Dr. Sudheer Singh Chauhan

Our beloved father, Sudheer Singh Chauhan, passed away on May 19th, 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 after a valiant two month long battle. He was exposed to the brutal virus while working as a frontline physician at The Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Richmond Hill, New York.

Dr. Chauhan was born on July 15th, 1950 in Makrana, Rajasthan, India. Inspired by his father, who was a physician working in the Indian Railways Hospital system, Dr. Chauhan cultivated a desire to help people and ease their suffering. He completed his graduate and post graduate medical education from GSVM Medical College, University of Kanpur, India in 1976.

Upon graduation, Dr. Chauhan married his wife, Pratibha (a Gynecologist and Obstetrician) in 1976 in Aligarh, Uttar Pra-desh, India. His first daughter – Roli – was born in Lucknow, UP. He served in the Indian Railways Hospital, Delhi, for a few years. He was devoted to his job, extremely passionate about medicine, all of which gave him opportunities to travel abroad.

Dr. Chauhan moved with his family to Ndola, Zambia, in 1981, where his second daughter – Vandana – was born. He worked for the Ndola Central Hospital, where he taught as well as practiced in their Internal Medicine department. His dedication and passion for teaching, as well as practicing medicine, were evident early on.

In 1983, Dr. Chauhan and his family then moved to Bahrain, the Arabian Gulf, where his third daughter – Sneh – was born. He worked for The Salmaniya Medical Center, Manama, while his wife worked for the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital in Rifaa. While practicing in Bahrain, Dr. Chauhan received his MRCP and FRCP from the Royal College of Physicians (one of 13 physicians worldwide selected to be a member), and FACP from the American College of Physicians.

In 1995, after practicing and teaching medicine for over a decade in Bahrain, Dr. Chauhan moved with his family to Queens, New York, with his wife and three daughters. He was a chief resident when he completed his Internal Medicine residency from The Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Upon graduating in 1997, he joined the Department of Medicine there and was working as a faculty supervisor and attending physician up to the very day he got sick. He was also the Associate Program Director in the Internal Medicine Residency Program for the hospital.

As an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, he trained hundreds of physicians and saved thousands of lives over several years. He always went out of his way for his patients and students. His encyclopedic and precision knowledge of medicine was cherished by everyone. His pleasant and calming personality touched everyone’s hearts. More than hundreds of people are devastated by this huge loss in the world of medicine.

Sudheer Singh Chauhan was a very involved and caring family man, in addition to traveling the world, inspiring future doctors and caring for the sick. He is survived by his wife Dr. Pratibha Chauhan and three daughters Roli Chauhan, Vandana Chauhan and Sneh Chauhan.

Dr. Pratibha: “He was very kindhearted, caring for everyone. He was a great father, great husband. Always cared for eve-ryone he knew, without thinking about the consequences. He had unconditional love for everyone. He was one of a kind. ”

Roli: “ He was the best Dad in the entire universe, the epito-me of unconditional love and the most caring father a girl can have. He was my Father , my backbone, my support and my whole world. He put food in my mouth when I was a child, put clothes on my back, sent me to school, took care of me, raised me to be who I am, taught me right from wrong, listened to me when I was sad and tolerated all my life frustrations. He was always a phone call away whenever I needed him and he always had the best advice. Nobody can take his place in my life. He was truly a legend in Medicine. I am glad I got to see the gold standard in action in medicine. As a person he was a humble saint, extremely polite, the kindest and the nicest person you could ever meet. I thank God for his life for giving me the best father ever. He was truly a blessing in our life and got taken away too soon. He is forever my hero for everything that he did in his life. I will love and miss you forever, Papa. Thank you for everything you did for me. You will forever be in my heart.”

Vandana: “I will miss Papa’s unique presence – comforting, caring, accepting, exuding unconditional love. No matter the reason or the time, when I needed him he was always there. I could talk to him about anything and everything. I will miss the care, the love, the concern, the celebrations, the happiness in his voice as I talked to him about what was going on in my life. He supported my education, my travels. I will miss the discussions about the the world and spirituality. He was a brilliant and intelligent man. I will miss things such as watching the news with him, the times we spent in the city, in museums, at the movies, deciding on dinner after the movies. He loved Times Square and always had a pack of peanuts for me he had bought from the street vendors. He told me he was doing his duty but he never made it seem that being there for me was something he “had” to do. As a father, he had unconditional love and eternal kindness. I am thankful that God let him be my Papa. I love you, Papa, thank you for everything”.

Sneh: “There is a void which will never be filled. Life will never be the same. Will try to keep his teachings alive.”