Dr. Prem C. Goel was born in 1944 in Taraori, a small town in Haryana. He earned a medal of honor for standing first in Kurukshetra University in premedical and graduated from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in 1969. After completing the compulsory Internship at AIIMS, Dr. Goel embarked on a journey to the land of opportunities and touched the shores of the city that never sleeps on June 23, 1971. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology at the Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He was soon appointed director of critical care unit at the hospital. It is here that he was offered a teaching appointment as an assistant professor of medicine at the Cornell-Weil medical college in 1977 but the fear of administrative hierarchy and insecurities and the lure of independence took him away from academics to private practice but only for a short while. His heart and soul belonged to teaching the residents and fellows which he continues without being on the institutional salary. He maintained a faculty position briefly at Down State Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York . He was first acknowledged with an award for social service while still in high school.

He received an award of community service from the well known Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation of which he subsequently became the President and served it extremely successfully with dedication and devotion. Former prime minister Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral bestowed upon him an award in 1997 for “his commitment, outstanding contribution and fierce dedication.” It is very befitting to state that Prem is a kind hearted doctor with a Midas touch and a mind set for diligent service to the humanity. Philanthropy was first coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece by the playwright Aeschylus but the modern philanthropy with its entire previous history means, “private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life.” Prem befits this very meaning and it is for this very reason that we are honoring him this evening. He is married to the shy and religious but equally kind-hearted and loving sweetheart, Shashi. She has been the proverbial woman behind Dr. Goel’s success.

They have a daughter, Kavita and two sons, Paresh and Amit. Kavita, who finished at the top of her class in medical school, is an internist and provided the most compassionate, dedicated and high quality patient care alongside her father for five years. She is married to Naveen, a highly successful and respected attorney. Since the birth of their second child, Kavita chose to pay fulltime attention to raising their two beautiful daughters, Naiya and Riya. Paresh along with his wife, Usha, both very astute and dedicated physicians, have also followed the family foot steps and joined Prem in his private practice. Amit, the genius with independent mind that he is, chose a modern path of information technology and is a computer consultant. Goels live in Muttontown, Long Island. We wish Prem and his family continued achievements, happiness and peace as they continue to travel the path of humanitarian services.