Events
18th Sep 2010
TIPS Presents
**Shanti: Avatars of Peace
Second Annual TIPS Charitable Gala
.. More details...Sponsorship
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History of TIPS SW Chapter
2000-Present
The 18th annual convention was held in New York in June 2000. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was a special guest at the event. Dr. Dayan Naik was inducted as president and Dr. Surekha Rao was elected chair of the Board of Trustees. More than 1500 new members joined AAPI during this year and the patron fund reached the $2-million mark. A permanent partnership was initiated between the AAPI and the pharmaceutical industry. More than $700,000 was raised for the Gujarat earthquake relief fund.
In June 2001,the 19th annual convention was held in Washington, D.C., and Dr. S. Jayasankar was elected president and Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy was elected chair of the Board. The AAPI was admitted as a member of SSS section of AMA. Dr. Ron Virmani won a landmark anti discrimination case against the hospital with the help and advocacy of AAPI. A diabetes study among Indians in America (DIA) was undertaken, similar to the CADI (coronary artery disease) study by Dr. Enas.
The AAPI is being recognized around world for its organizational capacity and service to the motherland. The Indian Counsel General in Durban, South Africa, has said: “We (the diplomatic community) hold our AAPI as the standard for all the Indian Diaspora to follow”. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has complemented AAPI for its contributions to India.
The 20th Annual conference took place in Chicago in June 2002. Sri Sri Ravishankar of the Art of Living Foundation inaugurated the event. US Senator Richard Durbin was the chief guest. For the first time AAPI managed the convention under the leadership of Dr. Kiran Patel with out the participation of the local association. The convention did not go well and incurred a huge loss.
Dr. Kiran Patel took over the Presidency and Dr. Vijayalakshmi Appareddy was elected as Chair, Board of Trustees. It was another difficult period for AAPI because of the convention losses and the meltdown of the stock market that lasted for a 3-yearperiod. Dr. Patel and the executive committee promised to balance the budget, and worked hard to cut down the expenses and raise additional revenues. The Board of Trustees also stepped up to the plate and worked with the executive committee to cut down the operational expenses. Dr. Appareddy made diligent efforts to streamline the infrastructure and bring accountability to the organization. She created a working manual for AAPI that laid a firm foundation for future leadership. Two ten-bed hospitals, sponsored by AAPI were inaugurated in the state of Gujarat in earthquake stricken areas by Dr. Patel and two more are under construction. AAPI delegation attended the First Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in New Delhi in January 2003. US Congress in its landmark action directed the Center for Disease Control to allot $500,000 to the AAPI-DIA.
The 21st.Annual convention was held in Orlando FL. Governor Jeb Bush was the chief guest. He recognized many AAPI leaders in Florida for their contributions in medical field and also in political arena. Dr.Sharad Lakhanpal became President and Dr. V. Haranath Reddy was elected as Chair, Board of Trustees. The president and the Chairman worked together as a team to conduct many CME programs both in US and in India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the Lucknow CME program. AAPI charitable clinic was started in Rajasthan. During Pravasi Bharathia Divas, AAPI delegation conducted health care seminar. They met with several ministers and President Abdul Kalam and apprised them of various projects undertaken by the AAPI. The US Congress declared March 29th as ”AAPI DAY”. Financial stability of the organization is increasingly being restored. AAPI membership directory is updated The 22nd Annual convention took place at San Diego. The convention was a disappointment because of conflict between the President and the convention Chair. A law suit was filed for alleged irregularities in the election process. Dr.Jagan Ailinani was sworn in as President and Dr.Anand Sahu as Chair ,Board of trustees.
Dr.Ailinani and the team acquired lot of problems--pending law suit, financial instability, mismanagement of funds and dysfunctional office. They have reorganized the office and recovered most of the embezzled funds from an ex-employee. The law suit was dismissed in favor of the AAPI. Several CME programs were conducted both in US and India. AAPI leadership met Mr.Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India and donated $.55,000 to Tsunami disaster relief. On the legislative front, AAPI lobbied the US congress successfully to extend the J1 visa waiver for the International Medical Graduates. Dr. Ailinani is working hard to put AAPI again on a solid footing.
In June of 2005, the 23rd annual convention was held in Houston, Texas. Senator John Cornyn, Howard Dean and Tom Delay attended the event. Vijay Koli was installed as President and Sarala Rao as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
In spite of some of these growing pains AAPI is powerful, strong and vibrant with a potential membership of 41,000 doctors and 10,000 medical students, residents and young physicians.
Ranga Reddy, M.D.