Donation to go towards new laboratory, equipment at university.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: California-based physician Dr. Prem Reddy has made a donation of a half-million dollars to the nursing program at the San Bernardino campus of California State University (CSUSB).
In a press release announcing the considerable donation, Reddy said that he gifted the money in order to ensure that nursing students at UCUSB receive the best education possible with state-of-the-art facilities.
“I came from an impoverished background to become a cardiologist,” said Reddy. “Nothing is impossible for these hard working students, and I hope that this laboratory and equipment helps them achieve their dreams.”
The CSUSB’s nursing program averages about 400 undergraduate students, and offers both BS and MS degrees in nursing. As a show of gratitude for Reddy’s donation, the CSUSB plans to re-name their nursing lab “The Dr. Prem Reddy Nursing Laboratory.”
Originally from a small village in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy was able to gain admission in Sri Venkateswara University Medical College, from which he graduated in 1973. Three years later, he and his wife immigrated to the US, where he became a cardiologist and a physician of internal medicine. He performed over 5,000 cardiac operations for over 25 years, before deciding to leave full-time medical practicing behind in favor of devoting all of his time to his entrepreneurial pursuits.
Starting in the early 1980s, Reddy has devoted his time to Desert Valley Medical Group, Prime Healthcare, and PrimeRx, all of which he founded and which generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. The hospitals under his purview are routinely listed as among the best in the country.
His high-level positions in these companies affords him the ability to donate generously to medical schools and causes, with some estimates putting his philanthropy to-date at over $10 million. In 1989, Reddy founded the Desert Valley Medical Foundation, and also created the non-profit charity organization, the Dr. Prem Reddy Family Foundation.
Reddy is also a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com