Saheli launches mental health initiative program

Saheli launches the mental health initiative program in collaboration, led by Dr. Nitigna Desai, a member of the Saheli Advisory Board and supported by Dr. Dhrumil Shah and Dr. Apurv Gupta.

Dr Manju Sheth
Chairperson, Saheli Advisory Board 

”I am so excited that Ramila Thakkar and I were able to launch the much needed mental health initiatives and resources for Saheli with the support of President, Neelam Wali and the Saheli team. It has been gratifying as a Doctor and as past president of IMANE to bring together two great organizations to collaborate for a much-needed service to the community.

Domestic violence leads to tremendous mental and emotional trauma. Pandemic has worsened the situation in many homes, so this program will be very timely and helpful. We also plan to have educational workshops soon.

I want to thank Dr Dhrumil Shah, current president and Dr Apurv Gupta, past President of IMANE. My immense gratitude to Dr Nitigna Desai, a renowned Psychiatrist for leading this initiative." 

Dr. Nitigna Desai has been a member of the Indian community in the Boston for over 35 yrs. She has over 30 years of experience as a psychiatrist and has the expertise in treatment of substance abuse disorders. Dr.Desai currently is the Chief of Psychiatry and has been the Director of Addiction Psychiatry for the last 25 years at Bedford Veteran Medical Center.  Additionally, she is an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School (BUMC) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has been appointed by Governor Baker on a special task force to work on opioid epidemic. She is a distinguished fellow of American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Desai is a graduate of the Government Medical College in Surat and has advanced training in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry from Harvard Medical School. She has been an active member of Indian Medical association of New England and has volunteered for multiple community events and health fairs.

“I am very proud to be working with such a dedicated team who is committed to make a difference. COVID-19 has impacted our community in many different ways. One unfortunate effect is strain on relationships and a related increase in domestic violence. There is no better time than now for Saheli to address Mental Health and increase awareness of issues and access to resources. I am looking forward to building innovative coalitions with multiple community organizations to serve vulnerable populations".  Nitigna.  

Dr.Dhrumil Shah is a family physician and a CMIO/CIO at Compass Medical, an independent provider led organization in Southeast Massachusetts. His primary interests and focus area are Digital health innovation, Data science and Care analytics, Health innovation and entrepreneurship and Life science technology commercialization.

Dr. Shah did his Family Medicine training at New Jersey Medical School and subsequently graduated from University of Illinois Chicago completing his Post Masters in Health Informatics.

He is actively involved in Health IT space via advisory services and participates in national and regional speaking engagements.

“IMANE is proud to partner with Saheli Boston on health initiative targeting key issues like mental health services, providing non-judgmental & culturally sensitive support for survivors of Domestic Violence. COVID19 pandemic has negatively impacted many social and emotional issues for our communities and it is crucial for all of us to come together and do our part in ongoing recovery for the betterment of our communities. We look forward to making a difference together.”  Dhru 

Dr. Apurv Gupta
Director-Clinical Variation & Provider Alignment

Dr. Gupta is an expert in physician engagement, change management, and leadership development. He had led recent projects in length of stay/ throughput, hospitalist redesign, and clinical variation. He has experience as a clinician, manager, executive, educator, and thought leader. Dr. Gupta completed his Internal Medicine training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, and received an M.D.and Sc.B. from Brown University, as well as a M.P.H. from Harvard University.

“Please to see the leadership that Saheli is taking in addressing mental health issues that are at the heart of interpersonal violence. Unfortunately, these issues are pervasive and growing in society, and our clients are particularly vulnerable given their cultural and language differences. Partnering with other leading community organizations is a bold and necessary step for Saheli to meet our clients’ needs with creativity and collaborations in order to address limitations in mental health resources.”   Apurv. 

Ramila Thakkar is the current Vice-Chair of the Saheli Advisory Board

“ I am delighted and thankful to be working with such a wonderful team of dedicated healthcare professionals. It’s admirable to see their passion and commitment for community services, their willingness to spare their valuable time to help Saheli during this difficult pandemic period, is quite commendable”  Ramila

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