[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 194 (Tuesday, December 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H16645-H16647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING DR. VINOD K. SHAH AND THE DOCTORS SHAH
Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, rarely do I avail myself of this
opportunity, but I do so today to recognize the extraordinary
contributions of an extraordinary man, extraordinary woman and
extraordinary family.
The holiday season is traditionally a season of giving. Today I would
like to take just a few minutes to recognize the vital contributions of
a man and his family who have continually given his time, his energy
and his efforts to the residents of St. Mary's County and to southern
Maryland, which I am honored to represent in this body, my dear and
great friend Dr. Vinod K. Shah, affectionately known as Vinnie or
V.K.NOTICE
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=========================== NOTE ===========================
On Page H16645, December 18, 2007, the following appeared: The
NOTICE box on printed showing the 109th Congress, 1st Session.
The online version should be corrected to read: The NOTICE box
for the 110th Congress, 1st Session.
========================= END NOTE =========================
[[Page H16646]]
Every so often an individual comes along who leaves an indelible mark
on his or her community and the people around them. In southern
Maryland, two such individuals are Dr. Shah and his wife, Dr. Shah. Her
name is Ila. Together they established their medical practice in
southern Maryland roughly 30 years ago when the citizens there were
greatly in need of medical services.
We had some good doctors, but we needed more. Since then Vinnie and
Ila have built a medical practice that has literally changed the face
of health care in our region, expanding to become the largest private
medical practice in the State of Maryland.
Dr. Shah's service and the service of his family to southern Maryland
as well as our Nation's dependence on foreign-born doctors,
particularly in rural America, was recounted in a front-page story in
the Washington Post on December 7, 2007.
As Richard Martin, who was the head of St. Mary's County Hospital
when Dr. Shah arrived, told the Post, and I quote, ``It was just like
miracle workers had walked in. I told them, `You are the answer to my
prayers.' ''
The Shahs epitomize family values. Vinod and Ila recruited family and
friends, including Vinod's eight siblings, each of whom is a doctor or
is married to one.
When I refer to the Shah family, let me just recite their names, all
family, brothers or sisters, sons or daughters, giving service in this
country to our people:
Dr. Vinod Shah.
His wife, Dr. Ila Shah.
Dr. Mamesh P. Shah.
Dr. Anil K. Shah.
Dr. Amish Shah, Dr. Shah's son.
Dr. Deepak K. Shah.
Dr. Arpana Shah, his daughter-in-law.
Dr. Umed K. Shah.
Dr. Nayan Shah.
Dr. Atul Shah.
Dr. Avani Shah.
Dr. Dhiren Shah.
Dr. Beena Shah.
Dr. Jyoti D. Shah.
It is an amazing list, and it doesn't end there, with his daughter
doing her residency and her husband doing his residency. The Shahs
epitomize family values. As I said, they are an extraordinary family.
Today, Shah Associates is a growing practice that includes 65
physicians in 10 locations, and which recently announced that it will
partner with specialists from Georgetown University Hospital and the
Washington Hospital Center in a planned 32,000 square-foot addition to
his medical center.
Leslie Miller, who heads the cardiac program at both hospitals, told
the Washington Post, referring to Shah Associates, ``They are a model
of health care of the future. These guys, on their own, using their own
money, have put together this extraordinary system. We want to extend
what they have done.''
Madam Speaker, the manner in which Dr. Shah operates Shah Associates
is an accurate reflection of this generous and good man and the values
that he and his family hold and demonstrate to all of us daily. This
medical practice is truly a family affair, as I have noted, and accepts
all those who need care, regardless of their ability to pay. I have
heard extraordinary stories from my constituents about the extent to
which the Shah family has gone to help them, the care that they have
extended.
I have known Dr. Shah for many years. He is my next-door neighbor. He
is one of my closest friends. He, his wife, his son, his daughter, his
son-in-law and daughter-in-law are all very close.
Without doubt, he is one of the most decent, honorable and honest men
that I have ever met. His wife, Ila, reflects that same character, as
do his children, their spouses and his extended family, his brothers
and sisters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. He is not only my
friend and my neighbor, but he is a friend and neighbor to the entire
community in southern Maryland. He has touched countless lives over the
years, and the difference he has made, that his family have made, that
Shah Associates have made, cannot be overstated.
Let me say, too, that Dr. Shah's success is a quintessential American
story in which a husband and wife, both immigrants, both physicians,
come to our Nation and through hard work, intelligence, merit and
reputation become, quite literally, the backbone of the community.
