Top Healthcare Executives Share Some Life Lessons at IACCGH Meet

From left: Sanjay Ram, Jagdip Ahluwalia, Indira Vishnampet, Janice Lamy, Jenny Sarpalius, Gay Nord, Lorie Shoemaker, Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray, Dr. Amit Goldberg Ray, Joya Shukla, and Aku Patel. Photos: Bijay Dixit

From left: Sanjay Ram, Jagdip Ahluwalia, Indira Vishnampet, Janice Lamy, Jenny Sarpalius, Gay Nord, Lorie Shoemaker, Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray, Dr. Amit Goldberg Ray, Joya Shukla, and Aku Patel. Photo: Bijay Dixit

By Manu Shah

HOUSTON: A woman powered leadership panel dispensed some compelling work/life advice at the IACCGH Business of Medicine Women’s Executive Leadership Panel on January 17, at the Hess Club. Sponsored by CHI St. Luke’s Health, the event saw an unprecedented turnout of over 150 members and guests with representatives from CHI St Luke’s Health, MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor and Kindred Healthcare.

Eminent Indo American Doctors such as the President of the Indian Doctors Association Dr. Manish Gandhi, National Treasurer of AAPI Dr. Manju Sachdeva, Cardiologists Dr. Randeep Suneja and Dr. Harish Chandna and Obama honoree Dr. Hardeep Singh were among the attendees.

Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed the gathering of “leaders and decision makers” and brought attention to the “different things IACCGH is to different people” from young entrepreneurs to professionals to businesses. Immediate Past President Joya Shukla, who chairs the Healthcare Series, highlighted the strong inroads made in the medical community in 2016 by launching the Business of Medicine Series.

Senior VP at Xtivia and Board Chair CHI St Luke’s Sugar Land Indira Vishnampet, who played a key role in helping the launch of this Series, moderated the panel moving briskly with the panelists from Baylor Hospital President Gay Nord, VP, Marketing and Communications Janice Lamy, VP and CFO Jenny Sarpalius and VP and Chief Nursing Officer Lorie Shoemaker.

The panelists addressed issues ranging from the importance of networking, facing gender bias, work life balance, cultural competency to transitioning into leadership positions.

Some inspiring takeaways from the evening:
• Face to face networking not only helps further careers but benefits the organization in the sharing of best practices.
• Support top performers in finding their niche,
• Ask for feedback and act constructively on it.
• Talk to your boss/colleagues about moving up the ranks
• Diversity in the workplace helps a team make better decisions.

For a work life balance, set boundaries and develop high performance teams.

Moderator Indira Vishnampet wrapped up the event by thanking the panelists for their time and revealed that it took “6 months to work out the dates for the event.”

Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray and his wife Dr. Amit Goldberg Ray, a renowned oncologist were also present. In his address, the CG welcomed the association between the Chamber and CHI St Luke’s and described Healthcare as the “next bridge” (after IT) between India and Houston. He also stated that a country can aspire to greatness only if its citizens are healthy and treat women on an equal footing and India would like to follow in the footsteps of the US in this aspect.

The Consul General also did the honors of presenting plaques of appreciation to the panelists.

(Upcoming events: February 13th, a Distinguished Lecture with Keynote by Ambassador Rinzing Wangdi at the Consulate General of India

February 19th: A free seminar on American Tax Laws as applicable to taxpayers who own/control overseas assets, Obamacare and what’s next, Outsourcing, Retirement planning and other relevant tax laws at India House.

Please visit www.iaccgh.com for more details and registration)