Haniffa, Aziz
India Abroad
03-28-2003
Dr. Raghavendra R. Vijayanagar of Tampa, one of the country's leading
thoracic surgeons, has been appointed chairman of the powerful Florida
Board of Medicine by Governor Jeb Bush.
Vijayanagar - who performed Florida's first heart transplant in 1985 and
since then has performed or supervised over 500 such surgeries - replaces
another Indian American physician, Dr. Zach Zachariah, a cardiologist from
Fort Lauderdale who was also appointed by Governor Bush four years ago.
Zachariah resigned in December 2002 after Bush appointed him as a member of
the state's Board of Governors that oversees the entire university system
and colleges. He was the first Asian American to head the 104-year old
board in the fourth largest state in the union, with over 60,000 licensed
physicians.
Vijayanagar's appointment creates further history because it is the first
time that immigrants have been at the helm of this group back-to-back.
Both Zachariah and Vijayanagar are staunch Republican Party loyalists and
close friends of the Bush family. They have been the backbone of GOP
fund-raising in Florida and across the country among Indian Americans. They
have also been delegates from Florida to the past three Republican
conventions.
Vijayanagar, 63, is also chairman of the recently constituted Indian
American Republican Council, and one of the founding members of the
Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin. For five successive
years during the 1990s he chaired AAPI's Charitable Foundation and was the
catalyst behind the setting up of more than a dozen free clinics in remote
parts of India.
The Hosbet, Karnataka-born Vijayanagar, who immigrated to the US in 1964,
told India Abroad, his appointment 'shows the extent to which he is willing
to go to recognize the Indian American community in making back-to-back
appointments of first Zach and now me as chairpersons.'
The 15-member board comprises 12 physicians and three members of the public
and controls everything ranging from physician licensing to ensuring
quality healthcare for the state's citizens of 15 million people and two
million tourists at any given time.
'My goal is to make sure to uphold the constitution and the Health Care and
Practitioner Act and provide the best healthcare possible for all of the
citizens of Florida,' Vijayanagar declared.
He said he would fight discrimination at every turn and asserted that 'I
think over the years, Zach and me and others, we have really removed all
kinds of discrimination against foreign physicians like where you come
from, what country you come from, what medical school you went to.'
'The only thing that will work will be seeing to the fitness of the
physicians. That is the only thing that is going to matter - whether one is
a good doctor or not and that's that,' he added.
'I am going to make sure that justice is rendered properly, regardless of
race, religion or country of origin or place of medical school or residency
or anything like that,' he said.
Pointing out the significant number of Indian American physicians and other
foreign doctors who now practice all across Florida - some of them heading
up several hospital departments and leading group practices - Vijayanagar
said, 'If you are, for example, a graduate of a foreign medical school, you
need not worry about it any longer. How you look, what is your accent, what
is your last name, none of that will matter.'
'I guess the very fact that Zach was chairman of the more than 100-year-old
Florida Board of Medicine, and now me, clearly shows that's no more a
question mark at all.'
In a recent interview, Governor Bush said the Indian American community was
integral to the state's progress.
'They are very important because of their achievements. They have succeeded
in all areas from medicine and healthcare industry to the hotel business.
They now play a positive role in the political development of the state as
well,' he had said.
Vijayanagar, an alumnus of G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, did an
internship in Passaic General in New Jersey and a general surgical
residency and cardiac residency at the Veterans Hospital in Bronx, New York
and Montfiore Hospital, also in Bronx. After a short stint in Atlantic
City, NJ, he moved to Tampa in 1973 and now heads one of the leading
thoracic surgery groups in the state.
Article copyright India Abroad Publications, Inc.
V.XXX
India Abroad
03-28-2003
Dr. Raghavendra R. Vijayanagar of Tampa, one of the country's leading
thoracic surgeons, has been appointed chairman of the powerful Florida
Board of Medicine by Governor Jeb Bush.
Vijayanagar - who performed Florida's first heart transplant in 1985 and
since then has performed or supervised over 500 such surgeries - replaces
another Indian American physician, Dr. Zach Zachariah, a cardiologist from
Fort Lauderdale who was also appointed by Governor Bush four years ago.
Zachariah resigned in December 2002 after Bush appointed him as a member of
the state's Board of Governors that oversees the entire university system
and colleges. He was the first Asian American to head the 104-year old
board in the fourth largest state in the union, with over 60,000 licensed
physicians.
Vijayanagar's appointment creates further history because it is the first
time that immigrants have been at the helm of this group back-to-back.
Both Zachariah and Vijayanagar are staunch Republican Party loyalists and
close friends of the Bush family. They have been the backbone of GOP
fund-raising in Florida and across the country among Indian Americans. They
have also been delegates from Florida to the past three Republican
conventions.
Vijayanagar, 63, is also chairman of the recently constituted Indian
American Republican Council, and one of the founding members of the
Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin. For five successive
years during the 1990s he chaired AAPI's Charitable Foundation and was the
catalyst behind the setting up of more than a dozen free clinics in remote
parts of India.
The Hosbet, Karnataka-born Vijayanagar, who immigrated to the US in 1964,
told India Abroad, his appointment 'shows the extent to which he is willing
to go to recognize the Indian American community in making back-to-back
appointments of first Zach and now me as chairpersons.'
The 15-member board comprises 12 physicians and three members of the public
and controls everything ranging from physician licensing to ensuring
quality healthcare for the state's citizens of 15 million people and two
million tourists at any given time.
'My goal is to make sure to uphold the constitution and the Health Care and
Practitioner Act and provide the best healthcare possible for all of the
citizens of Florida,' Vijayanagar declared.
He said he would fight discrimination at every turn and asserted that 'I
think over the years, Zach and me and others, we have really removed all
kinds of discrimination against foreign physicians like where you come
from, what country you come from, what medical school you went to.'
'The only thing that will work will be seeing to the fitness of the
physicians. That is the only thing that is going to matter - whether one is
a good doctor or not and that's that,' he added.
'I am going to make sure that justice is rendered properly, regardless of
race, religion or country of origin or place of medical school or residency
or anything like that,' he said.
Pointing out the significant number of Indian American physicians and other
foreign doctors who now practice all across Florida - some of them heading
up several hospital departments and leading group practices - Vijayanagar
said, 'If you are, for example, a graduate of a foreign medical school, you
need not worry about it any longer. How you look, what is your accent, what
is your last name, none of that will matter.'
'I guess the very fact that Zach was chairman of the more than 100-year-old
Florida Board of Medicine, and now me, clearly shows that's no more a
question mark at all.'
In a recent interview, Governor Bush said the Indian American community was
integral to the state's progress.
'They are very important because of their achievements. They have succeeded
in all areas from medicine and healthcare industry to the hotel business.
They now play a positive role in the political development of the state as
well,' he had said.
Vijayanagar, an alumnus of G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, did an
internship in Passaic General in New Jersey and a general surgical
residency and cardiac residency at the Veterans Hospital in Bronx, New York
and Montfiore Hospital, also in Bronx. After a short stint in Atlantic
City, NJ, he moved to Tampa in 1973 and now heads one of the leading
thoracic surgery groups in the state.
Article copyright India Abroad Publications, Inc.
V.XXX