Gandhi once remarked, ``Be the change you want to see in the world.''
Vinod Shah, Ila Shah and their family have lived this philosophy to
the fullest. They saw a dire need and, rather than turn their back or
leave the problem to someone else, they embraced a great challenge and
have made an immeasurable, positive, extraordinary contribution. They
faced discrimination, rejection and challenge.
Their positive, unflagging, and extraordinary talented effort has
resulted in their being embraced by their community, which they have
served so well. They brought hope and care and service, and they have
enriched the lives of all whom they have touched.
I want to thank Vinod and Ila as well as all the physicians and
providers at Shah Associates for the incredible service that they have
delivered to residents of St. Mary's County and to the entire southern
Maryland area, and, indeed, a broader reach as well.
Dr. Vinod Shah is the vice president of the Association of Physicians
of Indian Origin. I presume, in a short period of time, he will be
their leader. He will be an extraordinary representative of an
extraordinary group of people who, like so many immigrants before them,
have responded to America's welcome and have made such an extraordinary
difference. We are all the better and healthier for it.
[From washingtonpost.com, Dec. 7, 2007]
Born in India, Transforming Rural MD.--Extended Family of Medical
Specialists Helps St. Mary's Thrive
(By Jenna Johnson)
St. Mary's County was once a place where no doctor wanted
to settle. In the 1970s, the county hospital used decades-old
equipment, struggled to make payroll and had no full-time
specialists--not even an obstetrician, although more than 600
babies were born there each year.
Then came Vinod K. and Ila Shah, Bombay-educated and D.C.-
trained husband-and-wife doctors who were eager to open a
practice in the rural area. They had heard about St. Mary's
from Vinod's younger brother and were enticed by the
potential impact that even a small practice could have there.
``It was just like miracle workers walked in,'' said
Richard Martin, 92, who was then head of the hospital. ``I
told them, `You are the answer to my prayers.' ''
The couple was soon joined by Vinod's younger brother, Umed
K. Shah, a gastroenterologist. Next came two family friends.
A few years later, another brother arrived, cardiologist Anil
K. Shah, with his wife, Beena Shah, a neurologist.
In time, Vinod and Ila Shah recruited more friends and
family, including the rest of Vinod's eight siblings, each of
whom is a doctor or is married to one. They built the largest
private specialty practice in Southern Maryland, Shah
Associates, which has treated about 90,000 of St. Mary's
110,000 residents.
For many years, foreign-born doctors have been the unlikely
medical backbone of rural America. In the 1970s, the United
States actively recruited them, promoting the opportunities
available in remote areas avoided by many U.S.-born
physicians. Then, starting in the 1990s, a visa waiver
program promised to fast-track doctors to a green card if
they worked in a rural area for at least three years.
Today, at least 23 percent of practicing doctors in the
United States attended a foreign medical school, and almost
all of those practitioners were born overseas. But recent
changes in visa policy have had the unintended consequence of
slowing the flow of foreign-born doctors to rural areas, a
trend that Shah is, in small ways, resisting.
Two generations of Shah doctors see patients who span
several generations of Southern Maryland families. ``We come
here for everything,'' Navy retiree Paul Hailor said at their
main office in Hollywood, Md. ``My fiancee is down the hall
waiting for a pulmonary appointment. Kids come here for MRIs,
CAT scans.''
Nurses and patients have a system for keeping all of the
Shahs straight. They use initials for the four Shah brothers:
Dr. V.K. the cardiologist; Dr. U.K. the gastroenterologist;
Dr. D.K. the child psychiatrist; and Dr. A.K., another
cardiologist. The other Shahs, especially the four with
names beginning with `A,' often go by their first name:
Dr. Amish the cardiologist, also V.K.'s son; his wife, Dr.
Arpana the dermatologist; Dr. Beena the neurologist; Dr.
Jyoti the sleep specialist.
``Every once in a while, we get someone calling in wanting
to talk to `Dr. Shah,' '' said Betsy Warren, a registered
nurse who has worked for Shah Associates for 16 years. ``You
ask them, `Which Dr. Shah?' And they say, `The one with dark
hair.' ''
To Southern Maryland, the Shah family has imported
distinctive aspects of Indian culture: colorful saris, lavish
parties for hundreds stocked with huge trays of vegetarian
[[Page H16647]]
Indian food and recitals featuring classical Indian dances.
