[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 21, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      COMMENDING DR. SHUKLA AND DR. GRADY FOR THEIR WORK IN INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JIM McDERMOTT---

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2010

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the critical 
medical work that was recently performed in Gujarat, India by Dr. Aseem 
Shukla and Dr. Richard Grady. Dr. Shukla is a pediatric urologist, 
Director of Pediatric Urology at the University of Minnesota Amplatz 
Children's Hospital and is the co-founder of the Hindu American 
Foundation (HAF). Dr. Grady is a pediatric urologist and a world-
renowned expert in pediatric bladder reconstruction at Seattle 
Children's Hospital. Joining Dr. Shukla and Dr. Grady in India were Dr. 
Anjana Kundu, a Pediatric Anesthesiologist from Seattle Children's 
Hospital and Dr. Kenneth Smith, a Chief Resident in Urology at the 
University of Minnesota. I am especially proud of the fact that both 
Dr. Grady and Dr. Kundu are my constituents and that the Seattle 
Children's Hospital is in my district.
  Dr. Shukla and Dr. Grady assembled their team of physicians and 
medical staff in the city of Ahmedabad and conducted 20 major 
reconstructive surgeries on children over an eight-day period, with 
each surgery lasting over twelve hours in duration. These children had 
serious urinary tract and genital abnormalities, which are the third 
most common congenital abnormality in the developing world. These 
abnormalities leave these children and young adults shunned and at the 
risk of further severe medical conditions. By performing these 
surgeries, these physicians have not only saved lives, they have 
transformed them.
  While Dr. Shukla has been traveling to India twice a year for several 
years, with a commitment to build the much needed specialty of 
pediatric urology there with the support of the Hindu American 
Foundation. This latest medical mission could not have happened without 
the generous support of International Volunteers in Urology, a non-
profit education and membership organization founded in 1995 by Dr. 
Catherine R. deVries. IVUmed's primary mission is to make quality 
urological care available to people around the world. The organization 
does so by organizing workshops where both physicians and nurses are 
trained and teams perform clinical evaluations, lectures, patient 
consultations and dozens of hands-on surgeries within a one to two-week 
period. In this way, IVUmed has provided treatment to thousands of men, 
women and children in nearly 30 countries in the areas of women's 
health, urology and tropical diseases.
  IVUmed is unique because it is the only global nonprofit organization 
dedicated to teaching urology in developing countries. Their motto is 
``Teach One--Reach Many.'' Many physicians in developing nations do not 
have the resources to travel and acquire the necessary training to 
improve their skills. By training local medical professionals who then 
train residents and other doctors, IVUmed transforms urologic care for 
entire regions in the developing world on a permanent basis. The 
organization has an over 6,000 volunteers and supporters around the 
world. In addition to treating thousands of patients, providing medical 
and surgical education to hundreds of physicians and nurses, IVUmed has 
also donated over half a million dollars worth of supplies and 
equipment to doctors around the world.
  I would also like to recognize the numerous Indian physicians who 
contributed to the success of this medical mission: Dr. Balagopal Nair 
and Dr. Mohan Abraham with the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and 
Research Center; Dr. P.K. Dave, Dr. Rakesh Joshi and Dr. Sudhir Chandna 
of the B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad; Dr. Mahesh Desai with the 
Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital; and Dr. D.K. Gupta and Minu Bajpai 
with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
  Hindu philosophy teaches that Seva, or Service, if carried out 
selflessly, is the highest devotion. The compassion shown by this team 
of American and Indian physicians exemplifies this spirit. Their 
dedication in bettering the lives of so many children should serve as 
an insipration to us all. As a physician and the co-chair of the 
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I would like to 
commend the joint efforts of the talented physicians and individuals 
who made this medical mission such a success.

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