FLORIDA: In the biggest-ever donation made by Indian-Americans, physicians Pallavi and Kiran Patel have donated $200 million to the Nova Southeastern University, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The couple are benefactors behind the Foundation for Global Understanding - a charity founded in 2004. NSU President Dr. George Handbury released a press statement announcing the donation.
He said, “This gift and additional investment will enrich NSUs' ability to educate highly-qualified physicians and health care professionals who understand how the medical disciplines can and must work together. These future leaders will represent the cultural diversity of our region, our nation, and our world so that they can better serve their patients and communities.” The University called the donation “transformational” noting that it would advance health care in Florida and internationally, with a particular focus on multicultural and underserved communities with a “patients first” approach.
The $50 million of the gift is a direct monetary contribution to NSU, while another $150 million will be in the form of real estate and facility investments for a future 3,25,000 square-foot medical education complex that will be part of NSU's new Tampa Bay Regional Campus, in Clearwater, Florida.
A brand new campus is set to be made on the former site of Clearwater Christian College, acquired by the Patel's foundation. It will house a new site for NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, along with its existing programs in the Tampa area. The College of Osteopathic Medicine will be named after Kiran Patel, while the College of Health Care Sciences will be named after wife Pallavi.
“I feel that it is more important than ever to advance the current state of health care. It is rare for someone to have the opportunity to impact the world in this way, and, as an immigrant to the United States, I am particularly honoured to be able to make a difference in people's lives around the world. I believe that NSU is the future of multi-disciplinary medical education,” Kiran said in a press statement. “Together, we will be able to capitalise on an opportunity that will be beneficial to millions of human lives, many right here in Florida and many others across the globe.
The Zambia-born Patels are founders of America’s 1st Choice Holdings of Florida Inc., the largest privately owned health plan in the US. Earlier, Kiran Patel – who is trained as a cardiologist – founded WellCare Health Plans, which he sold to a private equity firm for $200 million in 2002. Pallavi Patel is a pediatrician. While Pallavi is from Vadodara district in Gujarat, Kiran is from Mota Fofalia, near Vadodara.
