India Abroad - March 30, 2012

COMMUNITY NEWS

Honors galore for Navin Nanda
AZIZ HANIFFA
echocardiography… was extremely hum-
bling.”
Last year, Nanda received the
Philippines government’s Maharlika
Award in Science during the opening
ceremony of the 14th World Congress of
Echocardiography, Vascular Ultrasound
and Allied Techniques, held in
Mandaluyong City, the Philippines.
A little before that, Nanda won the
American College of Cardiology’s 2010
International Service Award.
Last year, the Chinese American Heart
Association bestowed its Distinguished
Special Award on Nanda for his ‘vision
and pioneering work in organizing the
American Association of Cardiologists of
Indian Origin.’
In September, the World Congress of
Clinical, Preventive, and Geriatric
Cardiology, at its parley held in New
Delhi, honored Nanda as the
‘Cardiologist of the Millennium.’
Last year, Nanda was also appointed
president of the North American
Section of the International Academy of
Cardiovascular Sciences.
Nanda, who is also a former president of the American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, studied at
Bombay University. He trained in cardiology at the
National Heart Hospital in London before pursuing his
specialty at the University of Rochester in New York.
He has won many other honors, including the first-ever
Tufts University Award in Echocardiography and the Ellis
Island Medal of Honor.
Dr Navin C Nanda, perhaps the most decorated Indian-American physi- cian in recent times, has been show-
ered with praise by the Bangladesh govern-
ment for his pioneering work in echocardio-
graphy.
Nanda was bestowed the ‘Friend of
Bangladesh’ award by Professor A F M
Ruhal Haque, Bangladesh’s minister of
health and family welfare, during the
Bangladesh Society of Geriatric Cardiology
annual meeting held recently.
The award acknowledged the contribu-
tions of Nanda, who was the guest of honor
at an annual meeting on echocardiography
and geriatric cardiology in Bangladesh. It
stated: ‘Dr Nanda has become the source of
inspiration for us to work on echocar-
diography and allied imaging techniques
and the geriatric population. He has guided
us to form the Bangladesh Society of
Geriatric Cardiology.’
Nanda was also presented a portrait of
him by Shishir Bhattacharya, commis-
sioned by the society.
While in South Asia, Nanda was honored many times
over.
In Dhaka, the National Institute of Cardiovascular
Disease, presented him with its Lifetime Achievement
Award. The Bangladesh Army Medical Corps gave him
three special insignias.
In New Delhi last month, the Indian Association of
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiologists honored
Dr Navin Nanda, second from right, with ‘ The Father of Modern Echocardiography’ award from the Indian Association of
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anaesthesiologists
him with the ‘Father of Modern Echocardiography’ award
at their annual conference. M K Dhan, secretary, India’s
ministry of science and technology, handed him the award.
“It was a special honor for me to receive this award since
it came from… anesthesiologists and not specifically Indian
cardiologists,” Nanda told India Abroad. “Of course, receiv-
ing the Friend of Bangladesh Award, … being honored as
the inspiration for the country’s immersing itself into
The story behind Stanford’s 911-style system in India

RITU JHA
When he approached Dr S V Mahadevan to set up a paramedic program in India, Venkat
Changavalli had in mind the Chinese
proverb that says, ‘Give a man a fish and
you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish
and you feed him for a lifetime.’
“They wanted to do something profound
for their country,” Mahadevan, associate
chief at the Division of Emergency
Medicine, associate professor of surgery at
the Stanford Medical School, and director
of the Stanford Emergency Medicine
International, told India Abroad.
He was a guest speaker at the Center for
South Asia, Stanford, March 13, where he
spoke about the ‘Development of India’s
First 911 System: Stanford’s Role and Hope
for Other Nations.’
The Emergency Management and
Research Institute, a nonprofit of which
Changavalli is chief executive officer and
founder, was established in India in 2005
to provide comprehensive emergency man-
agement services using a single toll-free
number: 108.
Its paramedic program was officially
launched July 15, 2007, after Stanford
signed an agreement in May 2007 to devel-
op India’s first collaborative two-year para-
medic program to be taught at the EMRI’s
campus in Hyderabad.

S V Mahadevan
international standards and to develop a
world-class Indian training facility.
The Post-Graduate Program in
Emergency Care, India’s first international-
ly affiliated paramedic program, began
with 128 students and 24 paramedic
instructor-trainees.

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