Hundreds turn up for FIA-Chicago’s successful free medical camp

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The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) – Chicago (https://www.fia-il.us/) in partnership with AAPI (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) and IAMA (Indian American Medical Association), hosted a ‘Free Medical Camp’ at the Mall of India, Naperville on April 19, 2025.

More than 400 people came to the Camp where over 50 physicians and some 90 medical students and SEWA youth volunteers came to serve. “We had a combined force of over 600 individuals participating in this impactful initiative,” FIA-Chicago said in a press release.

“From early morning till afternoon, the halls of the Mall of India were transformed into sanctuaries of care — not just with stethoscopes and prescriptions, but with compassion, cultural connection, and community-driven love,” organizers said in the press release.

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The initiative was led by Founder and Chaiman of FIA-Chicago Sunil Shah, who said “FIA’s core belief is in collective well-being and the power of community-driven initiatives, whether it comes to health for all or coat drives for the unfortunate in winter.”

Anu Malhotra, President of FIA, was also among the main organizers of the Camp. She was praised by Dr. Ajit Pant who said “Anu Malhotra is A Visionary Leader with a Heart for Service, she brought warmth to cold logistics and turned a camp into a celebration of wellness”.

The Chief Guest at the event was Mayor of Naperville Scott Wehrli, who was present the whole time and presented awards to doctors and other individuals who had demonstrated “exceptional” community service.

Alderwoman Shweta Baid was also present and congratulated the honorees, presented awards, and thanked the many healthcare providers. “True heroes don’t seek the spotlight, they create it for others,” Baid said.

Doctors and Medical Service providers who participated and were honored included: Dr. Dilip Shah, MD FACC, Dr. Meher Medavaram, Dr. Suresh Reddy (ex-Faculty Harvard Medical School), Dr. Kamal Patel, MD, Dr. Umang Patel, MD, Dr. Niranjana Shah, Dr. Radhika Chimata, MD, Dr. Urmilla Talsania, MD, Dr. Kirti Talsania, MD, Dr. Sukanya Reddy, MD, Dr. Rohitkumar Vasa, MD, Dr. Aman Sethi, MD, Dr. Vivek Mohan, MD, Dr. Neetha Dhananjaya, MD, Dr. Pooja Kinkabwala, DO, Dr. Leela Rao, MD, Dr. Lalitha Darbha, MD, Dr. Annu Mehta, MD, Dr. Praveen Mehta, MD, Dr. Piyush Icchashan Vyas, MD, Dr. Rama R Medavaram, MD, Deepali Aul, Ayesha Afridi, Deepti Suri Jayanthi Sridher, and Dr. Fairy Patel and many more, covering specialties such as Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Dentistry, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Chiropractic, Ayurveda, and Nutrition, and other health professionals.

The 2025 FIA HERO Awards, for the ‘boundless energy and relentless championing’ of the medical camp with empathy, were bestowed upon five individuals: Falguni Sukhadia, Kamlesh Kapoor, VK Gupta, Nilabh Dubey, and Anjali Mohanty.

“True heroes don’t wear capes. They wear compassion on their sleeves and courage in their hearts,” Mayor Wehrli said.

One of the highlights at the Camp was the 30-minute special Yoga session with live music, led by Certified Yoga Teacher Anu Malhotra, who guided families through 10 powerful yoga steps to foster: Focus, Emotional balance, Physical fitness, and Awareness

A Team of 34 FIA volunteers were honored as FIA Heroes “whose passion, grit, and relentless hard work made the impossible feel effortless,” FIA said. They coordinated logistics, managed registration, guided patients, and kept the event running like a well-oiled machine, organizers noted. Also, the SEWA Volunteers — over 40 of them, who arrived early and stayed late, giving six continuous hours of service – carrying supplies and  comforting patients. “They embodied the very soul of “SEWA” — selfless service without expectation,” FIA said. “I saw angels in every corner of this camp, they didn’t have wings, they wore volunteer badges”, said a 85-year-old patient Sarah Khan

FIA-Chicago said, special acknowledgments for the Camp went to Neal Patel (CEO Medstar) for providing the medical supplies and fir lab testing; Ramesh Punatar and Salim Siddiqui for photography; DJ Mahesh Kumar for providing audio and video equipment; Vinoz Chennamolu for sponsoring the use of a spacious hall, at Mall of India and ensuring 600 plus attendees were accommodated comfortably.

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