Fremont, March 22, 2005
NRIpress
Anmol S. Mahal, M.D., has been elected president-elect
of the California Medical Association, California’s
leading health care organization. Dr. Mahal, a gastroenterologist,
was elected during the CMA’s 134th Annual House
of Delegates meeting, which took place in Anaheim
from March 19-21.
Dr. Mahal is the first member of the American Association
of Physicians of Indian Origin and the first Sikh
physician to be elected to head a major medical association
in the United States. As president-elect, he will
take off as president in 2006.
Dr. Mahal, 55, had previously served as chair and
vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of CMA and has
been a member of the CMA board for nine years. He
is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology
and is on staff at Washington Hospital in Fremont,
California.
His wife and daughter are also physicians.
Dr. Mahal expressed strong support for expanding
access to care for all Californians.
“With improving technology and better tools
and techniques, a golden age of medicine lies in the
future for Californians,” he said. “We are
living longer and are healthier than ever before.
The challenge for the healthcare system is to find
the resources so that all Californians can get the
timely and equal access to health care.”
In addition to his activities at CMA, Dr. Mahal is
a founding member and past president of the American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin of Northern
California, and serves on its board. He was chief
of staff of Washington Hospital Healthcare System.
Dr. Mahal received his medical degree from the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi,
India, and performed his internship in internal medicine
at the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
in Newark. He completed a fellowship in gastroenterology
at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Dr. Mahal’s wife, Surjit K. Mahal, MD, is a
family physician practicing in Fremont. They have
two children, Subena Mahal, D.O., 28, who is a family
practice resident, and Vikram Mahal, 23, who is in
college.
Dr. Mahal serves on the American Medical Association’s
Commission to End Health Disparities. He also serves
on the Board of Directors of the India Community Center
in Milpitas, and on the Board of Trustees of the Sikh
Foundation in Palo Alto. He was recently appointed
to the State of California Emergency Medical Services
Authority, which oversees access to emergency care
in the state.
The California Medical Association is the professional
organization for 35,000 California physicians from
all specialties and modes of practice. The CMA advocates
for its members and the patients of California and
plays a leadership role in shaping health care and
public health policy in the state.