Family members say it took years to earn the trust of the
community, but once they did, the practice quickly grew. Some
local doctors who once viewed the Shahs as competition
eventually joined the practice.
Each time the nearby Patuxent River Naval Base added
employees, the practice received a wave of patients. The
practice's offices, where employees had once been asked to
park in front so business would appear brisk, were soon
overflowing.
In 1995, V.K. Shah found an empty lot on Route 235 in
Hollywood. Two years later, he opened the Philip J. Bean
Medical Center, dedicating it to a late local physician who
he said ``delivered half the county.''
``We said `Let's name it after someone who means something
to this community,' '' Shah said. ``I think people should
feel good about this place--it should mean something to
them.''
But the facility that felt like a palace then is already
too small, and the practice with 65 physicians in 10
locations, is scrambling to recruit more doctors. ``Demand is
so high across the board,'' said Shah, 66. ``I can't
retire.''
Plans were announced last week for a 32,000-square-foot
addition to the medical center. The extra space will allow
specialists from Georgetown University Hospital and
Washington Hospital Center to practice there as part of a new
partnership.
Because Shah Associates provides so much of the medical
care in the region, the partnership will allow the
universities to study health patterns over generations, said
Leslie Miller, head of the cardiac program at both hospitals.
Shah Associates has compiled its patients' medical records
into a database that allows it to track the medical histories
of families and look for early warning signs in younger
generations. Such locally comprehensive databases might one
day help researchers better understand such hereditary
conditions as heart problems, he said.
``They are a model of the health care of the future,''
Miller said. ``These guys, on their own, using their own
money, have put together this extraordinary system. . . . We
want to extend what they have done.''
But in many areas that are more rural than Southern
Maryland, as in many inner cities, the gap between medical
needs and resources remains great, despite government
efforts.
In 1994, Congress made foreign doctors who train in the
United States while holding a so-called J-1 visa eligible to
apply for a green card if they practiced for at least three
years in underserved areas. The program, which exempts J-1
holders from a required return home for two years after their
training is complete, has placed thousands of doctors in
inner-city and rural communities, as well as in prisons.
They continue to flood the United States with residency
applications, but each year the program receives fewer
applications and fills fewer spots. Last year, only 900 of
the 1,620 available waivers were issued.
Rural health experts attribute much of that drop to the
popularity of another visa, the H-1B, which allows U.S.
companies to temporarily sponsor highly skilled foreign
workers in such fields as medicine, architecture and science.
In 2000, to make more H-1B visas available for technology
companies, Congress exempted research institutions and
universities, including their hospitals, from a cap on the
hard-to-get visas. The popularity of the J-1 waiver program
plummeted, and the pipeline that once channeled doctors to
underserved areas narrowed.
Today, no medical facilities in Southern Maryland are
eligible to sponsor physicians under the J-1 waiver program.
A majority of the nearly 30 Maryland primary medical care
centers designated as having a specialist shortage are in
Baltimore. The District has 13 sites, including the D.C.
jail. Virginia has nearly 120, two of which are in the
Washington area.
With baby boomers beginning to retire, the American Medical
Association says, the country could be short as many as
200,000 doctors before 2020--a shortage that is expected to
hurt already-underserved areas the most.
V.K. Shah, who is also vice president of the American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, said a shortage
could be prevented by drastically increasing the number of
medical schools in the United Sates, relying more on nurses
and nurse practitioners or by allowing more qualified
international medical graduates to practice in the United
States.
But to practice, foreign doctors must first complete
training in a U.S. residency program, for which spots are
scarce. Last year, 46 percent of foreign applicants received
residencies, compared with 93 percent of American graduates,
according to the National Resident Match Program, which
facilitates the application process for more than 1,000 U.S.
institutions.
Each year, Shah Associates hosts a handful of graduates
from foreign medical schools, encouraging them to seek
opportunities beyond big cities. This summer, four recent
graduates of Mumbai medical schools traveled to Southern
Maryland on tourist visas for an unpaid crash course in
American medicine.
The graduates watched as the Shahs cracked jokes with their
patients, reassured them about upcoming operations and gently
recommended diet changes. Mitesh Lotia, 24, one of the
graduates, said that the one-on-one interaction held great
appeal.
``In India, we would see 100, 150 patients a day,'' he
said. ``There was no time to get to know patients. I want to
practice here. I'll go anywhere.''
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