team of doctors, medical practitioners, educators, students and media persons marked their presence. Many guests and media persons were flown from India to attend the function. The NSU President and CEO George Hanbury II hailed the Patel couple’s contribution to the society and said, this will help International students of economically week countries to learn advance healthcare and nutrition.
He and his wife Pallavi have dedicated their lives to this Nobel profession, saving millions of lives. A doctor has to have a holistic approach. This profession should not be taken up for money but for service of humanity, says Pallavi Patel who is a successful gynecologist helping millions of babies take birth. It’s the life which is most precious and we try our best to preserve it. It’s a saying that a doctor is next to God. When a life is slipping out of hands a Doctor is the savior. What more can be of more importance than to educate youngsters to get into this profession, Dr Pallavi said.
The donation is made to encourage more students to join medical profession. There are many students who want to join the profession but with rising cost of education in US and elsewhere it is becoming difficult for them to venture in the medical field. The donation will be used to develop a new 27-acre campus and expand NSU’s programs in Osteopathic medicine and health care sciences. During the opening ceremony last month in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Patel announced a series of reforms and scholarships which will be provided to the students.
Born in Kabwe Zambia to Indian Parents, Dr Kiran Patel saw his parents work very hard. From his childhood he imbibed Indian values. His love for the motherland made him return to India to pursue higher studies. He went study medicine at Gujrat University in India. It is there he found his soulmate Pallavi who was also doing her studies in the field of medicine. After doing one-year internship in Africa Dr. Patel moved to United States of America. He did his residency in medicine in New Jersey in 1980 and later completed a fellowship program in Cardiology in New York in 1982. He moved to Tampa, Florida in 1982 and began his practice as a successful cardiologist. Working in America Dr. Patel found out that there is a much need to have an integrated medical system so that all medical help can be found under one roof.
The Patel couple moved to Tampa in 1982 and developed a physician management company which included family medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Cardiology. They also partnered with many point-of-service locations to form a multi-specialty network to help patients access most medical services under one window. Till now almost 80,000 patients have been served by his company.
Dr. Patel’s vision is broader and his passion and ambition to serve the humanity is not limited to America alone. He is planning a college in India as well as his birth place in Africa.
Dr Patel’s philanthropic pursuits have no bounds. He is always ready to donate for a cause. His love for motherland India makes him travel to India frequently. He is always enthusiastic to promote Indian culture, art and ethos. To promote Indian culture, He had sponsored IIFA awards in ….in New York.
Dr Patel is presently serving as Chairman of Visionary Medical Systems. His aim is to reduce the paperwork for physicians and give them more time to devote to their patients. He is also a member of many organizations including Fellow of American College of Cardiology, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Association of Physicians from South East Asia, Past Chair Scholarship Committee among others. His passion to serve the humanity has made him travel across the world. He says that health issues are similar across the world and have to be dealt with passion and love. He saysj” Do your little Bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Rajeev Gupta, Editor Founder of NRI achievers was a special invite of Dr Patel to Tampa, Florida. USA who attended the Donation ceremony at the Medical campus on October……, 2017.
Article written by Sangeeta Sharma, an Ace journalist for 30 years.