Jump to content

Choose locationChoose Location
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Open I want to choose my medical group or hospital
    • Clear my location
Change Location

We've expanded your view

You are now viewing all services in the Sutter Health network. You can change your location above to narrow your view to a medical group, hospital, city or zip.
Sutter Health
  • Video Visits
  • Find Doctors
  • Find Locations
  • Treatments & Services
  • Locations
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Video Visits
    • Find Doctors
    • Find Locations
    • Treatments & Services
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Symptom Checker
    • Get Care Today
    • Diseases & Conditions
    • Health & Wellness
    • Classes & Events
    • Research & Clinical Trials
    • For Patients
    • About Sutter Health
    • Giving
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
    • News
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Other Business Services
Close Search
  • Home
  • Patient Stories
  • Honoring a PAMF Supernova
Content

PATIENT STORIES Honoring a PAMF Supernova

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

In the summer of 2012, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation experienced the sudden and tragic loss of one of its rising stars, Amit K. Jha, M.D. In the five years that Dr. Jha served as a physician and leader in internal medicine at PAMF’s Fremont Center, he made a tremendous impression on everyone he encountered. Whether caring for a patient, making time to answer a colleague’s question or bringing lunch to his wife, Fremont pediatrician Rupal Badani, M.D., several times a week, his generosity and gentle nature stood out in everything he did.

Consistent with the core values that differentiate PAMF, Dr. Jha exemplified compassion, keen intellect and thoughtful leadership both within and outside the internal medicine department. His many wonderful qualities continue to impact his colleagues to this day, eight years after his unexpected passing.

Remembering the Physician and Man

Upon her husband’s death, Dr. Badani was flooded with cards from patients and colleagues. Many gave her insights about him as a doctor that she hadn’t fully understood before, even as his partner of 18 years. The patients’ stories increased her appreciation for the valuable relationships patients can have with their primary care doctors — especially during difficult times, when life falls apart.

“I had pediatric patients whose parents were Amit’s patients, and they’d share their grief about his passing,” Dr. Badani says. “Their stories about the care they received showed me the powerful role of a primary care doctor, something I was experiencing with my own primary care doctor. Amit was their confidant, a wise advisor who cared for them. Some said that just seeing him or talking to him could make them feel better. My loss was their loss too.”

Dr. Jha’s colleagues shared stories with her as well. Dr. Badani recalls two in particular that captured laudable aspects of her husband’s personality, both professionally and personally. As a physician, he was observant and intuitive. A colleague in pediatrics told of how one day she passed by Dr. Jha and he asked how her neck was feeling. The pediatrician was puzzled by how he could have known anything was wrong, but then he explained that he’d seen a dent in her car when she was parking that morning. Dr. Jha figured she must have been in an accident and thought to check on her.

On a personal level, an orthopedic surgeon told Dr. Badani that Dr. Jha would frequently pass by his office carrying her lunch delivery to ensure she’d eat something. This loving gesture often inspired him to pause his day to call his own wife just to check in.

At a memorial for Dr. Jha, one colleague shared a poem in his memory that likened him to a supernova, whose light burned brightly for just a short time but with a brilliance beyond measure.

Establishing a Legacy in His Honor

Dr. Badani feels grateful to maintain strong connections with her colleagues at PAMF, where she spent 10 years before taking an administrative leadership role at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In her new position, she works to improve the quality and delivery of care, which means not only helping patients access the support they need but also keeping doctors and staff happy and healthy.

The last eight years have given Dr. Badani time to reflect on the most appropriate way to honor her husband’s legacy. Recently, inspired by his nurturing nature, her affection for their PAMF family and her new role ensuring physicians’ well-being, she decided to create and endow the annual Amit K. Jha, M.D. Compassion and Clinical Excellence Award.

Beginning this summer, the award will honor an individual or team in the PAMF Alameda Division who delivers the highest level of care and demonstrates compassion to patients and coworkers. Dr. Badani wants to celebrate her former colleagues and recognize the amazing work that physicians and staff throughout the division do every day.

