CHICAGO: A front ranking organization of Indian American pharmacists, the Association of Indian Pharmacists in America (AIPHA) is planning a small expansion of the base of its activities for the benefits of its members and independent pharmacists by setting up AIPHA Buying Club.
Unveiling the proposal at the 25th Annual Diwali meet of the association held on Saturday, December 8 at Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, a north west suburb of Chicago, Harish Bhatt, AIPHA president said, “One of our present goals is to set up AIPHA Buying Club, allowing our members to take advantage of the opportunities of cooperative purchasing on pharmaceuticals and supplies. An AIPHA affiliate company will represent all members collectively to manufacturers and suppliers, allowing independent pharmacies to share the benefits of bulk purchasing power”.
The event attended by 500 plus guests, invitees and members was deemed huge success. It induced Gita Patel, a member Pharmacist, to comment that “this organization has been in existence for 25 years and this is the largest crowd that I have ever seen for this organization. It is a cause for everyone to get together to learn what is going on in the pharmaceutical industry.”
The evening started with a social hour featuring some tasty appetizers and premium drinks. Masters of Ceremonies for the occasion Pratik Shah and Sharon Xavier kicked off the program by welcoming everyone to the gala. They then forwarded the proceedings to Madan Kulkarni of Dhrishti to introduce and conduct the exciting dance presentations.
The fabulous and extremely well choreographed dances featured MKM Bollystars from California comprising Shivani Thakkar, Kaasi Aysola, Gloria Lanuza, Joya Kazi and Jack Tyler. They were well matched by the performances of Chicagoan dancers Megan Hartman and Jessica Beuckman.
Another highlight of the over three-hour event was an informational narrative of the circumstances of each composition which left the audience wowed and clamoring for more. Spectacular lights and sound added a punch to the performances.
The guests of honor were the Indian Consul General Ms Mukta Dutta Tomar and Jay Stewart, Director of Division of Financial and Professional Regulation for the State of Illinois. Air India Manager Rishikant Singh was a special guest
Acknowledgements and appreciation gifts were presented to John Lagattuta, (Director of health related position), Sherry Eshoo (Deputy Director of Statewide Enforcement),Yash Amin (Director of Drug Compliance), John Dik of Dik Drug Company; Steve Lawrence from Cardinal Drugs, Dale Smith from HD Smith Drugs, Rishi Singh from Air India, Jake Miller Aipha’s lobbyist and Bob Greenlee, AIPHA’s buying group attorney Regulatory head Jay Stewart.
The event was sponsored by Steve Lawrence and John Dik of Dik/Cardinal Drug, Dale Smith of HD Smith and Rishi Singh of Air India.
John Dik owner of Dik Drug company received the lifetime achievement award and Dr Yashwant Amin received award for Excelling in his field of Pharmacy and Social Work.
A fund raising raffle was conducted during the evening by Tushar Mehta which featured exciting prizes like an I pad, a 32inch flat screen HDTV and a couple of Android tablets. The grand prizes were two individual airline tickets to India from Air India.
In his presidential address, Harish Bhatt observed, “the major issues we now face include Medicaid’s policy of paying for only four prescriptions per patient and Medicare Part D, which forces patients to go to chain pharmacies and to mail order. But AIPHA has battled and succeeded in issues that have threatened our profession in the past and we see no desire to back down now”, he went on to add.
A scintillating music concert by Mumbai’s award winning singers Samir Date and Dipalee Somaiyya then regaled the audience till the wee hours. The performance featured popular hits over the ages aptly titled Kal, Aaj aur Kal. The program concluded with some great memories of an evening which was educational, fun and entertaining.
Suresh Shah & Asian Media USA
