Dr Suresh Kumar Gupta has been appointed a commissioner of the Maryland State Board of Physicians. He becomes the second Suresh Gupta that Martin O'Malley, Maryland's Democratic governor, has appointed to an influential state board. Late last year, O'Malley appointed longtime Democratic Party stalwart and fundraiser Dr Suresh C Gupta of Potomac, Maryland, as a commissioner on his Asian Pacific American Council.
Last month, O'Malley reached out to Dr Suresh Kumar Gupta, 53, of Rockville, Maryland, to serve as a commissioner of the Maryland Board of Physicians, earlier called the State Board of Physicians Quality Assurance.
The Board comprises 21 members, including 14 physicians and seven members of the public and is vested with the mission to protect the health and safety of Maryland citizens 'through strong enforcement of licensure standards for physicians and allied health providers; and through an effective disciplinary programme.'
It also has the authority to license physicians and healthcare providers such as physician assistants, medical radiation technologists, radiation oncology therapy technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, respiratory care practitioners, and to discipline licensee who violate the Maryland Medical Practice Act.
In addition to establishing qualifications for licensure, the Board is responsible for investigating complaints against licensees and for taking action against the license of those 'who fail to maintain Maryland's high standards of medical care delivery or who break the laws governing licensure.'
The Board provides two principal types of consumer services information on licensing and information about licensees who have been charged or sanctioned for violation of the Maryland Medical Practice Act.
O'Malley swore in Dr Gupta at the State Capitol Building in Annapolis, with Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown as a witness.
"Beyond being so honoured and humbled, I am simply overwhelmed by this opportunity and the responsibility the governor has placed in me. I am so thankful to him to serve the state I've lived in for over two decades," an emotional Dr Gupta said.
Dr Gupta, as a physician commissioner who will fill a vacancy created by the departure of another physician member, will complete the latter's term till 2010 and has been appointed by O'Malley to a full four-year term running through July 2014.
"There is no doubt it is an intimidating responsibility. In a sense, I will be judging my peers and fellow physicians in addition to all other healthcare providers in the state," he said. "I intend to bring all my years of experience as a dedicated and committed physician to the table as well as the expertise I have in dealing with a variety of patients over the years, including those in my internal medicine and geriatrics practice."
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"To sit on the board, and listen to and view cases and vote on various investigations and evidence on matters that could affect the livelihoods of professionals is not an enviable task. But it is something I am going to perform to the best of my ability and in accordance with the civic duty assigned under the oath I swore to," Dr Gupta said.
Haryana-born Dr Gupta, who migrated to the United States in May 1981, is an alumnus of the Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, from where he earned his MBBS degree in 1978 at the age of 23. For three years after graduation, he worked for the government of Haryana. After arriving in the US, he did a fellowship in pathology at the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
From July 1983 till June 1986, he continued in a pathology programme as well as an internal medicine programme at the Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland. In July 1986, he set up private practice with privileges at the Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring and Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
His professional achievements include being president of the Indian American Medical Association of Washington, DC; regional director of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; medical director of the Prince George County Association of Retired Citizens; and medical director of the Center for Social Change.
Dr Gupta credits wife Maansi as being his rock, saying, "She's always been there for me, supporting me and encouraging me in all my endeavors and has been instrumental in getting me where I am today." He describes his children, son Sachin, 26, and daughter Seema, 23, as "the two bookends of my very being."
Image: Dr Suresh Kumar Gupta is sworn in by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown as a commissioner on the Maryland Board of Physicians.