“There is a deep sense of family and belonging at PAMF,” Dr. Badani says. “Even after all these years, they have not forgotten Amit, and I find that incredible. I want to build a legacy for him that will celebrate the compassion and clinical excellence he exemplified and also focus on keeping physicians and staff well, so they can continue coming to work each day ready to care compassionately for their patients.”

Dr. Badani also sees the award as a personal thank you to all the physicians who supported her after her husband’s passing. Several of the couple’s friends and colleagues gifted her their own weeks of sabbatical so that she could be with her and Dr. Jha’s two young children during that heartbreaking time. “I was given the gift of all this time early on, and now it is my turn to give back to the physicians and leadership,” Dr. Badani reflects. “Amit’s medical knowledge and compassion were deeply wired. It means so much to create an award that encourages and celebrates those aspects in the work setting.”

But perhaps most importantly for Dr. Badani, building this legacy will help keep her husband’s spirit alive for their children, son Milan, now 13, and daughter Karina, now 11. “They are starting to ask me questions about who he was and what he was like, and these stories help create that full picture,” she says. “I want them to be part of the award process and read the submissions with me to get a better sense of who he was through the values he exemplified.”

In addition to the award, the PAMF philanthropy team aims to raise $100,000 to name the internal medicine lounge on the Fremont campus in Dr. Jha’s honor. If you are interested in participating, please contact Kathleen Jose Le at (650) 727-7111 or joselek@sutterhealth.org.

Give to Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Related Stories

Your Donations in Action

Thanks to you, we met the challenge! Read our success stories.

Leaders, Communities & Team Welcome Early Opening of SRMC

Sutter Roseville Medical Center welcomes the first patients to its newly expanded emergency and intensive care units.

Our Heroes Wear Scrubs

A message of love to our care teams.

Merv and Barbara Give Tangible Thanks for Life-saving Treatment

Merv and Barbara's generous gift is in gratitude for the life-saving treatment that Barbara received at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital.

Caring Members of the Auburn Community

Learn more about the community of Auburn, and their unique relationship with Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital.

See all Donor Stories

Disclaimer

Each individual’s treatment and/or results may vary based upon circumstances and the healthcare provider’s medical judgment. Testimonials or statements made by any person(s) within this site are not intended to guarantee outcomes or substitute for medical advice.

The Sutter Health Network of Care
Expertise to fit your needs
Primary Care

Check-ups, screenings and sick visits for adults and children.

Specialty Care

Expertise and advanced technologies in all areas of medicine.

Emergency Care

For serious accidents, injuries and conditions that require immediate medical care.

Urgent Care

After-hours, weekend and holiday services.

Walk-In Care

Convenient walk-in care clinics for your non-urgent health needs.

About Sutter

  • About Our Network
  • Annual Report
  • Awards
  • Community Benefit
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Giving
  • Find Care

  • Birth Centers
  • Care Centers
  • Emergency Rooms
  • Hospitals
  • Imaging
  • Labs
  • Surgery Centers
  • Urgent Care
  • Walk-In Care
  • View All >
  • Featured Services

  • Behavioral Health
  • Cancer Services
  • Family Medicine
  • Home Health and Hospice
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatrics
  • Pregnancy
  • Primary Care
  • Women's Health
  • View All >
  • Patient Resources

  • Accepted Health Plans
  • Classes and Events
  • Estimate Costs
  • Flu Resources
  • Health and Wellness
  • Medical Records
  • Medicare
  • My Health Online
  • Pay a Bill
  • Symptom Checker
  • Our Team

  • For Employees
  • Physician Careers
  • Recruiting Events
  • Sutter Careers
  • Vendors
  • Volunteers
    • ADA Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    • LinkedIn Opens new window
    • YouTube Opens new window
    • Facebook Opens new window
    • Twitter Opens new window
    • Glassdoor Opens new window
    • Instagram Opens new window

    Copyright © 2021 Sutter Health. All rights reserved. Sutter Health is a registered trademark of Sutter Health ®, Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark office.

    Cookie Policy

    We use cookies to give you the best possible user experience. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences

    Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences