His awards and accolades in his 30-year career are many, yet the acknowledgement that means the most to him is the one that he receives from his patients. “I have received awards such as the Hind Ratna award in India and another one in House of Lords in London, UK, but my best accomplishments are when my patients bless me for helping them feel better,” he says.
Dr Patel, who came to the US in 1999, has a successful medical practice as a board-certified Internist in Brooklyn, New York, with licenses to practice in New Jersey and California. He is also affiliated with the prestigious New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. But this journey from Soja in Gujarat to Brooklyn in New York has not been without challenges.
Born into Struggles
Lalit was born on August 14, 1968, to Madhu and Popatlal Kalidas Patel. His father came from a family of farmers and moved to Ahmedabad to try his luck in business, which failed. Financial tough times followed. Refusing to be defeated, he became a rickshaw driver to look after his family. Lalit, being the eldest of five siblings, remembers seeing his father toil endlessly to ensure his children had the best in life. “He’d work hard, determined to give the best education that money could buy. He was advised to send us to a public school but he continued to send us to a private school. In fact, when I offered to do an engineering diploma so that I could start making money to help him out, he strictly forbade me from taking any shortcuts.” Those were some uninhibited first lessons – life lessons!
He completed his school education and took admission in BJ Medical College. “For the first three years, I could not even afford books, so I studied with the library books till they shut it down every evening.” Along with, the emotional young man that he was, he had started and ran his flour mill to support his father in taking care of the family.
The Beacon Beckons
He got married to Chandrika in 1994 and by 1999, he managed to get all his four young sisters married, three of whom are in the US and one in Canada. Fulfilling the heaviest of his responsibilities, he decided to chase his dreams. “Chandrika was a green-card holder, so moving to the US was the obvious way. Growing up we were among the poorest in our community. Starting your own dispensary or hospital meant investing huge capital, which I did not have. I also did not want to work for others. I knew the US would give me the right opportunities. I had also seen and heard many success stories of students from my medical school. These factors played a great role in me deciding to do my residency in the US.”
He flew to the US in 2001. What followed was not all roses as Lalit had to clear written and practical exams to start his residency in Internal Medicine at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, New York. Lack of finances meant that Chandrika and he had to take to blue-collar work and survive on burritos every day. He also worked jobs in Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Dominos and a factory too. However, he braved it all and yet cleared all three exams in one year. “I got the residency the next year (2004) and got Dr prefixed to my name!”
He worked in California for a few months before returning to New York. He says, “I did not enjoy the laidback pace of California. Back in New York, I worked with a doctor for five years before deciding to start my own practice in 2010.” This was the beginning of Dr Patel’s rise as one of the leading physicians in Brooklyn.
He says, “When I was deliberating on whether to open my own clinic or not, I was told that it was not a good idea because I was already in a stable job, earning comfortably at the time. However, I was determined to set up my own practice and so I did. Within six months, my clinic became successful.”
Behind every Successful Man…
Chandrika, he says, is his equal partner in everything. When they were struggling, she was with him working hard to make ends meet. Once he started working, she was at home looking after the children and now she works with him, handles his finances and helps him manage his practice.
Dr Patel is a champion of women’s empowerment. He says, “I always remind people that they are successful only because of a woman taking care of their house, be it their mother, sister, wife or daughter – these women also deserve a chance to go out and be successful in their choicest of fields.” It is this very cause he intends to take up when he retires and hopes to bring equal opportunities to women in India. A man who walks the talk, he has also ensured that his daughter, Khushi, gets all the opportunities that his son, Utsav, does. Both his children are examples of an ideal upbringing. While Khushi is set to go into grade 12, Utsav is currently studying at Cornell and will attend medical school next year.
Patel credits his own success to his family. He says, “Without my family, I would not have made it this far. We cannot take them for granted. My parents, sisters, Chandrika, Utsav and Khushi, have always supported me.”
Passion and Priority
The value of service to others is something that Dr Patel knows only too well. It was also the reason why he chose medicine as his profession. “I always knew I wanted to do something for the community and my profession has allowed me to do so and be with people when they need a doctor the most.”
A good Samaritan’s son, he has never shied away from his duties to society. He has contributed to the building of a temple in his father’s hometown and continues to support the village and its community. In the US, he has instituted a charity organization in his name. “We began Popatlal Kalidas Charitable Family Foundation in 2014 in his honor and we have raised significant funds to distribute across many sectors. During the pandemic, we supplied food for healthcare professionals and the hungry.”
That’s not all though. He, without worrying of his health, decided to volunteer his services and tend to patients when the pandemic struck.
Dr Patel credits his father’s values as his major influence in everything he does. “My father lived by his principles of honesty, hard work and generosity. Whether we had money or not, he would always give for a good cause. I follow his path. I believe that God always bestows prosperity on people who help others.”