Fund Honoring Parents Will Benefit Patients
It took 17 years of college, medical school, residencies and fellowships for Aniel Majjhoo, MD, to achieve his goal of becoming an interventional neurologist who is board-certified in neurology, vascular neurology and neurocritical care. He is also fellowship trained in neuro-endovascular intervention. He credits his dedication to medicine to his upbringing. His father earned a bachelor's degree and became an engineer and his mother earned a master's degree and spent her career in education. Together they raised their family of five children. Physicians in the family include a grandmother, several siblings and extended family members.
"My parents always stressed to us the importance of education and taking care of others; it's what you are supposed to do," said Dr. Majjhoo. "When I lost my mom last year, I started thinking about setting up a fund to honor her. I was going to get my dad involved in the effort, but then we lost him too in December. That pushed me to make it become a reality sooner, rather than later. I worked with the McLaren Flint Foundation and my colleague Mahmoud Rayes, MD. and together we created the Shori and Pervin Majjhoo Neuroscience Fund."
The fund will be used in ways that benefit patients who have experienced a health condition that has affected their nervous system or brain. As McLaren Health Care's medical director of neurosciences and the McLaren Stroke Network, Dr. Majjhoo knows all too well the effects strokes and ruptured aneurysms can have on patients. The first donation from the fund went toward patient lifts that have been installed on ICU and CCU.
"The sooner any patient, even those with the least mobility, can get up out of bed, the better their outcomes will be," said Dr. Majjhoo. "When patients have permanent disabilities and become bedridden, many of them give up and their families do, too. We want to prevent that from happening."
The lifts will also benefit staff by keeping them safer in the patient lifting process. In addition to doctors Majjhoo and Rayes, the fund's initial gift was also supported by an anonymous McLaren Flint Auxiliary Volunteer.
"Many funds and donations come from physicians, staff and auxiliary volunteers seeing a need that they want to do something about," said Doug Glazier, Vice President McLaren Flint Foundation. "We are always happy to sit down with people to help them decide how to give back in the way that is most meaningful to them."
Anyone can donate to the fund, which will support a variety of needs over time.
"We are really looking forward to this new opportunity to help stroke patients," said Dr. Rayes. "Anything, like the mechanical lifts, which can be used to help improve patient outcomes, is a win for everyone."
"I think my parents would be very happy about the fund, the equipment it was used to purchase so far, and the potential positive impact it will have on patients for years to come," added Dr. Majjhoo.
To learn more about supporting the Shori and Pervin Majjhoo Neuroscience Fund, or other ways to give back, the McLaren Flint Foundation can be reached at (810) 342-4087, or at mclaren.org/flintfoundation.
Pictured below l-r: Jodi Stein, Director of Critical Care Services; Mahmoud Rayes, MD, interventional neurologist; Aniel Majjhoo, MD, interventional neurologist and Chad Grant, President and CEO.