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Types of ResourcesAngeli Patel, MD
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine – Chattanooga, in partnership with Erlanger, is proud to announce the nomination of Angeli Patel, MD, for the 2024 Alper Humanitarian Award. Dr. Patel is the nominee representing the department of gastroenterology.
During her years as a GI fellow, Dr. Patel has been steadfast in providing high-quality, evidence-based critical and continuity care to patients while never losing sight of their personal needs and those of their families. Even in the role of consultant physician, she readily involves social workers and case management to address unmet needs that arise during the hospitalization.
Due to her ability to forge more open, human connections than most along with her unrehearsed, genuine empathy, many patients feel comfortable discussing more sensitive topics. During follow-up clinic visits, patients and families have confessed that an interaction with Dr. Patel sparked enrollment in substance abuse and mental health care programs to break the cycle of self-harm or self-medication. Consistently, she goes the extra mile to personally arrange referrals, follow-ups, and medication coverage for the most vulnerable in our community.
In addition to caring for patients and families, Dr. Patel is also very much in tune with the needs of her co-fellows and the staff within the department, often speaking as an unsolicited advocate to administration or simply lending a listening ear. With her engaging and warm personality, she has developed lasting bonds with the gastroenterology staff that she has worked with.
The university, in conjunction with the Erlanger Foundation, Erlanger, and an endowment from the family of the late Dr. Harold Alper, has established the yearly ceremony and grand rounds keynote address. The Alper Humanitarian Award is presented to a graduating resident or fellow at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine – Chattanooga who has consistently demonstrated during residency or fellowship the humanistic qualities for which the late Dr. Alper was known: integrity, compassion, and community service.
Join us in congratulating Dr. Patel on her nomination for the Alper Humanitarian Award.