Sudheer S Chauhan had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was battling for his life for the past few weeks.
NEW YORK – An Indo-American physician here has succumbed to the novel coronavirus, American Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI) has said.
Sudheer S Chauhan had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was battling for his life for the past few weeks. He died of complications from the illness on May 19, AAPI’s Media Coordinator Ajay Ghosh said in a statement on Wednesday.
Chauhan was an Internal Medicine Physician and Associate Programme Director IM Residency Program at Jamaica Hospital in New York.
His daughter Sneh Chauhan said in the AAPI release that his “unique, kind, gentle and caring spirit” would be missed.
Chauhan did his MBBS from GSUM Medical College, University of Kanpur (India) in 1972. He was chief resident in Internal Medicine at Jamaica Hospital and graduated in 1997. A Board Certified physician in Internal Medicine, he also received citations from Royal College of Physicians and FACP from American College of Physicians.
New York is among the worst-hit states in the US with 28,636 coronavirus deaths and 76,410 infections. The US has so far recorded 1,551,853 COVID-19 cases and 93,439 fatalities — both of which are highest in the world.
Earlier this month, an Indian-origin father-daughter doctor duo in New Jersey passed away due to COVID-19.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had described the demise of the “health care heroes” who dedicated their lives to helping others as “particularly tough”.
Dr Satyender Dev Khanna, 78, and Dr Priya Khanna, 43, “both dedicated their lives to helping others and we lost both of them to COVID-19,” Murphy said during a press conference last week.
“We have a proud moment, it is (also) a scary moment; it is a mixed feeling, but this virus is a deadly virus,” AAPI President Dr Suresh Reddy said, describing the situation under which the physicians of Indian-origin are serving people infected with the virus.
“They tend to work disproportionately in areas that are medically underserved like rural and inner city areas taking on a heavier workload with patients who are more ill. We are definitely in the frontline fighting this deadly battle (against the coronavirus)”, Reddy said.
Dr Seema Arora, Chairwoman of AAPI’s Board of Trustees, said coronavirus has placed the entire health care sector, and in particular the Indian-American medical fraternity at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic.
AAPI said Indian-Americans constitute less than one per cent of the US population, but they account for nine per cent of the American doctors and physicians.
One out of every seven doctors serving in America is of Indian-origin, providing medical care to over 40 million of US population.
There are about 80,000 practising Indian-American physicians who are at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 pandemic in the US.
In addition, there are around 40,000 medical students, residents, and fellows of Indian origin in this country who are supporting many of the hospitals affected by the pandemic, the organisation said.
