Dr. A. Gupta to Be Honored by Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus
Dr. Avinash Gupta, Toms River, a long-time Lakewood cardiologist, Chief of Cardiology and President-elect of the medical staff at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (MMCSC), will be honored at the annual Humanitarian Gala of MMCSC, Saturday, October 22, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Eagle Oaks Country Club, Farmingdale, N.J. for his public health work, free medical service, voluntary health care, and dedicated service to the poor. Dr. Gupta has been serving his community with humanity for over four decades.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, as the president of MOCAAPI (Monmouth Ocean County American Association of Physicians from India), Dr. Gupta organized a team of more than 50 physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and non-clinical volunteers to join with Ocean County Health Department in the COVID testing and vaccination drive. Week after week, he and his wife led this volunteer team to administer thousands of shots to the community. Additionally, they started offering teleconsultation during the nights to help physicians and patients in India. They helped treat over a thousand patients during the pandemic in India.
As a result, NBC TV channel televised a segment “American Doctors helping COVID patients in India,” featuring Drs. Avinash and Geeta Gupta.
Dr. Gupta and his wife run PRAN-BJANA (Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America), a free medical mobile health clinic, in remote areas of India’s Jharkhand, which he visits several times a year to conduct medical camps in villages. He distributes free medicines, and arranges blood tests and X-rays for free to the indigent community. Along with his professional organization of BJANA, Dr. Gupta has coordinated with other doctors to arrange medicines and send oxygen concentrators to India. Most importantly, he was instrumental in getting a fund of over $250,000 for medical relief in India.
During his term as President last year, MOCAAPI donated $150,000 to FulFill, the food bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to help fight hunger in Ocean County. He also distributed blankets to the county’s homeless residents under AAPI’s Share a blanket program.
It was his leadership within the Hindu American community that saw the founding of Sidhivinayak Temple and Indian Cultural Center in Toms River in 2012, an organization for which he has personally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours.
After graduating from medical school in India, Dr. Gupta came to the United States in 1986. He went on to complete his Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology fellowship in New York before he began to practice cardiology in Lakewood in 1994. After working for Lakewood Medical Specialists, he started his own practice with his wife Dr. Geeta Gupta, with Kimball Medical Center as his primary hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Lipidology.
At MMCSC, he has served on the Executive Committee in various positions from member to treasurer and now president – elect.
Dr. Gupta is married to Dr. Geeta Gupta for more than 33 years. Together, they share an office in Lakewood, specializing in both Internal Medicine and Cardiology as well as offering all testing associated with Cardiology care, such as Echocardiograms, Carotid Ultrasound, Nuclear and Regular Exercise Stress Testing. Their son Abhinav Gupta is a surgical resident at RWJBH- Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ.
Among his awards, Dr. Gupta received Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, 2020, leadership & Community Service, Consulate General of India, N.Y.; Proclamation, 2021, Lifesaving services during COVID pandemic, State of New Jersey; Extraordinary leadership, 2020, Service to Profession & Community, AAPI; Healthcare Heroes in serving Community during COVID pandemic, 2020, BJANA; Annual India Day parade, 2019, Federation of Indian Associations; Service to Homeland, 2019, BCCI, Patna; and 25 years of dedicated service, 10994-2019, RWJBarnabas Health.