Dr. Pramod K. Mohanty, MD,FACP,FACC,FAHA
Here we are! Hardly six months since July 5th 2019, when the - Odisha Society of America / Health Wellness Group (OSA H&W) was conceived during a hastily arranged meeting intended for the alumni of SCB and other medical schools in Odisha. This meeting was put together by Drs. Sudha and Ram Prasad Pattnaik and Durga Misra on the auspices of the 50th anniversary OSA convention held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This gathering was attended by a small group of physicians/scientists and the meeting was moderated by Durga Misra.
Without much planning a WhatsApp mail group was initiated on the spot and subsequently formalized. Initial days of WhatsApp exchanges among members were rather intense, with new ideas and thoughts about creating Mission/Vision statements for this new entity called OSA H&W. In addition, thoughtful leadership of the senior working committee members – Drs. Ram Prasad Patnaik, Nitin Doshi, Basant Mohapatra, and Nita Mohanty - contributed significantly to initial discussions and shaped the final version of Mission/Vision statements we now have.
Simultaneously, in a parallel fashion, the search for a credible leader for OSA H&W was launched. Dr. Devashish Ray - unquestionably our most inspiring member - emerged as a serious candidate and was unanimously chosen as the chairman of our young association - an independent group known as - Odisha Society of America / Health and Wellness Group (OSA H&W) under the umbrella of OSA. Within a very short time span, Devashish has established himself as a trustworthy, dynamic and highly effective leader in propelling OSA H&W to its current stage - ready to enter the world of “Tipping Point” where the unexpected becomes expected and meaningful change becomes more than a possibility! Thus, I am confident that the future of OSA H&W is highly promising.
As a founding member of OSA (1969) and a senior member of OSA H&W and with great personal humility, I urge the OSA H&W membership to remember that the measure of our success is our unwavering commitment to education, promotion of empathy, and compassionate treatment of the less fortunate. I would specifically urge our younger generation of current and incoming members to remember that the power of passion and forces of energy would propel us to work harder in order to fulfill our highly ambitious mission: “To promote and advance Health Wellness of the Odia community in Odisha and North America, through sharing of knowledge / expertise which inspires the best possible healthcare and individual wellbeing”.
I would like to close with some thoughts about the title of this article and ask the question as to where we stand within the spectrum of Tipping Point as defined by Malcolm Gladwell, the original author of the concept. The answer will depend on the perception of our members. We should let our membership and others determine if OSA H&W has already arrived or is on the verge of being in the world of Tipping Point organizations.
“Tipping Point is the Magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses the threshold, TIPS and spreads like a wild fire.” Regardless of whether OSA H&W is destined to get to that magic moment or tipping point, we must continue to engage in our goal-oriented hard work to move forward on our challenging path.
Dr. Pramod K. Mohanty, MD,FACP,FACC,FAHA
Professor Emeritus of Cardiovascular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
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