Hyderabad  :  Six Telugu Doctors made big in Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in USA.  AAPI is the largest ethnic medical society in the US representing the interests of over 100,000 Indian-American physicians and about 25,000 medical students/residents of Indian heritage in the USA.

AAPI is an umbrella organization has over 150  local chapters, specialty societies and alumni organizations.  For over 30 years, Indian physicians have made significant contributions to health care in USA. Almost 10-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin.

Dr. Suresh Reddy MD, MHM (Health Management and Policy), current secretary of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has been elected as the Vice President. He will automatically become the President without election in the 2019-20.  Dr. Suresh Reddy is the Medical student of Kakatiya Medical College and native of Warangal District in Telangana.

Previously Dr Suresh Reddy was the President of Association of Telugu Medical Graduates of USA, which represents all the Telugu Medical Graduates living in USA (ATMG- USA). He was also the president of Osmania, Gandhi, Kakatiya and Telangana Medical Alumni of USA (OGKTMA).

Along with Dr Suresh Reddy, the five other Telugu doctors elected for significant posts include Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagaddaas Secretary. He was the medical student of Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada. Dr. Anupama Gotimukula elected as the treasurer. She belongs to Warangal and Graduated from Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal.

Dr. RavindraKolli, Dr. SriniPotluri and Dr. Hemath Reddy also Telugu Doctors elected unanimously as Regional Directors of the organisation. Dr Satheesh Kathula and Dr.Sreenivas Gangasani are also presently serving as the trustees in AAPI.

Dr. Seema Arora, Dr Amit Chakrabarty and Dr Hemant Dhingra were elected for the board of trustees.

Speaking immediately after elected Dr. Suresh Reddy vowed to take the more than three-decades-old organization to new heights and rope in more young doctors.  Our goal will be to train at least 25,000 people under one roof (especially first responders, school teachers, and lay people) in  CPR(Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) which will be a Guinness record. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, is an emergency procedure that combines chest compression often with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.

Along with other Telugu doctors, Dr. Hanmanth Bejjanki, Dr. Srivasa Chebrolu and Dr. Sujeeth Punnam, Dr. Suresh Reddy have discussed with the Health Minister of Telangana  Dr. Laxma Reddy and Bhongir MP Dr. Narsaish, regarding donating  life saving defibrillators(Automated External Defibrillators) to several ambulances in Telangana soon.

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that checks the heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. AEDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). SCA is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, Dr. Suresh Reddy informed.

Dr. Suresh Reddy said Each of these AEDs cost US $ 2000/- and cheaper versions are also available.  We are looking to work in tandem with the Ministry of Health in the state in implementing this project.  Ambulances will be fitted with these devices, he added.

When I take over of the President of the Association in the year 2019 and 20, the Global Health Summit of the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) will be held in Hyderabad and Vijayawada/Amaravathi informed Dr. Suresh.

Appreciative of the growing clout of Indian physicians in the US, Dr.Suresh said, lot of them hold critical positions and have been instrumental in preserving the top class health care that we have in US.  Every 6th Patient in America is seen by an Indian Doctor, which is a matter of great pride. There are significant number of telugu doctors practice in USA and their role is laudable. According to last count there are about 10,000 telugu doctors live in USA, informed Dr. Suresh Reddy.

The Newly elected Vice President, Dr. Suresh Reddy, had many illustrious years of service to the medical community and to AAPI, is chief of radiology at Hines Medical Center, associate professor of radiology at Loyola Medical Center in Chicago, and affiliated faculty in the department of neurosurgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

As chief of interventional neuroradiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for almost a decade, Dr Reddy had been involved in the highly specialized techniques and art of treating aneurysms and strokes in the complex part of our body, the brain. He is also extensively trained to do procedures on the spine, some of which include doing complex procedures and Kyphoplasties in the very inaccessible regions of the spine. He has been educated and trained at SUNY Stony Brook, NY and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

He has been involved in publishing many journal articles. He has traveled extensively and has been involved in giving specialty lectures in the complex procedures he does. He has been involved in teaching and mentoring many Medical students and residents.

Apart from his very distinguished career as neuro-interventionist, he has been applauded tremendously for his active involvement in AAPI and its causes. In AAPI he works with the young physicians in guiding and mentoring them.

He has served as the national treasurer of AAPI last year. During his active involvement in AAPI, he has taken up many worthy causes and championed for them. He has been involved in increasing AAPI membership, organizing Indian Independence Day celebrations in Chicago.

He lives in Chicago. Dr. Reddy has made Indian community proud with his innumerable contributions and he is ready to serve AAPI as its vice-president and future president.

AAPI is a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs.

AAPI is proud of its contribution to the health care system of our India. AAPI is playing a crucial in J-1 visa waiver policy.

A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued by the United States to research scholars, professors and exchange visitors participating in programs that promote cultural exchange, especially to obtain medical or business training within the U.S.

“AAPI was successful in bringing several hundreds of members to its fold in the last 5 years, and this is remarkable when a lot of medical organizational membership are declining. I strongly believe that our top leadership is committed to the above initiatives, that would be a magnet for more membership,” said Dr. Suresh.

“The main challenges faced are loss of clinical decision making, that drives the high standard of medical care. Interference by bureaucracy, control by hospitals and insurance companies have reached intolerable levels, and the lack of tort reform prevents any control of the runaway medical costs, making healthcare unaffordable. In addition, Indian doctors still face a glass ceiling in academic promotions and in institutional hierarchies. Although this seems to be easing, we will stay vigilant for our AAPI members.”

There are currently little over one lakh doctors of Indian origin in the United States of America and they account for 10% of all doctors in the USA and 40% of all International Medical Graduates employed in the US workforce. It is noteworthy that India provides the largest number of International Medical Graduates to the US in absolute numbers informed Dr. Suresh Reddy. India is by far the single largest source of physicians in the world.