The Central Florida Association of Physicians from the Indian Subcontinent's (CAPI) Dec. 3 Winter Gala will feature keynote speaker Seetha Raghavan, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF), who will share her story of producing a revolutionary, low-cost artificial limb through UCF-based Limbitless Solutions.
The Saturday evening event will take place at Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, beginning at 6 pm.
Limbitless Solutions began as a group of students collaborating to build a personalized 3-D printed bionic arm for a Central Florida child. They gave then 6-year-old Alex Pring the arm at no cost and decided to do more. The students turned the team of volunteers into a nonprofit organization, with a goal of expanding its reach while also harnessing community support to continue the work. Limbitless was recently showcased at the White House, along with other social innovators.
The Winter Gala is one of two annual medical gatherings - the other is CAPI's Spring Gala - for networking and exchanging ideas, combined with traditional Indian food, music and dance. Both events are limited to CAPI members, spouses and invited guests.
This year, the gala will begin with exhibits and hors d'oeuvres, followed by the President's address and upcoming year's agenda by the incoming president and the keynote speech. This will be followed by dinner, music and entertainment.
2016 CAPI Agenda Check-Up
Atul Madan, MD, president of CAPI, challenged members at the start of his term with a "Give back to the community in 2016" to-do list. Here's the status of those items:
Build and strengthen bridges with hospital partners. CAPI has made in-roads with all three major health systems in the area. Strengthening collaboration with Osceola Regional Medical Center, members went on a 3-day CME cruise to the Bahamas in September. Orlando Health CEO David Strong will host a meet-and-greet event in November for CAPI members
Work in close collaboration with sister organizations. CAPI routinely works with Orlando's Indian American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) on fundraising events to help care for Central Florida's indigent population. Quite a few CAPI members volunteer their time at Knights Clinic, run by the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (UCF-COM), and Shepherd's Hope, a faith-based organization that provides access to healthcare for Orlando's uninsured. In addition, CAPI members raised $15,000 for the victims of Pulse tragedy.
Market CAPI's leadership, strength and buying power to local businesses, hospital and corporations. "We're slowly and surely making progress getting the word out about the impact of Indian doctors and dentists on Greater Orlando's health system," said Dr. Madan. "Some peers were surprised to learn that one in seven patient encounters across the U.S. - and in Orlando - is with an Indian healthcare professional."
Set up a Women's Forum. To achieve this goal, CAPI works in collaboration with Kanti Bhalani's Doctors Goodwill Foundation, IACC and other local women organizations. "This is one area I haven't found the right outlet," said Dr. Madan. "This is a work in progress."
Revamp CAPI website: Earlier this year, the website was revitalized to make it more user-friendly with a digital format easily navigated on smartphones and tablets.
Develop a mission statement with short-term objectives and long-term goals for the organization. "I brainstormed with 20 previous presidents and members of our executive committee to come up with a meaningful mission statement," said Dr. Madan. "It took an extraordinary arduous one-and-half months and a great team effort to come up with a consensus statement." (See Mission Statement below.)
"We at CAPI encourage all physicians, dentists and area health systems to come together or at least make a collective effort to give back to the community," said Dr. Madan. "We shouldn't wait for a tragedy to unite us. We should unite to avoid tragedies, and make ORLANDO STRONG!"
